Milton Ernest CofE Primary School

Bedford · MK44 1RF

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 67 pupils, 7.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 11.9% on SEN support Behaviour 5.5% absence rate Staff 17.5% turnover Financials Spending and funding Environment Buildings and facilities

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Milton Ernest CofE Primary School

General Information

Address: Thurleigh Road, Milton Ernest, Bedford, MK44 1RF – View on map
Phone: 01234822079
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Lisa Virnuls
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 5 families put it first for 5 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 3 of the 5 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

67 pupils out of 84 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 5
% eligible for free school meals: 7.5%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (less mixed than the Bedford average)
English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 17.5% a year (Bedford 15.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 100% moved to another school, 0% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bedford: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Bedford, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 16.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 55% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 9% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 3 percentage points below the Bedford average (58%)
3-year average (expected standard): 54%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 64% · Writing 55% · Maths 82% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 73%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 104
Based on: 11 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolBedford averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 3 percentage points below the Bedford average (58%).

Year 6 SATs: 30th of 50 junior and primary schools in the area

=27Putnoe Primary School57%
#29Riseley CofE Primary School56%
#30Milton Ernest CofE Primary School55%
=31Shackleton Primary School54%
=31St James' CofE Academy54%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Harrold Primary Academy81%
#2Cotton End Forest School77%
=3Hazeldene School75%
=3Kymbrook Primary School75%
=5Bromham CofE Primary School74%
=5Cauldwell School74%
=5Elstow School74%
#8Great Denham Primary School72%
#9Turvey Primary School71%
#10Sharnbrook Primary70%
#11St Lawrence Church of England Primary School68%
=12Carlton CofE Primary School67%
=12Castle Newnham School67%
=12Great Ouse Primary Academy67%
=12Kempston Rural Primary School67%
=16Oakley Primary Academy63%
=16The Hills Academy63%
=16Wilden CofE VA Primary School63%
#19Goldington Green Academy62%
=20King's Oak Primary School61%
=20Queen's Park Academy61%
=22Eileen Wade Primary School60%
=22Shortstown Primary School60%
=22Wixams Tree Primary Academy60%
#25Scott Primary School & Nursery59%
#26Edith Cavell Primary School58%
=27Brickhill Primary School57%
=27Putnoe Primary School57%
#29Riseley CofE Primary School56%
#30Milton Ernest CofE Primary School55%
=31Shackleton Primary School54%
=31St James' CofE Academy54%
#33Springfield Primary School51%
=34Priory Primary School50%
=34Sheerhatch Primary School50%
=34Thurleigh Primary School50%
=37Livingstone Primary School49%
=37St John Rigby Catholic Primary School49%
=39Camestone School48%
=39Westfield Primary School48%
=41Bedford Road Primary Academy46%
=41Christopher Reeves CofE VA Primary School46%
#43St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School44%
#44Renhold VC Primary School43%
#45Balliol Primary School39%
#46Ursula Taylor Church of England School35%
#47Pinchmill Primary School29%
#48Roxton Church of England Academy27%
#49Ravensden CofE Primary Academy9%
#50Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy0%

View full Ofsted inspection report

17th of 38 primary schools in Bedford for Ofsted rating

#15Lakeview SchoolGood
#16Livingstone Primary SchoolGood
#17Milton Ernest CofE Primary SchoolGood
#18Oakley Primary AcademyGood
#19Pinchmill Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Great Denham Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Balliol Primary SchoolGood
#3Brickhill Primary SchoolGood
#4Broadmead Lower SchoolGood
#5Bromham CofE Primary SchoolGood
#6Camestone SchoolGood
#7Christopher Reeves CofE VA Primary SchoolGood
#8Edith Cavell Primary SchoolGood
#9Elstow SchoolGood
#10Great Barford Church of England Primary AcademyGood
#11Harrold Primary AcademyGood
#12Hazeldene SchoolGood
#13Kempston Rural Primary SchoolGood
#14Kymbrook Primary SchoolGood
#15Lakeview SchoolGood
#16Livingstone Primary SchoolGood
#17Milton Ernest CofE Primary SchoolGood
#18Oakley Primary AcademyGood
#19Pinchmill Primary SchoolGood
#20Putnoe Primary SchoolGood
#21Queen's Park AcademyGood
#22Ravensden CofE Primary AcademyGood
#23Riseley CofE Primary SchoolGood
#24Roxton Church of England AcademyGood
#25Scott Primary School & NurseryGood
#26Sharnbrook PrimaryGood
#27Springfield Primary SchoolGood
#28St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-SchoolGood
#29St John Rigby Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#30The Hills AcademyGood
#31Thurleigh Primary SchoolGood
#32Turvey Primary SchoolGood
#33Ursula Taylor Church of England SchoolGood
#34Westfield Primary SchoolGood
#35Wilden CofE VA Primary SchoolGood
#36Wilstead Primary SchoolGood
#37Wixams Tree Primary AcademyGood
#38Wootton Primary SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil, and how this school compares to others nearby, will appear here once we've linked in official DfE spending data.

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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