Shefford Lower School
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Shefford Lower School is a council school in Shefford for boys and girls aged 3 to 9. It has 514 pupils, 64 more than it has places for. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 44 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 25% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
School Lane, Shefford, SG17 5XA01462 629123sheffordlowerschool.co.ukMrs Polly Ross headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 5 May 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
The school is full, with 2 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Central Bedfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 9 pupils, for social, emotional and mental health.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Central Bedfordshire with social, emotional and mental health provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (47), language and communications needs (44), Moderate learning difficulty (18), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (14), Autistic spectrum disorder (10), Hearing impairment (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 514 | 518 | 515 | 516 | 509 | 503 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 13% | 11% | 11% | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 19% | 21% | 11% | 16% | 15% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 5.9% | 2.4% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.4% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 2.1% | 3.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.4% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 10.9% | 11.4% | 11.3% | 13.2% | 3.6% | 7.4% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 2.5 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 1.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Bloomfield Academy | Academy | 100 m | 962 | No overall grade 2025 | 93 | Compare |
| Campton Academy | Academy | 0.7 miles | 128 | Good 2023 | 70 | Compare |
| Meppershall Church of England Academy | Academy | 1.6 miles | 238 | Good 2024 | 5 | Compare |
| Clifton All Saints Academy | Academy | 1.7 miles | 229 | Good 2022 | 36 | Compare |
| Southill Lower School | Council | 2.2 miles | 78 | Report card 2025 | 86 | Compare |
| Gravenhurst Academy | Academy | 2.4 miles | 72 | Outstanding 2024 | 75 | Compare |
| Raynsford Church of England Academy | Academy | 2.5 miles | 246 | Not inspected | 87 | Compare |
| Stondon Lower School | Council | 2.5 miles | 136 | Good 2022 | 65 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Shefford Lower School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Shefford Lower School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazeldene School | Foundation | 9.0 miles | 443 | Not inspected | 75 | Compare |
| Brooklands Middle School | Academy | 15.4 miles | 598 | Good 2023 | 69 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 44 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 44% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 21 to 71. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.4 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.17 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | +0.07 | 2024/25; 367 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Shefford Lower School a good school?
It is about average. Shefford Lower School scores 44 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 25% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 21 to 71, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Shefford Lower School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Shefford Lower School good at its last full inspection on 5 May 2023.
How many pupils does Shefford Lower School have?
514 pupils aged 3 to 9 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 450 places, so it is 114% full.
Is Shefford Lower School oversubscribed?
Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 2 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.
What is attendance like at Shefford Lower School?
Pupils were in school 95.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 11% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Shefford Lower School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Shefford Lower School have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- School Lane, Shefford, SG17 5XA
- Telephone
- 01462 629123
- Website
- www.sheffordlowerschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Polly Ross
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-9, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward
- Shefford
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 109479 · LAESTAB 8232121 · UKPRN 10077783
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.