Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School

Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School is a happy, inclusive school where pupils feel safe and well cared for, and where staff know pupils and families well. It is part of London South East Academies Trust, which provides strong oversight. Safeguarding standards are met. The school’s early years provision, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing are all rated strong, with pupils behaving well, engaging in a rich personal development programme, and accessing effective support for SEND and disadvantage. The quality of education is generally secure but not yet consistently strong. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, and curriculum and teaching are rated expected. Pupils typically progress well and attain in line with the national average in the Year 1 phonics screening check, with disadvantaged pupils often doing better than their peers nationally. However, inconsistencies in how teachers deliver the curriculum can prevent some pupils from grasping and remembering learning as well as they could, and handwriting in key stage 1 is uneven, affecting fluency and presentation. Leaders have clear next steps to continue improvement: develop staff expertise in curriculum delivery, ensure consistent handwriting support in Years 1 and 2, and refine the attendance strategy so more pupils attend regularly and persistent absence reduces. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEN support, and leaders use detailed plans and trust/local authority training to meet these needs effectively. Overall, this is a strong and improving school with clear areas for further refinement.

Strengths

• Creative and ambitious early years provision that gives children a strong start.
• Highly effective inclusion for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those known to social care.
• Strong leadership and governance, with highly effective trust oversight.
• Personal development and wellbeing programme is personalised, coherent and extensive.
• Pupils behave well and are calm, respectful and engaged in lessons.
• Pupils feel safe, well cared for and know who to talk to about concerns.
• Effective teaching of phonics and strong foundations in reading.
• Disadvantaged pupils often achieve above national peers in the Year 1 phonics screening check.
• Close work with parents, carers and external agencies to support pupils and families.
• Rich educational visits, clubs and leadership roles for pupils.
• Staff wellbeing and workload are carefully considered.
• Safeguarding standards are met with an open culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in curriculum delivery can prevent some pupils from grasping and remembering learning as well as they could.
• Handwriting in key stage 1 is inconsistent, with some pupils lacking fluency and accurate letter formation.
• Staff do not apply the '4 P' handwriting approach as consistently in Years 1 and 2 as in early years.
• Too many pupils are still missing school regularly, and persistent absence needs further reduction.
• Achievement, attendance and behaviour, and curriculum and teaching are rated expected rather than strong.
• Some pupils' handwriting affects presentation of work across subjects.
• Attendance strategy needs further refinement to improve regular attendance.

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 Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% 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 Bedonwell Infant and Nursery 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 Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School had 23.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.0% 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, 25.6% of pupils at Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School received £9,798 and spent £10,098 for each of its 341 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £51,000 (-£148 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of London South East Academies Trust, income was £15,131 and spending £14,671 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 Bexley · Bexley local authority: places and applications

Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School is part of London South East Academies Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Bedonwell Junior School Belvedere
• Belmont Academy Erith
• Barrington Primary School Bexleyheath
• Aspire Academy Welling
• Woodside Academy Erith
• Endeavour Academy Bexley Bexleyheath
• Bromley Beacon Academy Orpington
• Warren Road Primary School Orpington
• Heron Academy London
• Walton Leigh School Walton-On-Thames

What is Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School have?

Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School has 309 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School cover?

Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School?

Bedonwell Infant and Nursery School is at Bedonwell Road, Belvedere, Kent, DA17 5PF.