The Academy of Central Bedfordshire
Special / other · Houghton Regis · LU5 5PX
Data updated
Ungraded inspection: no current grade
Ofsted's most recent visit was an ungraded inspection; its outcome was “Standards maintained”. Since September 2024 these outcomes no longer confirm a named grade. No graded inspection appears in Ofsted's records for this school since 2015 either, so SchoolFacts shows no grade rather than guessing. Any earlier grade is on the school's Ofsted report page.
Inspected 11 December 2024
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
59 pupils · 42% of 140 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Free schools alternative provision
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 61% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 2% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 68% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 28% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Website
- www.acb.beds.sch.uk
- URN
- 139411
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 70% (Central Bedfordshire 69%, England 73%) · Mixed White and Asian 8% (Central Bedfordshire 8%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 7% (Central Bedfordshire 7%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Central Bedfordshire 3%, England 3%) · White Traveller of Irish heritage 3% (Central Bedfordshire 3%, England 0%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 1%) · Not recorded 2% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 3%) · Any other White background 2% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 3%) · White Gypsy/Roma 2% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 1%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
90% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 10% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 6.41% filled temporarily · England, special schools and PRUs: 0.68% vacant, 1.02% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
63.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 17 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 £49,094; 15.6% on the leadership pay range · England, special schools and PRUs: £53,604, 18.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for alternative provision schools in brackets: Staff 74% (80%) · premises 4% (4%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (5%) · supplies and services 13% (9%) · educational supplies 7% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 3% (2%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £1,056,000; in-year balance -£16,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 10 December 2024: Standards maintained
- 11 July 2019: School remains Good
- 13 September 2017: S8 No Formal Designation Visit
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 6/10around the middle for England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 6/10around the middle for England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 28% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 15.6% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 27.7% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 13.1% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 47.7% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 70.5% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 3% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 26.3% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 6.2% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 13.4% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 4.3% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 10.7% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01017600 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £303,000391 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £268,000–£375,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
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
- 2an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 1an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 12an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 2an 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