Sheerhatch Primary School

Sheerhatch Primary School has demonstrated a commitment to improvement, particularly in fostering a positive and safe environment where pupils feel valued and included. Attendance has improved significantly, and the majority of pupils now arrive on time and engage positively in their learning. However, the school continues to face challenges in academic achievement, particularly in writing and mathematics, where too few pupils meet the expected standards. Although progress is being made, leaders must ensure that teaching practices are consistently effective to address these gaps and fully prepare pupils for future education.

Strengths

• The school has established a strong culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils exhibit positive attitudes towards learning and behave well in class.
• Leaders provide effective support for pupils with SEND, enabling access to the curriculum.
• The personal development curriculum prepares pupils for life beyond school.
• Pupils benefit from a range of extracurricular activities that enhance their educational experience.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent teaching practices across the curriculum lead to underperformance in writing and mathematics.
• Too few pupils leave the school meeting the expected standards in these critical areas.
• Children in early years are not always prepared adequately for Year 1.

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 Sheerhatch Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.7% 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 Sheerhatch Primary 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 Sheerhatch Primary School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.8% 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, 23.3% of pupils at Sheerhatch Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Sheerhatch Primary School received £7,944 and spent £8,515 for each of its 129 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £192,000 (-£1,488 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

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What is Sheerhatch Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sheerhatch Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was Sheerhatch Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sheerhatch Primary School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does Sheerhatch Primary School have?

Sheerhatch Primary School has 129 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sheerhatch Primary School cover?

Sheerhatch Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sheerhatch Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sheerhatch Primary School?

Sheerhatch Primary School is at Willington Road, Cople, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 3TH.