St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School

St Joseph’s and St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School has made significant improvements since its last inspection, achieving a 'Good' rating across all areas. The school's ambitious curriculum is enhancing pupil achievement, particularly in English and mathematics, which had been lower in the past. Pupils feel safe and valued within a caring community, reflecting positively on their behavior and attitudes towards learning. The school has successfully integrated various year groups in a newly organized setting, fostering warm relationships among students and nurturing positive interactions.

Strengths

• Strong community feeling and supportive environment for pupils.
• Effective curriculum that enhances pupil achievement, particularly in early years.
• Good progress for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• High-quality staff training and support align with the school's vision for improvement.
• Positive relationships and shared expectations foster a conducive learning atmosphere.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, there is a lack of specific guidance for teachers to help pupils retain complex knowledge.

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 St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.1% 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 St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-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 St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School had 23.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.0% 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, 14.8% of pupils at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School received £7,271 and spent £7,807 for each of its 308 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,249,000 (£4,057 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust Ltd, income was £7,187 and spending £7,596 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.

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

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School is part of Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust Ltd, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• St John Rigby Catholic Primary School Bedford
• St Thomas More Catholic School Bedford
• Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Wellingborough
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School Northampton
• St Thomas Becket Catholic School Northampton
• The Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School Northampton
• St Edward's Catholic Primary School Kettering
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Northampton
• St Thomas More Catholic Primary School Kettering
• Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Primary School Corby

What is St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School have?

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School has 271 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School cover?

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School?

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School is at Biddenham Turn, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4AT.