Houghton Regis Primary School

Houghton Regis Primary is a friendly, happy and inclusive school where pupils are respectful and staff provide good care. Safeguarding is effective, leadership and management are strong, and the school has become more stable after recent leadership changes. Leaders, staff and governors share a clear vision, staff feel involved in decisions, and parents report noticeable improvements. Reading is a particular strength, with regular assessment and targeted support, and pupils enjoy a broad curriculum and a wide range of clubs and leadership roles. However, inspectors found important weaknesses in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision. Some subjects are not delivered consistently because staff lack the subject knowledge and skills to teach them well, and misconceptions are not always corrected. The early years curriculum is not ambitious enough, behaviour expectations are not applied consistently, and pupils' learning about different faiths and cultures is limited. Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. This was a graded inspection, and no overall effectiveness grade was given. The school has clear next steps: strengthen staff subject knowledge, make the early years curriculum more stimulating and sequenced, apply behaviour expectations consistently, and broaden pupils' understanding of faiths and cultures. Attendance has improved, and the school is well placed to build on recent progress.

Strengths

• Friendly, happy and inclusive school where pupils respect staff and each other.
• Pupils have a wide range of leadership opportunities and clubs.
• Playtimes are zoned and offer more activities, improving pupils' enjoyment.
• Broad, well-sequenced curriculum from Year 1 in many subjects.
• Some subjects are well established and delivered well.
• Reading is a priority, with regular checks and targeted catch-up and keep-up support.
• Pupils are keen readers and access a wide variety of genres.
• Attendance has improved through regular communication and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leadership is now more stable, with a clear shared vision and determination to improve.
• Staff well-being and workload are considered, and staff are involved in decisions.
• Governors carry out their roles effectively and seek support where needed.
• Parents have noticed improvements and are optimistic about the future.
• Personal development includes sporting competitions, local visits, enterprise week and cooking.
• Clear SEND identification process and developing staff training on adaptive teaching.

Areas for Improvement

• Staff subject knowledge and skills are inconsistent in some subjects, so pupils do not secure intended knowledge.
• Staff do not always identify and address pupils' misconceptions.
• The early years curriculum lacks ambition, and the learning environment does not prepare children well for Year 1.
• Behaviour management is inconsistent because not all staff share high expectations.
• Poor behaviour incidents at playtimes still disrupt others.
• Pupils' understanding of different faiths and cultures is limited, and some cannot engage with different views.
• Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could despite developing support.

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 Houghton Regis Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Houghton Regis 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 Houghton Regis Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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, 9.3% of pupils at Houghton Regis Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Houghton Regis Primary School received £6,670 and spent £6,538 for each of its 376 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £13,000 (-£34 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 Dunstable · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Houghton Regis Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Houghton Regis Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Houghton Regis Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Houghton Regis Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Houghton Regis Primary School have?

Houghton Regis Primary School has 386 pupils on roll.

What age range does Houghton Regis Primary School cover?

Houghton Regis Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Houghton Regis Primary School?

Houghton Regis Primary School is at St Michael's Avenue, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5DH.