Bassingbourn Primary School

Bassingbourn Primary is a safe, caring school where pupils like school and benefit from positive relationships with staff. Leadership and management are good, and new leaders and governors have rapidly improved safeguarding, attendance and early years provision. Children in Reception get off to a flying start, early reading is effective, and the curriculum has been reviewed and broadened, with key knowledge being retaught, especially in writing. Safeguarding is effective. However, the quality of education, behaviour and personal development require improvement. Curriculum delivery is inconsistent because staff have not had all the training they need, and modelling, activities and checks on learning are uneven, so pupils do not routinely make successful progress. Pupils with SEND are identified accurately, but support is not always implemented confidently. Behaviour is variable, with some pupils losing focus or using unkind language, and the school’s new behaviour expectations are not securely embedded. Personal development offers many opportunities but does not yet build deep, connected PSHE knowledge or consistently develop character traits such as respect, excellence and resilience. This was a graded inspection, so no overall effectiveness grade was given. It was the school’s second routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The headteacher and deputy headteacher were recently appointed, there are several new subject leaders, and Cambridgeshire local authority has provided rapid improvement support since January 2022. The school recognises the areas that still need work.

Strengths

• Safe and caring environment where pupils like school and build positive relationships with staff
• Strong early years provision with clear routines, skilful adult interaction and a flying start for children
• Effective early reading curriculum enabling pupils, including those with SEND, to read confidently and fluently
• Broad, well-considered curriculum that is being revised with key knowledge retaught, especially in writing
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Attendance has risen, including for pupils with SEND, through close work with families
• Governors are instrumental in school improvement, know priorities and support staff well-being
• Wide range of personal development opportunities, including trips and lunchtime activities
• Robust SEND identification processes and careful planning of support
• Leadership has rapidly improved the school and rebuilt positive relationships with parents and the community

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent, with uneven modelling, activity design and checking of pupils’ understanding
• Staff have not received all the training needed to implement the curriculum effectively
• Pupils do not routinely make successful progress and achieve less well than they should
• Pupils with SEND do not always receive the quality of support they need because staff are not routinely clear how to implement it
• Behaviour is variable, with some pupils losing focus, off-task behaviour and unkind language persisting
• New behaviour expectations are not securely embedded and there is not a positive behaviour culture throughout the school
• Personal development does not build deep, connected PSHE knowledge or consistently develop pupils’ character traits
• Some pupils struggle to embody the school’s values such as respect, excellence and resilience
• Low expectations in the past left gaps in pupils’ learning

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 Bassingbourn Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.3% 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, 3.3% of pupils at Bassingbourn 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 Bassingbourn Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.3% 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, 12.6% of pupils at Bassingbourn Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 Bassingbourn Primary School received £7,168 and spent £7,007 for each of its 326 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £133,000 (£407 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 Royston · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

What is Bassingbourn Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bassingbourn Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Bassingbourn Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bassingbourn Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Bassingbourn Primary School have?

Bassingbourn Primary School has 326 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bassingbourn Primary School cover?

Bassingbourn Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bassingbourn Primary School?

Bassingbourn Primary School is at Brook Road, Bassingbourn, Bassingbourn Cp School, Brook Road, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 5NP.