Laburnum Primary School

Laburnum Primary School is a small primary school within the Advantage Schools multi-academy trust. A full inspection found the school performing in line with expected standards across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development. Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders are ambitious and have introduced practical, lasting improvements since the school joined the trust, and parents are positive about the changes and the school’s inclusive, caring approach. The school’s strengths include strong early reading and phonics, secure early years foundations, calm and disruption-free classrooms, improved attendance systems, a well-sequenced curriculum, and effective inclusion. Pupils benefit from clear teaching routines, good extra-curricular opportunities and respectful relationships. However, pupils’ recall and independent use of detailed knowledge is still developing in a few foundation subjects, the transition from early years to Year 1 does not always build sufficiently on prior learning, and some pupils need more support to develop confidence and independence in social interactions. Leaders also recognise they need to check more consistently whether support is improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, and attendance remains above national averages despite recent improvement.

Strengths

• Early reading and phonics are strong, with most pupils reading accurately and a high Year 1 phonics pass rate.
• Children in the early years get a secure start in reading, spoken language and number.
• Pupils behave well in calm, disruption-free classrooms.
• Leaders have introduced systematic attendance tracking and swift follow-up with families.
• The trust’s well-sequenced curriculum helps pupils build knowledge step by step, especially in mathematics.
• Evidence-informed teaching routines through the trust’s playbook help pupils practise and work independently.
• Inclusion is careful and accurate, with targeted support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Leaders and governors are ambitious, monitor effectively and have put durable improvement systems in place.
• Staff workload and wellbeing are supported by better behaviour and professional learning.
• Pupils benefit from strong extra-curricular opportunities, including outdoor pursuits, music, sport and early swimming.
• Parents value the school’s inclusive, caring approach and the positive changes since joining the trust.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils’ recall and independent use of detailed knowledge is still developing in a few foundation subjects.
• Teaching in some foundation subjects does not yet help pupils remember more over time.
• The transition from early years to Year 1 does not always build sufficiently on children’s prior learning.
• Some pupils need more opportunities to develop confidence and independence in social interactions.
• Leaders are not yet consistent in checking whether support improves outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages, despite improvements.

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 Laburnum Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.3% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Laburnum 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 Laburnum Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.0% 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 Laburnum Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Laburnum Primary School received £6,836 and spent £8,230 for each of its 192 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £184,000 (£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 Sandy · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

Laburnum Primary School is part of Advantage Schools, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Elstow School Bedford
• Bedford Free School Bedford
• Queen's Park Academy Bedford
• Houstone School Dunstable
• The Chalk Hills Academy Luton
• The Linden Academy Luton
• The Vale Academy Dunstable
• The Stockwood Park Academy Luton
• The Rushmere Park Academy Leighton Buzzard

What is Laburnum Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Laburnum Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Laburnum Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Laburnum Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Laburnum Primary School have?

Laburnum Primary School has 174 pupils on roll.

What age range does Laburnum Primary School cover?

Laburnum Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Laburnum Primary School?

Laburnum Primary School is at Laburnum Road, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1HQ.