Slip End Village School

Slip End Village School is a happy, safe and welcoming primary school where pupils respond well to high expectations and typically achieve well. Inspectors found the curriculum broad, balanced and progressively planned, with reading a clear top priority and effective phonics teaching. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified promptly and supported to take part fully in lessons, while early years provision is engaging and prepares children well for Year 1. Behaviour is positive, classrooms are calm, and personal development is thoughtfully planned through trips, visitors and work on respect and differences. Leadership is strong: staff feel valued, governors know the school well, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. There are still areas to improve. In a minority of subjects, teachers do not consistently design activities that emphasise the most important knowledge, so some pupils do not recall prior learning as well as they could. Persistent absence remains a concern for some pupils, who miss learning and consequently achieve less well. A small number of parents are also dissatisfied with how their concerns are handled and want more timely responses. The school is part of a federation with Caddington Village School, and both the executive headteacher and head of school were appointed after the previous inspection. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the pandemic’s impact into account.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and live by the school’s values.
• Behaviour is positive, classrooms are calm and low-level disruption is rare.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and progressively builds pupils’ skills and knowledge.
• Reading is a top priority, with a consistent phonics programme and effective support for pupils who fall behind.
• Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and activities are adapted so they are fully included.
• Early years provision is engaging, well routined and prepares children well for Year 1.
• Personal development is well planned, including trips, visitors and respect for differences.
• Leaders know the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and invest in staff development.
• Governors provide appropriate challenge and support and carry out their statutory duties effectively.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Extra-curricular opportunities, especially sport, are broad and well attended, including by pupils with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• In a minority of subjects, learning activities do not emphasise the important knowledge pupils need, so some pupils struggle to recall prior learning and achieve as highly as they could.
• Some pupils are persistently absent, which means they miss learning and do not achieve as highly as they could.
• A small number of parents are dissatisfied with how their concerns are dealt with and want more timely responses.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Slip End Village School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at Slip End Village School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Slip End Village School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 11.6% of pupils at Slip End Village School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Slip End Village School received £8,275 and spent £8,290 for each of its 110 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £79,000 (-£721 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Luton · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Slip End Village School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Slip End Village School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Slip End Village School last inspected by Ofsted?

Slip End Village School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Slip End Village School have?

Slip End Village School has 112 pupils on roll.

What age range does Slip End Village School cover?

Slip End Village School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Slip End Village School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Slip End Village School?

Slip End Village School is at Ross Way, Slip End, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 4DD.