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Kempston Rural Primary School

Primary · Kempston · MK42 7FJ

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 21 November 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

439 pupils · 105% of 420 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
5–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
10.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
23% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.kempstonrural.beds.sch.uk/
URN
109463

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 63 families named it first for 59 Reception places, 1.07 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 2343.95 m (≈1.46 mi); distance decided places in 1 of the 2 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2025 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 21 November 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.07 first-choice applications per place

59 places offered · 63 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 2343.95 m (≈1.46 mi) for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 2343.95 m (≈1.46 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

57 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
67%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
104
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school67%
Median of its 12 closest peers70.5%
Bedford average55.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Green Lane Primary and Nursery SchoolWorcester Park · 52 miles awayGood63%
Cedar Road Primary SchoolNorthampton · 18 miles awayGood73%
Walker Primary SchoolLondon · 38 miles awayGood85%
Beatrix Potter Primary SchoolLondon · 49 miles awayGood71%
St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolSwindon · 66 miles awayGood (2019)70%
Henry Moore Primary SchoolHarlow · 37 miles awayNo current grade78%
West Didsbury CE Primary SchoolManchester · 116 miles awayGood73%
Betty Layward Primary SchoolLondon · 43 miles awayGood81%
St Michael's Church of England Primary SchoolSalisbury · 84 miles awayNo current grade29%
Windhill21Bishop's Stortford · 33 miles awayOutstanding (2018)70%
Sevenoaks Primary SchoolSevenoaks · 65 miles awayGood65%
St Christophers AcademyDunstable · 16 miles awayGood33%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 50% (Bedford 46%, England 60%) · Any other White background 10% (Bedford 11%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 6% (Bedford 6%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Bedford 4%, England 3%) · Not recorded 5% (Bedford 1%, England 1%) · Black African 5% (Bedford 8%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Bedford 3%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 3% (Bedford 5%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Bedford 2%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Bedford 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Bedford 4%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 2% (Bedford 1%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Bedford 1%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Bedford 1%, England 1%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Bedford 4%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
5.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.91 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Bedford: 2.01 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

89% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

50% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.4 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £48,252; 17.4% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,140
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 82% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 5% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (3%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £251,027; in-year balance +£8,267

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher36.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications10.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work42.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways9.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health54.6%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier74.4%62.3%
Social housing14.1%17.1%
Privately rented11.5%20.5%
Detached houses26.3%22.9%
Flats12.9%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms31.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van9.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034422 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£315,000201 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£240,000–£363,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (35)£455,000
Semi-detached (62)£332,500
Terraced (45)£320,000
Flat (59)£217,500

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (2.34 km, 2026 entry): 882 sales, median £315,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
5an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools