Thurleigh Primary School

Thurleigh Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in the recent Ofsted inspection. The school provides a warm and nurturing environment where pupils feel happy and safe. They take pride in their work and demonstrate high expectations in both behaviour and academic efforts. Notably, the school excels in personal development, with a strong focus on citizenship and community involvement, allowing pupils to develop confidence and leadership skills. The curriculum is well-structured and fosters independent learning, although there are areas that require further improvement, particularly in certain subjects and phonics teaching.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe, and take pride in their work.
• Outstanding behaviour and attitudes displayed by pupils.
• Strong focus on personal development and community involvement.
• Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and high expectations.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
• The curriculum is well-structured and promotes independence in learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent focus on phonics knowledge affects some pupils' reading skills.
• Assessment information in a few foundation subjects is not used effectively.

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 Thurleigh Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.6% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Thurleigh 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 Thurleigh Primary School had 22.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 38.5% 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, 15.2% of pupils at Thurleigh Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Thurleigh Primary School received £8,181 and spent £8,127 for each of its 88 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £36,000 (-£406 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
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What is Thurleigh Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thurleigh Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Thurleigh Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thurleigh Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Thurleigh Primary School have?

Thurleigh Primary School has 92 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thurleigh Primary School cover?

Thurleigh Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

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

Where is Thurleigh Primary School?

Thurleigh Primary School is at High Street, Thurleigh, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 2DB.