The Chiltern School
The Chiltern School is a council special school in Dunstable for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 369 pupils and room for 400. About 37 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Parkside Drive, Dunstable, LU5 5PX01582 866972chiltern.beds.sch.ukMrs Lisa Leonard headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 23 February 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
GCSE results, summer 2025
25 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
31 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Central Bedfordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 31 | 23 | 32 | 8 | 12 | 15 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 53% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -1.7 | -6.8 | -9.2 | -3.9 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -2.5 | -7.7 | -9.1 | -4.4 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 0% | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At the end of primary school, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties.
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 autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (249), language and communications needs (43), Specific learning difficulty (33), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (10), Other difficulty or disability (8), emotional and mental health (7).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 369 | 347 | 330 | 300 | 268 | 247 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 37% | 33% | 34% | 32% | 30% | 30% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 17% | 18% | 16% | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.9% 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 | 10.1% | 10.5% | 11.8% | 9.9% | 9.1% | 10.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.3% | 7.3% | 8.0% | 7.9% | 7.3% | 6.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.7% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 3.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 33.7% | 36.6% | 38.1% | 33.2% | 32.4% | 26.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 8.9 | 7.3 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 2.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 12 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 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 special 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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houstone School | Free school | 100 m | 765 | No overall grade 2025 | 63 | Compare |
| The Academy of Central Bedfordshire | Free schools alternative provision | 350 m | 59 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Lime Tree Primary Academy | Academy | 510 m | 360 | Good 2024 | 39 | Compare |
| Thornhill Primary School | Council | 620 m | 516 | No overall grade 2025 | 74 | Compare |
| St Vincent's Catholic Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 213 | Good 2022 | 73 | Compare |
| Chalton Lower School | Council | 0.8 miles | 65 | Good 2023 | 58 | Compare |
| Tithe Farm Primary School | Council | 0.9 miles | 432 | No overall grade 2024 | 8 | Compare |
| Southfield Primary Academy | Academy | 1.0 miles | 405 | Good 2023 | 72 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Chiltern School a good school?
The Chiltern School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2023.
What is The Chiltern School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Chiltern School good at its last full inspection on 23 February 2023.
How good are The Chiltern School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does The Chiltern School have?
369 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 400 places, so it is 92% full.
What is attendance like at The Chiltern School?
Pupils were in school 89.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 34% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does The Chiltern School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does The Chiltern School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Parkside Drive, Dunstable, LU5 5PX
- Telephone
- 01582 866972
- Website
- www.chiltern.beds.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Leonard
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward
- Houghton Regis East
- Constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 109746 · LAESTAB 8237017 · UKPRN 10040156
- Formerly
- Hillcrest School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- 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.
- 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.