St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School

St Swithun’s Church of England VC Primary School is recognized as a good school, performing well across various aspects of education. Pupils express happiness and a strong sense of community, engaging positively with their learning and demonstrating good behavior. The school's curriculum is broad and ambitious, allowing pupils to build knowledge progressively. Parental support is strong, highlighting the nurturing environment fostered by the staff. The recent ungraded inspection noted that while the school is largely successful, there are areas to tighten curriculum implementation to ensure all subjects are fully developed and comprehended by staff and students alike.

Strengths

• Pupils report feeling happy and well cared for.
• Strong leadership fosters a positive and inclusive school environment.
• Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge in teaching and assessing pupils.
• Reading has a high priority, with effective phonics instruction from the early years.
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Pupils develop leadership skills through various roles and activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum plans are in early stages of implementation leading to gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• New subject leaders have not fully evaluated the impact of their curriculum plans.

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 St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.4% 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, 2.6% of pupils at St Swithun's Church of England VC 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 St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.4% 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, 15.1% of pupils at St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 9 pupils.

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 St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School received £10,133 and spent £10,389 for each of its 165 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £40,000 (£243 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 Sandy · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School have?

St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School has 172 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School cover?

St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School?

St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School is at Ivel Road, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1AX.