Lawnside Academy

Lawnside Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in several key areas including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership. The school has established a supportive environment where pupils, including those with special educational needs, feel included and confident in their learning. The curriculum is well-planned and engaging, with a strong emphasis on developing pupils' critical thinking and resilience. However, this is the school's first inspection, which introduces challenges related to establishing consistent practices across all subject areas and addressing attendance issues that affect some children's learning.

Strengths

• Pupils are well-supported and included, especially those with SEND.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully planned.
• Staff receive high-quality training and support.
• Pupils exhibit good behaviour and enjoy coming to school.
• Pastoral care is a high priority and effectively supports pupil well-being.
• The early years provision is rich and stimulating.
• Pupils develop a love for reading through a broad reading diet.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack precise knowledge identification for pupil learning.
• Gaps in knowledge are present due to poor 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 Lawnside Academy attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.3% 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, 2.8% of pupils at Lawnside 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 Lawnside Academy had 24.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 15.5% of pupils at Lawnside Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Lawnside Academy received £6,512 and spent £6,835 for each of its 216 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £243,000 (-£1,130 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited, income was £7,313 and spending £7,140 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 Biggleswade · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

Lawnside Academy is part of Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Langford Village Academy Biggleswade
• Samuel Whitbread Academy Shefford
• Etonbury Academy Arlesey
• Pix Brook Academy Stotfold
• Robert Bloomfield Academy Shefford
• Gothic Mede Academy Arlesey
• Campton Academy Shefford
• Gravenhurst Academy Bedford
• Castle Newnham School Bedford
• St Christophers Academy Dunstable

What is Lawnside Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lawnside Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Lawnside Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Lawnside Academy was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Lawnside Academy have?

Lawnside Academy has 283 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lawnside Academy cover?

Lawnside Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

Where is Lawnside Academy?

Lawnside Academy is at Lawnside, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 0LX.