Harrold Primary Academy

Harrold Primary Academy has shown commendable improvement, achieving a good rating across all assessed domains in its first routine inspection following the pandemic. The school provides a supportive and safe environment where pupils are happy and engaged, with high expectations for behaviour and a strong commitment to their personal development. With a focus on nurturing students' talents through extra-curricular activities and an evolving curriculum, the school is steadily enhancing the educational experience for its pupils, although some areas still need to be firmly established to ensure consistent achievement across all subjects.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate positive relationships and a strong sense of safety.
• The school has high expectations of pupil behaviour.
• Pupils achieve well in mathematics and reading.
• The phonics programme is well-structured and effective.
• Pupils with SEND are well-supported and included in all aspects of school life.
• There is a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities available.

Areas for Improvement

• Some areas of the curriculum are still in a transitional phase and not fully established.
• Staff require further training to effectively teach and assess new curriculum areas.

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 Harrold Primary Academy attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Harrold Primary 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 Harrold Primary Academy had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.8% 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, 20.8% of pupils at Harrold Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Harrold Primary Academy received £7,323 and spent £7,203 for each of its 98 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £56,000 (-£576 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Meridian Trust, income was £7,921 and spending £7,857 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

Harrold Primary Academy is part of Meridian Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Sharnbrook Academy Bedford
• Oakley Primary Academy Bedford
• Lincroft Academy Bedford
• Great Ouse Primary Academy Bedford
• The Ferrers School Rushden
• Crosshall Infant School St Neots
• Crosshall Junior School St Neots
• Stratton School Biggleswade
• Weldon Village Academy Corby
• Sawtry Junior Academy Huntingdon

What is Harrold Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harrold Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Harrold Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Harrold Primary Academy was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Harrold Primary Academy have?

Harrold Primary Academy has 96 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harrold Primary Academy cover?

Harrold Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Harrold Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 81% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Harrold Primary Academy?

Harrold Primary Academy is at The Green, Harrold, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK43 7DB.