Lime Tree Primary Academy

Lime Tree Primary Academy has been judged to be performing well overall, achieving a good rating in various domains including the quality of education, behavior, personal development, leadership, and early years provision. The school, which is part of the Tennyson Learning Community, is relatively new, having opened in 2021 and this inspection marks its first under the full section 5 evaluation. Pupils display pride in their school and a positive attitude towards learning, although there are concerns about achieving the highest possible outcomes consistently across all subjects. While the curriculum is developing, particularly in subjects introduced more recently, there are areas that require clearer planning and execution to better support student understanding and progress.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate good manners and are kind and welcoming.
• Teachers provide effective training and support for delivering the curriculum.
• The school has a strong focus on teaching early reading skills.
• Pupils with SEND receive some extra help and support.
• The overall school ethos promotes pride and positive engagement among students.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could due to complicated tasks.
• Curriculum planning in newer subjects lacks clarity on essential knowledge.
• Evaluation systems for SEND support are not well developed.
• Some pupils are absent too frequently, impacting their learning.

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 Lime Tree Primary Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.5% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Lime Tree 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 Lime Tree Primary Academy had 28.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 16.1% of pupils at Lime Tree Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Lime Tree Primary Academy received £6,075 and spent £6,035 for each of its 314 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £39,000 (£124 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Tennyson Learning Community, income was £6,543 and spending £6,128 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 Dunstable · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

Lime Tree Primary Academy is part of Tennyson Learning Community, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Tennyson Road Primary School Luton

What is Lime Tree Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lime Tree Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was Lime Tree Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Lime Tree Primary Academy was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does Lime Tree Primary Academy have?

Lime Tree Primary Academy has 360 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lime Tree Primary Academy cover?

Lime Tree Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lime Tree Primary Academy?

Lime Tree Primary Academy is at Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 5QN.