St Mary's VA CofE Lower School

Central Bedfordshire · MK45 4BE

General information Primary School · 2-9 years Who goes here 134 pupils, 11.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.4% on SEN support Behaviour 4.0% absence rate Staff 0% turnover Financials £7,774 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary's VA CofE Lower School

General Information

Address: High Street, Clophill, MK45 4BE – View on map
Phone: 01525860206
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Karen Bingley
Age range: 2-9 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 23 families put it first for 26 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 4 of the 26 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

134 pupils out of 150 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 13
% eligible for free school meals: 11.8%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Central Bedfordshire average)
English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 0% a year (Central Bedfordshire 16.8%, typical in England 13.9%)
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 Central Bedfordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 4 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 7 (0.3 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 Central Bedfordshire, 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: 4.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 4.8%
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: 13.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 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

Ofsted report card March 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Strong standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results for this school haven't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,774 (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.

22nd of 91 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for spending per pupil

#20Studham Village CofE Academy£7,851
#21Kingsmoor Lower School£7,816
#22St Mary's VA CofE Lower School£7,774
#23St. Augustine's Academy£7,761
#24John Donne Church of England Primary School£7,735

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

#1Ridgmont Lower School£41,501
#2Husborne Crawley Lower School£11,398
#3Southill Lower School£10,063
#4Shillington Lower School£9,813
#5Caldecote Church of England Academy£9,367
#6Woburn Lower School£9,290
#7Northill CofE Academy£8,983
#8Kensworth Church of England Academy£8,821
#9Hockliffe Lower School£8,785
#10St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School£8,700
#11Moggerhanger Primary School£8,526
#12Eversholt Lower School£8,500
#13The Rushmere Park Academy£8,495
#14Chalton Lower School£8,445
#15Lidlington Primary School£8,436
#16Haynes Lower School£8,367
#17Slip End Village School£8,276
#18Sundon Lower School£8,117
#19Everton Heath Primary School£8,013
#20Studham Village CofE Academy£7,851
#21Kingsmoor Lower School£7,816
#22St Mary's VA CofE Lower School£7,774
#23St. Augustine's Academy£7,761
#24John Donne Church of England Primary School£7,735
#25Laburnum Primary School£7,693
#26Robert Peel Primary School£7,505
#27Houghton Conquest Primary School£7,398
#28Gothic Mede Academy£7,377
#29Biggleswade Academy£7,263
#30Heathwood Lower School£7,247
#31St Mary's CofE Academy Stotfold£7,140
#32Raynsford Church of England Academy£7,084
#33Silsoe CofE VC Lower School£7,081
#34Caddington Village School£7,080
#35Dovery Academy£7,025
#36Thomas Whitehead Church of England Academy£7,007
#37Eaton Bray Academy£6,981
#38Sutton CofE VA Primary School£6,936
#39Stondon Lower School£6,935
#40Stanbridge Lower School£6,892
#41Greenfield CofE VC Lower School£6,868
#42Leedon Lower School£6,867
#43Maulden Lower School£6,865
#44Clifton All Saints Academy£6,858
#45Westoning Lower School£6,856
#46Lancot School£6,834
#47Pulford CofE VA Lower School£6,806
#48Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School£6,727
#49Harlington Lower School£6,717
#50Totternhoe Church of England Academy£6,693
#51Fairfield Park Lower School£6,674
#52The Vale Academy£6,646
#53Gravenhurst Academy£6,611
#54The Mary Bassett Lower School£6,589
#55Toddington St George Church of England School£6,562
#56Ramsey Manor Lower School£6,520
#57Greenleas School£6,512
#58Lawnside Academy£6,487
#59Maple Tree Primary School£6,455
#60Russell Lower School£6,446
#61Marston Moreteyne VC School£6,408
#62Flitwick Lower School£6,396
#63Houghton Regis Primary School£6,376
#64Linslade Lower School£6,326
#65Ardley Hill Academy£6,302
#66Shefford Lower School£6,292
#67Cranfield Church of England Academy£6,279
#68Hadrian Academy£6,266
#69Potton Primary School£6,256
#70Southcott Lower School£6,239
#71The Firs Lower School£6,237
#72Beaudesert Lower School£6,230
#73Langford Village Academy£6,212
#74Roecroft Lower School£6,189
#75Tithe Farm Primary School£6,051
#76St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School£5,925
#77Dunstable Icknield Lower School£5,901
#78Derwent Primary School£5,900
#79Lark Rise Academy£5,890
#80St Mary's Catholic Primary School£5,889
#81St Vincent's Catholic Primary School£5,872
#82Clipstone Brook Lower School£5,785
#83Swallowfield Primary£5,767
#84Campton Academy£5,682
#85Thornhill Primary School£5,595
#86Templefield Lower School£5,513
#87St Christophers Academy£5,488
#88Lime Tree Primary Academy£5,452
#89Meppershall Church of England Academy£4,658
#90Beecroft Academy£3,385
#91Watling Lower School£1,643

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

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