Little Bowden School

Little Bowden School is a happy, vibrant primary school where pupils feel safe, build positive relationships and behave well. Leaders have raised expectations through a recent curriculum review, and pupils are enthusiastic, read quickly and achieve well across a range of subjects. Early years provision gives children a strong start, pupils with SEND are supported well, and personal development is broad, including clubs, sports, music and learning about different faiths and cultures. Staff feel well supported and governors understand the school well. Safeguarding is effective. Inspectors judged the school good in all key areas. The main areas for improvement are that leaders have not yet checked how well the curriculum is being delivered in some of the more recently developed subjects, and that checks of pupils' learning are not used consistently enough in some subjects to address misconceptions or extend thinking. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains a good school; under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade is given.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, kind and collaborate well from the early years.
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff help pupils feel safe.
• The school develops pupils' resilience so they bounce back from setbacks.
• Leaders have high expectations and a recently reviewed ambitious curriculum.
• Pupils are enthusiastic and enjoy learning.
• The curriculum helps pupils make connections and remember key knowledge.
• Pupils achieve well in a range of subjects.
• Lessons use varied activities, effective questioning and demonstrations.
• Pupils have positive attitudes and are proud of their work.
• Mathematics resources help develop problem-solving and reasoning.
• Early years provision gives children a strong start.
• Pupils learn to read quickly through consistent phonics teaching.
• Additional reading support is tailored to pupils' needs.
• Pupils with SEND are identified sooner and supported well in lessons.
• Well-being checks help identify pupils needing emotional support.
• Pupils learn about faiths and cultures and enjoy learning Mandarin.
• A wide range of clubs, sports and musical opportunities develops pupils' interests.
• Staff workload and well-being are well considered, with access to training.
• Governors have a strong understanding of the school and fulfil their responsibilities effectively.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, checks of pupils' learning are not used well enough to identify next steps.
• Some work does not address pupils' misconceptions or extend their thinking well enough.
• The school has not checked whether the curriculum is delivered effectively in more recently developed subjects.
• Leaders are not yet able to identify successes and next steps in these newer subjects.

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 Little Bowden School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Little Bowden 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 Little Bowden School had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 11.1% of pupils at Little Bowden School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Little Bowden School received £6,202 and spent £6,042 for each of its 368 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £112,000 (£305 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 Market Harborough · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Little Bowden School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Little Bowden School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Little Bowden School last inspected by Ofsted?

Little Bowden School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Little Bowden School have?

Little Bowden School has 368 pupils on roll.

What age range does Little Bowden School cover?

Little Bowden School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Little Bowden School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Little Bowden School?

Little Bowden School is at Scotland Road, Little Bowden, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 8AY.