Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School

Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School is a smaller-than-average Church of England primary in Dunstable. Inspectors found a friendly, welcoming, family-like school where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from highly effective pastoral care. Personal development and wellbeing is a strong standard, with a comprehensive enrichment programme, pupil leadership roles and respectful attitudes to diversity. Safeguarding standards are met. The school is at expected standard in achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and leadership and governance. Pupils' reading and mathematics outcomes are broadly close to national averages, phonics is above national, and most children are ready for Year 1 by the end of Reception. However, 2025 writing outcomes were disappointing, some gaps in basic writing and spelling are not always addressed, and disadvantaged pupils' mathematics results are below national with a wide disadvantage gap. Leaders are reflective and staff morale is high; governors oversee safeguarding and generally support and challenge leaders, but the governing body is in transition and needs to strengthen its capacity. The next steps focus on developing the early years environment and further strengthening governance. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with EHC plans and has developed an internal SEND provision, the Bluebell room, which is at an early stage but helping pupils progress.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing are judged strong standard.
• Pastoral care is highly effective and targeted to pupils' needs.
• Pupils are highly respectful of diversity and ready to challenge discrimination.
• Older pupils take on leadership roles such as play leaders, worship leaders, prefects and team captains.
• A wide range of clubs and enrichment opportunities, including trips and competitions, are offered and participation is tracked.
• Pupils' attitudes and behaviour are positive; the school is friendly and welcoming.
• Attendance is close to national and improving, with persistent absence reducing.
• Phonics outcomes are above national and pupils who fall behind receive effective support.
• Pupils progress well overall, including pupils with SEND, and most children are ready for Year 1 by the end of Reception.
• The curriculum is well thought out, ambitious and designed to build knowledge progressively.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and use effective strategies, including vocabulary and language development.
• Staff are skilled at reducing barriers and balancing support with independent learning.
• Early reading, writing and mathematics teaching is high quality; staff deliver phonics well.
• Inclusion is effective: needs are identified quickly, staff are trained, adjustments are made, and pupil premium is used wisely.
• Leaders are reflective, evaluate accurately and take effective action; staff morale is high.
• Governors oversee effective safeguarding and typically provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Safeguarding standards are met through an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• The early years environment is under-developed in some areas and activities do not always inspire curiosity or challenge children.
• Some gaps in pupils' basic writing knowledge, such as spelling errors, are sometimes missed and slow progress in writing.
• Writing outcomes at the end of Year 6 were below national in 2025, prompting a sharper focus on writing.
• Disadvantaged pupils' mathematics outcomes are below national and the disadvantage gap remains wide.
• The governing body is in transition and not all governors are yet suitably equipped to provide robust support and challenge.

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 Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Ashton St Peter's VA C of E 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 Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School had 22.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.9% 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, 10.7% of pupils at Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School received £7,365 and spent £7,196 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£286 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 Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School have?

Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School has 205 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School cover?

Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 45% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School?

Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School is at Leighton Court, Ashton St. Peters Primary School, Leighton Court, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 1EW.