Cranfield Church of England Academy

Cranfield Church of England Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in overall effectiveness and various domains such as education, behavior, and management. The school fosters a strong sense of community, with pupils enjoying their learning experiences and participating in a wide range of activities. Notably, the school's personal development provision is outstanding, and early years education is particularly effective. Yet, while the core subjects are taught well, the curriculum for other subjects requires improvement to ensure all pupils can retain knowledge over time.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy fun and engaging learning experiences.
• The curriculum for English, mathematics, and science is well-structured.
• Staff create excellent opportunities for personal development.
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs.
• The early years provision is stimulating and effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum planning for subjects beyond core areas needs clarity.
• Some subjects are taught at a pace that hinders knowledge retention.
• Subject leaders require training to design the curriculum effectively.

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 Cranfield Church of England Academy attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Cranfield Church of England Academy 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 Cranfield Church of England Academy had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.6% 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, 8.8% of pupils at Cranfield Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 2024–25 Cranfield Church of England Academy received £6,493 and spent £6,279 for each of its 487 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £381,000 (£782 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Cranfield Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cranfield Church of England Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Cranfield Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Cranfield Church of England Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Cranfield Church of England Academy have?

Cranfield Church of England Academy has 511 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cranfield Church of England Academy cover?

Cranfield Church of England Academy for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is Cranfield Church of England Academy?

Cranfield Church of England Academy is at Court Road, Cranfield, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 0DR.