Shepherdswell Academy
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Shepherdswell Academy is a converter academy in Milton Keynes for boys and girls aged 2 to 7. It has 108 pupils and room for 180. About 21 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 41 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Billingwell Place, Springfield, Milton Keynes, MK6 3NP01908 735865shepherdswell.emat.ukMrs Zoe McIntyre principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 November 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
91 places were empty (51% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 41% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place.
| Entry | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | – all offered | LA |
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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (6), language and communications needs (3), emotional and mental health (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 108 | 115 | 136 | 137 | 140 | 146 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 18% | 19% | 21% | 31% | 24% | 23% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 52% | 52% | 57% | 34% | 34% | 48% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 10% | 10% | 12% | 4% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 4% | 6% | 6% | 4% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.3% 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 | 4.7% | 4.8% | 5.9% | 6.1% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.5% | 3.4% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 2.1% | 2.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 17.1% | 12.6% | 16.2% | 21.2% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| 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 academy accounts return, year to August 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard Academy | Academy | 380 m | 294 | Good 2023 | 6 | Compare |
| The Willows School and Early Years Centre | Council | 680 m | 174 | Good 2023 | 15 | Compare |
| Falconhurst School | Council | 0.7 miles | 268 | Good 2021 | 31 | Compare |
| Jubilee Wood Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 508 | Good 2022 | 53 | Compare |
| Middleton Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 629 | Outstanding 2023 | 100 | Compare |
| Downs Barn School | Council | 1.0 miles | 96 | Good 2024 | 13 | Compare |
| Oakgrove School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 2,527 | Not inspected | 79 | Compare |
| St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 1.1 miles | 386 | Good 2022 | 69 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Shepherdswell Academy 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.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 41 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 41% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 18 to 70. 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 | 20% | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 2.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.10 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.04 | 2024/25; 70 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 Shepherdswell Academy a good school?
It is about average. Shepherdswell Academy scores 41 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 18 to 70, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Shepherdswell Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Shepherdswell Academy good at its last full inspection on 28 November 2023.
How many pupils does Shepherdswell Academy have?
108 pupils aged 2 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 60% full.
Is Shepherdswell Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 91 places were empty in 2024/25 (51% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Shepherdswell Academy?
Pupils were in school 95.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Shepherdswell Academy?
The average class had 23.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Billingwell Place, Springfield, Milton Keynes, MK6 3NP
- Telephone
- 01908 735865
- Website
- www.shepherdswell.emat.uk
- Principal
- Mrs Zoe McIntyre
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 2-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- East Midlands Academy Trust (12 schools)
- Local authority
- Milton Keynes
- Ward
- Campbell Park & Old Woughton
- Constituency
- Milton Keynes Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2012 (academy converter)
- URN
- 138715 · LAESTAB 8262319 · UKPRN 10038618
- Formerly
- Shepherdswell School
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.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Milton Keynes council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- 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.