Eileen Wade Primary School

Eileen Wade Primary School is a small, 70-pupil school in a federation with Milton Ernest CoE Primary. It was inspected in December 2025 under the current section 5 framework, and safeguarding is met. Overall, the school is performing securely: attendance and behaviour and pupils' personal development and well-being are strong, while achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion and leadership and governance are at the expected standard. Pupils are happy, feel safe and are well known by adults. Attendance is above national averages, poor behaviour is extremely rare, and older pupils take responsibility for younger ones. Personal development is a notable strength: pupils are reflective, polite and welcoming, and benefit from a broad range of cultural and outdoor learning opportunities, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Early reading, SEND support and targeted help for disadvantaged pupils are effective, and governors hold leaders to account. The main improvement priorities concern writing. Pupils do not consistently apply basic writing skills such as punctuation and capital letters across the wider curriculum, and they do not consistently use phonics knowledge when spelling unfamiliar words. Published outcomes in reading and maths have been below national averages over the latest three-year period, although the report notes pupils generally achieve in line with national averages by the end of Year 6 and disadvantaged pupils progress well.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and are known well by adults.
• Attendance is above the national average.
• Behaviour is strong; poor behaviour is extremely rare.
• Older pupils act as positive role models and organise clubs and events for younger pupils.
• Personal development is strong, with pupils who are reflective, polite and welcoming.
• Pupils benefit from a broad range of cultural, outdoor and community opportunities.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are well supported and included.
• Early reading is prioritised and children start learning to read as soon as they join.
• Leaders have designed an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum and trained staff well in English and mathematics.
• Governors provide appropriate support and challenge, and staff wellbeing is supported.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not consistently apply basic writing skills, such as punctuation and capital letters, across the wider curriculum.
• Pupils do not consistently use phonics knowledge when spelling unfamiliar words beyond the early years and Year 1.
• Some pupils do not write as accurately in subjects other than English as they should.
• Published reading and maths outcomes have been below national averages over the latest three years.

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 Eileen Wade Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Eileen Wade Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Eileen Wade Primary School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 12.9% of pupils at Eileen Wade Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Eileen Wade Primary School received £8,767 and spent £9,352 for each of its 137 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £42,000 (£303 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). This school files a single return with the other schools in its federation, so the figures are for the whole federation.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bedford · Bedford local authority: places and applications

Eileen Wade Primary School is part of North Bedfordshire Schools Trust (Nbst), which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Pinchmill Primary School Bedford
• Turvey Primary School Bedford

What is Eileen Wade Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Eileen Wade Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Eileen Wade Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Eileen Wade Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Eileen Wade Primary School have?

Eileen Wade Primary School has 70 pupils on roll.

What age range does Eileen Wade Primary School cover?

Eileen Wade Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Eileen Wade Primary School?

Eileen Wade Primary School is at High Street, Upper Dean, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 0ND.