Primary schools aim to set their young pupils up for future success, by instilling in them a strong foundation of essential academic skills.
But to do that successfully, they need children to attend class as often as possible. And nationwide, England’s attendance rates leave a lot to be desired.
The Government’s latest absence and attendance figures, covering the full 2023/24 school year, show that the overall absence rate - the percentage of half-days missed for all pupils - still lingers well above pre-pandemic figures. One in five pupils were also labelled ‘persistently absent’, meaning they missed at least 10% of these half-day sessions.
A recent Department for Education report has demonstrated just how much this matters for a pupil’s outcomes, even in the early school years. It found that pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 6 were 1.3 times more likely to meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths compared to pupils who only attended 90-95% of the time. This means missing just 10 days of school cuts their chances by around 25%.
We’ve taken a look at overall absence rates for state-funded primary schools - including infant and lower schools, which are common across Central Bedfordshire - across the Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton council areas. Using this data, we’ve created a league table for parents featuring all of the local schools with absence rates below 4% - an outstanding achievement for any school community. This has allowed many smaller community and village schools to shine, although bigger schools with roll sizes in the hundreds have also made the list.
Here were the 15 Bedfordshire schools that met the mark:
13. Eileen Wade Primary School
Eileen Wade is a local authority-maintained primary school in Upper Dean, with about 76 pupils. It boasts an above average academic performance. In the 2023/24 school year, it also had an overall absence rate of 3.9%. | Google
14. Lark Rise Academy
Lark Rise is a full primary academy in Dunstable. It has about 360 pupils, and a considerably higher-than-average proportion of its Year 6s meeting Government standards in reading, writing, and maths. In the 2023/24 school year, it again had an overall absence rate of 3.9%. | Google
15. Thomas Johnson Lower School
Rounding out the list as the last Bedfordshire school with an absence rate below 4% is Thomas Johnson, a local authority-maintained lower school in Lidlington. It takes pupils from age 3 to 9, and has a roll size of about 93. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had an overall absence rate of 3.9%. | Google