Ridgeway School

Type Special School / Community special school
Age Range 2-19
Religion Does not apply
Address Hill Rise
Kempston
Bedford
Bedfordshire
MK42 7EB
Phone 01234402402
Reference Number 109742

Ridgeway School continues to perform effectively following its previous inspection, showcasing a dedication to meeting the unique needs of its pupils. Staff provide excellent personalized care, ensuring that students are heard, valued, and safe within a supportive environment. The curriculum is tailored specifically to the pupils, allowing them to achieve well against their educational, health, and care plan goals. Notably, all sixth-form pupils successfully transition to post-19 education or training, reinforcing the school's commitment to preparing students for adulthood through a well-structured life skills programme.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 122
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 64.75%
Girls: 35.25%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 35.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 18.9%

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 13 3 16
2 6 4 10
3 7 4 11
4 4 3 7
5 4 3 7
6 4 2 6
7 4 3 7
8 9 1 10
9 1 1 2
10 4 2 6
11 4 3 7
12 4 3 7
13 1 4 5

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 53.3%
White, Other 10.7%
Mixed, Other 7.4%
White & Black (Caribbean) 4.9%
African 4.9%
Indian 4.1%
Pakistani 4.1%
White & Black (African) 2.5%
White & Asian 1.6%
Asian, Other 1.6%

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 01 Apr 2025
Date Report
01 Apr 2025 School inspection
19 Nov 2020 Monitoring visit
06 Nov 2019 School inspection
15 Mar 2016 Short inspection
07 Nov 2012 Full inspection:
09 Mar 2010 Full inspection:
01 Nov 2006 Full inspection:
10 Mar 2003 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Excellent levels of personalized care and attention from dedicated staff.
  • High levels of mutual respect among pupils and staff.
  • Tailored curriculum that builds knowledge effectively from early years through to sixth form.
  • Success in helping all sixth-form pupils transition to post-19 education or training.
  • Effective life skills curriculum preparing pupils for adulthood.

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistencies in matching early reading activities to pupils' abilities.
  • Ineffectiveness in checking how well pupils recall and apply learning during independent tasks.
  • Limited strategic oversight from governors during a period of operational focus.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 0%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading -7.3
Writing -6
Maths -7.2

How many students meet the standards

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Sample

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Destinations after GCSE's

Staying in Education
 >  Further Education
 >  School Sixth Form
 >  Sixth Form College
 >  Other Education
Apprenticeships
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Name Distance
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Balliol Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 7ER
0.36 miles
Kempston Rural Primary School
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0.53 miles
Rivertree Free School
Hillgrounds Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 8QP
0.85 miles
Bedford Road Primary Academy
Hillgrounds Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 8QH
0.89 miles
Springfield Primary School
Orchard Street, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 7LJ
1.05 miles
Wootton Primary School
Bedford Road, Wootton, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 9JT
1.16 miles
Camestone School
Jowitt Avenue, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 8NW
1.23 miles
Great Denham Primary School
Greenkeepers Road, Great Denham, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4GG
1.54 miles
Westfield Primary School
Chester Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4HW
1.93 miles
Cauldwell School
Edward Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 9DR
1.93 miles
Peter Pan Nursery School
Edward Road, Bedford, MK42 9DR
1.95 miles
Elstow School
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1.97 miles
Queen's Park Academy
Chestnut Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4HA
2 miles
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2.01 miles
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Fisherswood Road, Wixams, Bedfordshire, MK45 3TE
2.08 miles
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School
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2.16 miles
Cherry Trees Nursery School
Hawkins Road, Bedford, MK42 9LS
2.25 miles
Shackleton Primary School
Pearcey Road, Shackleton Primary School, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 9LZ
2.3 miles
Wixams Tree Primary Academy
Green Lane, Wixams, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 6BA
2.34 miles
Priory Primary School
Greyfriars, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 1JD
2.49 miles
Name Distance
Kempston Academy
Hill Rise, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 7EB
0.08 miles
Daubeney Academy
Orchard Street, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 7PS
1.12 miles
Grange Academy
Halsey Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 8AU
1.16 miles
Wootton Upper School
Hall End Road, Wootton, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 9HT
1.61 miles
St John's School
Austin Canons, Bedford Road, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 8AA
1.67 miles
Biddenham International School and Sports College
Biddenham Turn, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4AZ
1.99 miles
Wixams Academy
Green Lane, Wixams, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 6BA
2.32 miles
Bedford Free School
Cauldwell Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 9AD
2.45 miles
Bedford College
Cauldwell Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 9AH
2.46 miles
Bedford Academy
Mile Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 9TR
2.52 miles
Kimberley 16 - 19 Stem College
Green Lane, Stewartby, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 9LY
2.55 miles
Bedford Girls' School
Cardington Road, Bedford, MK42 0BX
2.64 miles
Bedford Modern School
Manton Lane, Bedford, MK41 7NT
2.96 miles
Bedford School
De Parys Avenue, Bedford, MK40 2TU
2.99 miles
Bedford Greenacre Independent School
Manton Lane, Bedford, MK41 7FZ
3.42 miles
Castle Newnham School
Polhill Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK41 9DT
3.55 miles
KWS School
51 Brunel Road, Bedford, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK41 9TJ
3.62 miles
Goldington Academy
Haylands Way, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK41 9BX
3.73 miles
St Thomas More Catholic School
Tyne Crescent, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK41 7UL
4.15 miles
Lincroft Academy
Station Road, Oakley, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 7RE
4.16 miles
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