Primary
John Donne Church of England Primary School
High Street, Blunham, Bedford, MK44 3NL
Key facts
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 119 of 208 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 28.0
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Religious character
- Yes
- Nursery
- Yes
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 4.0
- All staff (FTE)
- 7.8
- Pupils per adult
- 14.3
- Pupils
- 112
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected November 2023
Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudesRequires improvement
- Early yearsRequires improvement
- Leadership and governanceRequires improvement
- Personal developmentRequires improvement
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections1
February 2022
Ungraded inspection
Good
Read the report (opens in a new tab)
SATs results
29%
26 points below the Bedford average (55% across 51 schools)
102.0
2.6 below the Bedford average (104.6 across 51 schools)
51st of 51 by our score, among the primary schools in Bedford we can score - 70 in total, the rest without enough published data. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average maths score | 100 |
| Average reading score | 102 |
| Reading, writing and maths | 29% |
| Working at a higher standard | 6% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time3 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 50% |
| 23/24 | 42% |
| 24/25 | 29% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 106.0 |
| 23/24 | 103.0 |
| 24/25 | 102.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 101.0 |
| 23/24 | 97.0 |
| 24/25 | 100.0 |
High Street, Blunham, Bedford, MK44 3NL
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 15 January, the year before starting.
Central Bedfordshire admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Anita Whitehurst
- Address
- High Street, Blunham, Bedford, MK44 3NL
- Telephone
- 01767640346