Bedford Primary School

Bedford Primary School is a caring, inclusive school where warm relationships and a strong personal development offer stand out. Pupils feel safe, behave well, and benefit from an extensive range of enrichment activities, pupil leadership roles, and wellbeing support. Attendance is improving, and the school is effective at supporting inclusion, pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils, and those who join at different times of the year. The main concern is academic achievement. Pupils have gaps in knowledge, particularly in writing and mathematics, and published outcomes at the end of key stage 2 and in the Year 4 multiplication tables check are below national averages. Phonics has improved but remains below average. Teaching does not consistently check and address gaps in learning, curriculum links are sometimes weak, and early years provision does not develop communication and language as well as it could. Absence and persistent absence also remain above national averages. Leaders, trustees and governors know the school and its community well, and they have begun targeted improvements, though staffing instability has slowed some work. The school serves a disadvantaged community with high levels of free school meals and SEND. Safeguarding is met. Next steps focus on securing foundational English and mathematics knowledge, improving responsive teaching, strengthening early years interactions, and reducing absence further.

Strengths

• Impressive personal development programme that prepares pupils for life beyond school.
• Pupils take on responsible roles such as councillors, subject ambassadors and young interpreters.
• Strong focus on pupil wellbeing, with worry boxes and swift support for concerns.
• Extensive enrichment offer, including performances, dance, craft, baking and sport.
• Positive behaviour culture built on kindness, care and respect.
• Inclusive approach that welcomes new arrivals and supports pupils with EAL.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, including tailored adaptations and individual curricula.
• Attendance is improving and persistent absence is declining.
• Early reading and phonics are taught well, with pupils reading increasingly fluently.
• Leaders, trustees and governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge.
• Staff feel well supported and value professional development.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have gaps in knowledge across the curriculum, especially in writing and mathematics.
• Attainment at the end of key stage 2 and in the Year 4 multiplication tables check is below national averages.
• Phonics screening outcomes improved but remain below the national average.
• Disadvantaged pupils have significant attainment gaps compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.
• Teacher checks on learning do not identify or address gaps well enough.
• Pupils are not well supported to make links between previous and new learning in some subjects.
• Early years communication and language provision is not strong enough to develop children's language well.
• Early years staff do not use checks on early writing and mathematics well enough to address gaps.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages.
• Staffing instability has slowed some improvement work, though leaders have prioritised it.

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 Bedford Primary School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.2% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Bedford Primary 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 Bedford Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.4% 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, 21.9% of pupils at Bedford Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.6% 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 Bedford Primary School received £8,728 and spent £8,928 for each of its 407 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £102,000 (£252 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Southport Learning Trust, income was £7,959 and spending £8,218 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.

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All schools in Liverpool · Sefton local authority: places and applications

Bedford Primary School is part of Southport Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Maghull High School Liverpool
• Range High School Liverpool
• Merefield School Southport
• Birkdale High School Southport
• Greenbank High School Southport
• Kew Woods Primary School Southport
• Meols Cop High School Southport
• Stanley High School Southport

What is Bedford Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bedford Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Bedford Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bedford Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Bedford Primary School have?

Bedford Primary School has 393 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bedford Primary School cover?

Bedford Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Bedford Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bedford Primary School?

Bedford Primary School is at Quarry Road, Bootle, Liverpool, Merseyside, L20 9LJ.