Ridgmont Lower School

Ridgmont Lower School is a very small, caring lower school where pupils are at the heart of the community. Pupils attend well, behave with kindness and confidence, and benefit from calm classrooms and consistent routines. Staff know pupils individually, including the unusually high proportion with SEND, and they identify needs accurately and provide effective support. The curriculum is broad and well sequenced, reading and phonics are taught well, and pupils with SEND or disadvantage are consistently included in school life. Safeguarding standards are met. Leadership has responded positively to the previous inspection, particularly in reading and staff training, and governors work closely with leaders. Parents are overwhelmingly positive, and staff feel leaders consider their workload and wellbeing. The school is also managing financial constraints and falling pupil numbers in the local area. Early years was taken into account but not reported separately because there are fewer than five children in the setting. The main area for development is consistency in teaching across the wider curriculum. Some pupils are not as secure in writing as they could be, and use of foundational writing knowledge, such as correct capital letters, is sometimes inconsistent in subjects beyond English. Leaders have identified this and have plans to strengthen all curriculum subjects equally, though this work is at an early stage.

Strengths

• Pupils attend well and attendance is a clear priority.
• Behaviour is strong, with calm classrooms and consistent staff routines.
• Pupils show compassion, respect and independence, including in the playground.
• The curriculum is broad and well sequenced, with clear long-term learning goals.
• Reading and phonics are taught well, including for pupils who join mid-year.
• Staff identify SEND accurately and provide support that matches pupils' needs.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are consistently included in school life.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively to close gaps in essential skills.
• Personal development is well considered, including pupil voice and teamwork.
• Leaders have made positive improvements since the previous inspection.
• Governors meet statutory duties and provide both support and challenge.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school, staff and leaders.
• Early years provides a strong focus on communication and language.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils are not as secure in writing as they could be.
• Use of foundational writing knowledge, such as correct capital letters, is inconsistent in wider curriculum subjects.
• Leaders' work to ensure all curriculum subjects are taught equally well is still developing.
• Plans to improve writing across the curriculum are at an early stage.

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 2022–23 pupils at Ridgmont Lower School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.1%). 26.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 16.2%).

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 2022–23, 3.6% of pupils at Ridgmont Lower School were suspended at least once (nationally 0.8%). 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 2022–23 Ridgmont Lower School had 8.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2022–23, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 18.4%).

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 2022–23 Ridgmont Lower School received £14,773 and spent £15,088 for each of its 25 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £4,000 (£172 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 Ridgmont Lower School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ridgmont Lower School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Ridgmont Lower School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ridgmont Lower School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Ridgmont Lower School have?

Ridgmont Lower School has 11 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ridgmont Lower School cover?

Ridgmont Lower School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Ridgmont Lower School?

Ridgmont Lower School is at High Street, Ridgmont, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 0TS.