River Bank Primary School

Luton · LU3 1ES

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 793 pupils, 23.5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 14.5% on SEN support Behaviour 6.5% absence rate Staff 12.8% turnover Financials £5,427 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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River Bank Primary School

General Information

Address: Bath Road, Luton, LU3 1ES – View on map
Phone: 01582531860
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Headteacher David Sansom
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 106 families put it first for 115 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 8 · 2025 7 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

793 pupils out of 840 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 186
% eligible for free school meals: 23.5%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (similar to the Luton average)
English as an additional language: 63% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.8% a year (Luton 15.9%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 56% moved to another school, 44% 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.

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 Luton: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 3 (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 Luton, 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: 6.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 18.1%
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: 14.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 55 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 27 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 23 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Hearing impairment: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 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 2019 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: 78% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Luton average (65%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 71% against an expected 62%)
3-year average (expected standard): 71%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 85% · Writing 82% · Maths 93% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 88%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 108
Based on: 82 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 schoolLuton averageEngland↗ Improving Up 16 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Luton average (65%).

Year 6 SATs: 7th of 37 junior and primary schools in the area

=5Chantry Primary Academy79%
=5Downside Primary School79%
#7River Bank Primary School78%
#8Waulud Primary School77%
#9Putteridge Primary School76%

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

#1Leagrave Primary School91%
#2Hillborough Junior School87%
#3Denbigh Primary School82%
#4Tennyson Road Primary School80%
=5Chantry Primary Academy79%
=5Downside Primary School79%
#7River Bank Primary School78%
#8Waulud Primary School77%
#9Putteridge Primary School76%
=10St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School75%
=10The Meads Primary School75%
=12Bramingham Primary School73%
=12Stopsley Community Primary School73%
#14Southfield Primary Academy72%
#15William Austin Junior School71%
=16Cutenhoe Hill Primary School69%
=16Parklea Primary School69%
#18Icknield Primary School68%
=19Maidenhall Primary School67%
=19Someries Junior School67%
=21Foxdell Primary School66%
=21St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary School66%
=21Whitefield Primary Academy66%
=24Farley Junior Academy64%
=24The Linden Academy64%
#26Dallow Primary School63%
#27Bushmead Primary & Nursery School60%
=28Beech Hill Community Primary School58%
=28Wigmore Primary58%
#30St Matthew's Primary School57%
#31Ramridge Primary School56%
#32Ferrars Junior School55%
#33Pirton Hill Primary School54%
#34Warden Hill Junior School53%
#35Beechwood Primary School46%
#36Norton Road Primary School43%
#37Wenlock CofE Academy30%

View full Ofsted inspection report

15th of 27 primary schools in Luton for Ofsted rating

#13Putteridge Primary SchoolGood
#14Ramridge Primary SchoolGood
#15River Bank Primary SchoolGood
#16Sacred Heart Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#17Southfield Primary AcademyGood

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

#1Denbigh Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Leagrave Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Tennyson Road Primary SchoolOutstanding
#4Beechwood Primary SchoolGood
#5Bramingham Primary SchoolGood
#6Bushmead Primary & Nursery SchoolGood
#7Chantry Primary AcademyGood
#8Dallow Primary SchoolGood
#9Downside Primary SchoolGood
#10Icknield Primary SchoolGood
#11Norton Road Primary SchoolGood
#12Parklea Primary SchoolGood
#13Putteridge Primary SchoolGood
#14Ramridge Primary SchoolGood
#15River Bank Primary SchoolGood
#16Sacred Heart Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#17Southfield Primary AcademyGood
#18St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#19St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#20St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#21St Matthew's Primary SchoolGood
#22Stopsley Community Primary SchoolGood
#23The Linden AcademyGood
#24The Meads Primary SchoolGood
#25Waulud Primary SchoolGood
#26Whitefield Primary AcademyGood
#27Wigmore PrimaryGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £5,427 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

30th of 31 primary schools in Luton for spending per pupil

#28Tennyson Road Primary School£5,585
#29St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School£5,565
#30River Bank Primary School£5,427
#31Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School£5,319

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Cutenhoe Hill Primary School£9,869
#2Icknield Primary School£7,784
#3Chantry Primary Academy£7,537
#4Pirton Hill Primary School£7,521
#5Bramingham Primary School£7,423
#6Leagrave Primary School£7,421
#7Waulud Primary School£7,246
#8Whitefield Primary Academy£7,085
#9Maidenhall Primary School£6,925
#10Ramridge Primary School£6,870
#11St Matthew's Primary School£6,780
#12The Meads Primary School£6,762
#13Foxdell Primary School£6,683
#14Dallow Primary School£6,674
#15Downside Primary School£6,667
#16Beechwood Primary School£6,650
#17Parklea Primary School£6,493
#18Wigmore Primary£6,474
#19The Linden Academy£6,422
#20Denbigh Primary School£6,402
#21Bushmead Primary & Nursery School£6,384
#22Stopsley Community Primary School£6,227
#23Beech Hill Community Primary School£6,221
#24Norton Road Primary School£6,206
#25Southfield Primary Academy£6,171
#26Putteridge Primary School£5,968
#27St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary School£5,791
#28Tennyson Road Primary School£5,585
#29St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary School£5,565
#30River Bank Primary School£5,427
#31Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School£5,319

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

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