Goldington Green Academy

Goldington Green Academy is a large, happy primary school where values, warm relationships and high expectations are evident. Inspectors found strong provision across the curriculum, behaviour, personal development and early years, with pupils polite, focused and well supported. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, including for pupils who speak English as an additional language, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and reading and pastoral care are particular strengths. Attendance is in line with national averages and improving, and safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are in a small number of subjects where curriculum delivery does not consistently prioritise the most important learning and assessment is not used well enough to shape future teaching, so some pupils do not learn as well as they could. Leaders and governors also need to sharpen their systems for checking what is working and for strategic planning, so the most important improvement priorities are identified and addressed in the right order. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the only school in its trust and includes a nursery for two-year-olds and a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism.

Strengths

• Values-led, happy ethos with warm relationships and positive attitudes throughout.
• Pupils are friendly, polite and show strong self-control and behaviour.
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum across all stages, including early years.
• Effective support for EAL and disadvantaged pupils to access the curriculum.
• Strong subject knowledge and clear teaching in reading, mathematics, geography and early years.
• Pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, achieve well from their starting points.
• Strong reading culture with effective phonics support and higher-level reading skills.
• Attendance is in line with national averages and improving.
• Personal development, pastoral care and pupils' understanding of right and wrong are strong.
• Governors bring expertise and share an ambitious vision with leaders and staff.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, curriculum delivery does not always focus on the most important learning.
• Assessment checks are not consistently used to inform future teaching in some subjects, so some pupils learn less well.
• The school's systems for checking what is working and what needs improvement are not as effective as they could be.
• Strategic planning does not always focus clearly on the right priorities in the right order.

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 Goldington Green Academy attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.2% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Goldington Green 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 Goldington Green Academy had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 16.1% of pupils at Goldington Green Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.9% 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 2024–25 Goldington Green Academy received £7,637 and spent £7,374 for each of its 559 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £168,000 (-£301 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Heart Academies Trust, income was £7,834 and spending £7,933 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

All schools in Bedford · Bedford local authority: places and applications

Goldington Green Academy is part of Heart Academies Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Shackleton Primary School Bedford
• Bedford Academy Bedford
• Shortstown Primary School Bedford
• Cauldwell School Bedford
• Wilstead Primary School Bedford

What is Goldington Green Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Goldington Green Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Goldington Green Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Goldington Green Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Goldington Green Academy have?

Goldington Green Academy has 576 pupils on roll.

What age range does Goldington Green Academy cover?

Goldington Green Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Goldington Green Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Goldington Green Academy?

Goldington Green Academy is at Goldington Green, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK41 0DP.