Tithe Farm Primary School

Tithe Farm Primary School is a welcoming, inclusive community primary where pupils, including many who join throughout the year and those who speak English as an additional language, are well supported to achieve from their different starting points. Inspectors found the school good across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school provides strong pastoral care, clear behaviour expectations, a broad and ambitious curriculum and effective reading teaching. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils behave well, feel safe and benefit from clubs, trips, oracy opportunities and wider personal development experiences. Leaders are reflective, governors know the community well and provide effective support and challenge, and parents are kept informed. The main areas to improve are checking pupils' understanding more systematically so that misconceptions are addressed promptly, and making sure early years activities are well designed and appropriately matched to children's needs so that knowledge is built securely. The report notes that published outcomes are affected by a highly mobile cohort and that this was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive culture that celebrates cultural diversity
• Strong support for pupils who speak English as an additional language
• Aspirational approach that helps pupils achieve from different starting points
• High-quality pastoral support for emotional well-being and resilience
• Clear behaviour expectations through the 'Tithe Farm Way'
• Pupils are polite, caring and behave well in lessons
• Pupils take responsibility through roles such as the safety squad
• Broad range of clubs and enriching trips and experiences
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with clear knowledge and vocabulary
• Prioritises language and communication development
• Effective reading teaching with strong foundations and quick catch-up support
• Teachers present information clearly and use resources well
• Pupils learn and use new vocabulary effectively
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and learn well alongside peers
• Early years children enjoy a wide range of activities that develop physical and social skills
• Pupils enjoy school and attendance is generally good
• Strong personal development, including oracy, debate and pupil voice
• Pupils develop a strong sense of right and wrong and respect for differences
• Leaders are highly reflective and governors provide effective support and challenge
• Staff workload and well-being are supported
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' learning is not systematically checked in some instances, so misconceptions are not always corrected
• Teaching is not always as responsive to pupils' starting points as it could be
• Some early years learning activities are not designed well enough to achieve the intended learning
• Some early years activities are too complex and children lack the knowledge to use materials without guidance

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 Tithe Farm Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.2% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Tithe Farm 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 Tithe Farm Primary School had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.1% 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, 10.6% of pupils at Tithe Farm Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Tithe Farm Primary School received £7,198 and spent £6,861 for each of its 418 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £576,000 (£1,378 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 Tithe Farm Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tithe Farm Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Tithe Farm Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tithe Farm Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Tithe Farm Primary School have?

Tithe Farm Primary School has 432 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tithe Farm Primary School cover?

Tithe Farm Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 41% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tithe Farm Primary School?

Tithe Farm Primary School is at Tithe Farm Road, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5JB.