Silsoe CofE VC Lower School
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Silsoe CofE VC Lower School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Bedford for boys and girls aged 4 to 9. It has 251 pupils and room for 300. About 8 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 60 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 23% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Chestnut Avenue, Silsoe, Bedford, MK45 4GP01525 860247silsoeschool.co.ukMrs Sarah Boyle headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 2 March 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
About 23 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. 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) and SEN unit with 0 pupils and a SEN unit with 0 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.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 23.8 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 25.5 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (8), language and communications needs (8), Specific learning difficulty (5), Moderate learning difficulty (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Multi-sensory impairment (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 251 | 278 | 283 | 269 | 279 | 269 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 8% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 14% | 11% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 8% | 11% | 11% | 6% | 5% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 7% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 6% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.5% 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 | 4.5% | 5.4% | 5.4% | 6.4% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.4% | 4.3% | 4.2% | 5.0% | 3.0% | 2.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 9.8% | 11.8% | 10.6% | 14.5% | 5.8% | 2.6% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 6.1 | 8.1 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield CofE VC Lower School | Academy | 1.5 miles | 145 | Good 2024 | 53 | Compare |
| St Mary's VA CofE Lower School | Church of England | 1.9 miles | 134 | Report card 2026 | 79 | Compare |
| Maulden Lower School | Council | 2.1 miles | 166 | Good 2023 | 27 | Compare |
| Gravenhurst Academy | Academy | 2.1 miles | 72 | Outstanding 2024 | 75 | Compare |
| Kingsmoor Lower School | Council | 2.5 miles | 167 | No overall grade 2025 | 83 | Compare |
| Ramsey Manor Lower School | Academy | 2.7 miles | 293 | No overall grade 2024 | 88 | Compare |
| Shillington Lower School | Council | 2.8 miles | 94 | Good 2023 | 17 | Compare |
| Arnold Academy | Academy | 2.9 miles | 704 | Good 2023 | 52 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Silsoe CofE VC Lower School with the 47 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 47 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 60 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 60% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 32 to 82. 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, 3.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.04 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.12 | 2024/25; 225 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 Silsoe CofE VC Lower School a good school?
It is about average. Silsoe CofE VC Lower School scores 60 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 23% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 32 to 82, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Silsoe CofE VC Lower School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Silsoe CofE VC Lower School good at its last full inspection on 2 March 2023.
How many pupils does Silsoe CofE VC Lower School have?
251 pupils aged 4 to 9 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 300 places, so it is 84% full.
Is Silsoe CofE VC Lower School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 23 places were empty in 2024/25 (8% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Silsoe CofE VC Lower School?
Pupils were in school 95.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Silsoe CofE VC Lower School?
The average class had 24.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does Silsoe CofE VC Lower School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) and sen unit 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.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Chestnut Avenue, Silsoe, Bedford, MK45 4GP
- Telephone
- 01525 860247
- Website
- www.silsoeschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Boyle
- Type of school
- Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of St Albans
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward
- Barton-le-Clay & Silsoe
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 109605 · LAESTAB 8233013 · UKPRN 10079879
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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.