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:
1. Harrold Primary Academy
At the top of the list is this primary academy in Harrold. It has a roll size of about 107, and a higher proportion of pupils meeting the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths than both the local and national averages. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a low overall absence rate of just 3.1%. | Google
2. Chalton Lower School
This is a small local authority-maintained lower school in the village of Chalton, just north of Luton. Like many primaries in Central Bedfordshire, it only takes pupils from the ages of 4 to 9 - and has a roll size of about 67. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 3.2%. | Google
3. Linslade Lower School
Another local authority-maintained lower school, this one is in Linslade, Leighton Buzzard. It takes pupils from the ages of 3 to 9, and has a roll size of about 173. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had an overall absence rate of 3.2%. | Google
4. Wrestlingworth CofE Infant School
This is a local authority-maintained Anglican infant school, which takes pupils from age 4 to 7, in the Central Bedfordshire village of Wrestlingworth. It has about 42 pupils. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an overall absence rate of 3.5%. | Google