The Rushmere Park Academy

The Rushmere Park Academy is a school that is performing solidly across the board, with inspectors judging it to be meeting expected standards in most areas, while early years and personal development stand out as particular strengths. Children get off to a very positive start in the early years, where a well-sequenced curriculum and high-quality interactions help them build language, early number skills and independence, preparing them well for Year 1. Personal development and wellbeing are woven into daily life, with pupils learning about safety, healthy relationships, different cultures and citizenship through a thoughtful programme of lessons and enrichment activities. Achievement is broadly in line with expectations, and national results have improved in recent years for all groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Strengths

• Children make a very positive start in the early years, with a well-designed curriculum that prepares them well for Year 1.
• Personal development and wellbeing are embedded in daily school life, helping pupils make safe decisions and understand difference.
• Pupils build a strong sense of citizenship through leadership roles and community activities, developing confidence and responsibility.
• Leaders provide a wide range of clubs, visits and enrichment that extend pupils' interests and respond to parent feedback.
• The school promotes an inclusive culture where pupils with different needs feel welcome and receive well-matched support.
• Staff are skilled at providing extra help for children with additional needs and those who speak English as an additional language.
• Pupils with autism in the resourced provision are supported effectively and join mainstream classes when appropriate.
• Leaders have a clear and ambitious curriculum with a strong focus on reading, writing and mathematics.
• Staff use high-quality interactions, play and routines to develop children's language and early number skills.
• Leaders take staff wellbeing and workload seriously, and staff report high confidence in leadership.
• Those responsible for governance meet their statutory duties and provide effective challenge and support.
• Pupils usually behave calmly and show positive attitudes to learning.
• Attendance is improving and leaders act quickly to address absence, with strong systems in place.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, still miss too much school, and persistent absence rates remain higher than national averages.
• The curriculum is not yet consistently implemented across all subjects, and in some lessons learning is not broken down clearly enough for pupils to fully understand new ideas.
• Pupils do not always apply their writing skills in other subjects.
• Some low-level disruption can affect learning time in a few lessons.
• Communication with parents could be clearer, especially when pupils move classes.
• Some improvements are not yet as fully embedded as leaders would like, and practice can vary in a small number of 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 The Rushmere Park Academy attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.8% 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, 4.9% of pupils at The Rushmere Park Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 The Rushmere Park Academy had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.0% 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, 10.1% of pupils at The Rushmere Park Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 10 pupils.

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 The Rushmere Park Academy received £8,136 and spent £9,032 for each of its 184 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £176,000 (£958 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Advantage Schools, income was £7,950 and spending £7,863 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 Leighton Buzzard · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

The Rushmere Park Academy is part of Advantage Schools, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Houstone School Dunstable
• The Vale Academy Dunstable
• The Chalk Hills Academy Luton
• The Stockwood Park Academy Luton
• The Linden Academy Luton
• Elstow School Bedford
• Queen's Park Academy Bedford
• Bedford Free School Bedford
• Laburnum Primary School Sandy

What is The Rushmere Park Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Rushmere Park Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was The Rushmere Park Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Rushmere Park Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does The Rushmere Park Academy have?

The Rushmere Park Academy has 207 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Rushmere Park Academy cover?

The Rushmere Park Academy for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is The Rushmere Park Academy?

The Rushmere Park Academy is at East Street, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1EW.