St James' CofE Academy

Bedford · MK40 4BD

General information Primary School · 5-11 years Who goes here 194 pupils, 18% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10.8% on SEN support Behaviour 4.9% absence rate Staff 24.9% turnover Financials £5,979 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St James' CofE Academy

General Information

Address: Main Road, Biddenham, Bedford, MK40 4BD – View on map
Phone: 01234352721
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Alison Barden
Age range: 5-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 28 families put it first for 30 places – 9 for every 10 places. 96% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 11 · 2025 8 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

194 pupils out of 210 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 35
% eligible for free school meals: 18.0%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Bedford average)
English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 24.9% a year (Bedford 15.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% 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 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: 4.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 12.5%
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: 10.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Autistic spectrum disorder: 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

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 54% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 11% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 4 percentage points below the Bedford average (58%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 59% against an expected 66%)
3-year average (expected standard): 59%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 79% · Writing 61% · Maths 64% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 75%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 103
Based on: 28 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↘ Falling Down 17 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 4 percentage points below the Bedford average (58%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 31st of 50 junior and primary schools in the area

#30Milton Ernest CofE Primary School55%
=31Shackleton Primary School54%
=31St James' CofE Academy54%
#33Springfield Primary School51%
=34Priory Primary School50%

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £5,979 (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.

40th of 52 primary schools in Bedford for spending per pupil

#38Bromham CofE Primary School£6,052
#39Great Denham Primary School£6,012
#40St James' CofE Academy£5,979
#41Shortstown Primary School£5,959
#42Kempston Rural Primary School£5,921

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

#1Willow Grove Primary School£13,547
#2Wilden CofE VA Primary School£12,410
#3Ravensden CofE Primary Academy£11,101
#4Kymbrook Primary School£9,795
#5Christopher Reeves CofE VA Primary School£9,313
#6Eileen Wade Primary School£9,268
#7Carlton CofE Primary School£8,672
#8Pinchmill Primary School£8,496
#9Sheerhatch Primary School£8,335
#10Roxton Church of England Academy£8,263
#11Priory Primary School£8,179
#12Turvey Primary School£8,136
#13Thurleigh Primary School£8,065
#14Riseley CofE Primary School£7,836
#15St Lawrence Church of England Primary School£7,691
#16King's Oak Primary School£7,458
#17Goldington Green Academy£7,374
#18Renhold VC Primary School£7,199
#19Edith Cavell Primary School£7,096
#20St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School£6,984
#21Bedford Road Primary Academy£6,968
#22Livingstone Primary School£6,898
#23Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy£6,857
#24Shackleton Primary School£6,830
#25Putnoe Primary School£6,816
#26Westfield Primary School£6,777
#27Springfield Primary School£6,765
#28Broadmead Lower School£6,694
#29Brickhill Primary School£6,666
#30Harrold Primary Academy£6,582
#31Queen's Park Academy£6,550
#32Oakley Primary Academy£6,536
#33Scott Primary School & Nursery£6,495
#34Balliol Primary School£6,435
#35Cauldwell School£6,358
#36Sharnbrook Primary£6,353
#37The Hills Academy£6,341
#38Bromham CofE Primary School£6,052
#39Great Denham Primary School£6,012
#40St James' CofE Academy£5,979
#41Shortstown Primary School£5,959
#42Kempston Rural Primary School£5,921
#43Camestone School£5,903
#44Cotton End Forest School£5,830
#45St John Rigby Catholic Primary School£5,768
#46Hazeldene School£5,707
#47Wixams Tree Primary Academy£5,650
#48Great Ouse Primary Academy£5,615
#49Wootton Primary School£5,596
#50Elstow School£5,560
#51Ursula Taylor Church of England School£5,521
#52Lakeview School£2,428

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

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