Kingsmoor Lower School

Kingsmoor Lower School is a good school overall, with behaviour and attitudes judged outstanding. Pupils are keen, motivated learners who respond well to high expectations, including pupils with SEND, and they behave impeccably. The school has a strong caring and inclusive culture, effective safeguarding, high attendance, and a well-supported reading and phonics approach. Personal development and leadership and management are also good, with pupils benefiting from wider experiences, leadership roles and community involvement. The main areas for improvement are in curriculum precision and assessment use. In a few curriculum areas, the most important knowledge pupils need to learn is not detailed clearly enough, so some pupils do not gain sufficient depth. Across the school, checks on learning are not consistently used to adapt next steps, which can slow catch-up or extension. The early years curriculum also needs refining to deepen children’s knowledge before they move into Year 1, although the school has begun this work. Contextually, this was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the early years provision has recently been expanded to include two-year-olds. The school remains determined that all pupils do well and is appropriately preparing pupils for middle school.

Strengths

• Pupils are highly motivated, keen to learn and want to do their best.
• Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding; pupils behave impeccably and show high mutual respect.
• Pupils, including the youngest children, are nurtured and kept safe by a dedicated staff team.
• The school is effective in supporting pupils with SEND, identifying needs quickly and reviewing provision regularly.
• Pupils’ attendance is consistently high because of the school’s determined actions.
• Reading is well supported from early years, with a clear and consistent phonics approach and effective interventions.
• The curriculum builds knowledge logically over time and supports pupils to meet national standards in phonics and times tables.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of wider experiences, trips, residentials, visitors and leadership roles.
• Personal development is strong, with pupils learning empathy, responsibility, mutual respect and safety online.
• Staff well-being and professional development are carefully considered, and governors are proactive in holding leaders to account.

Areas for Improvement

• In some curriculum areas, the key knowledge pupils need to know is not outlined clearly enough, limiting depth of understanding.
• Checks on pupils’ learning are not consistently used to adapt next steps, slowing catch-up or extension for some pupils.
• The early years curriculum needs refining to deepen the knowledge children secure before moving into 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 Kingsmoor Lower School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Kingsmoor Lower 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 Kingsmoor Lower School had 28.7 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, 26.9% of pupils at Kingsmoor Lower School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 Kingsmoor Lower School received £8,013 and spent £8,114 for each of its 152 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £182,000 (-£1,197 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 Bedford · Bedford local authority: places and applications

What is Kingsmoor Lower School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kingsmoor Lower School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Kingsmoor Lower School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kingsmoor Lower School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Kingsmoor Lower School have?

Kingsmoor Lower School has 167 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kingsmoor Lower School cover?

Kingsmoor Lower School for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is Kingsmoor Lower School?

Kingsmoor Lower School is at Kingsmoor Close, Flitwick, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK45 1EY.