School Chooser

Tithe Farm Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedCouncil432 pupilsNurseryDunstableCentral Bedfordshire
School Chooser Score
8
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 4 to 15
Out of 100. Better than 0% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, December 2024
Reached the expected level at 1141%England 63%
Attendance93.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families22%A bit fewer than most schools
PlacesFull432 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher20.0School workforce census

Tithe Farm Primary School is a council school in Dunstable for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 432 pupils, 12 more than it has places for. About 22 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 8 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Tithe Farm Road, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5JB01582 865047tithefarmprimary.co.ukMrs Rachel Worsfold headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 10 December 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

59 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1141%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score101.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score100.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 70%70%20172018: 88%88%20182019: 82%82%20192023: 51%51%20232024: 45%45%20242025: 41%41%2025
Since 2017: -29%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Central BedfordshireEngland
Pupils tested595845394920
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths41%45%51%82%88%70%53%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%13%8%5%3%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score101.0101.0102.0106.0107.0104.0104.4105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score100.0100.0102.0106.0106.0103.0102.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score103.0101.0101.0108.0107.0108.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard58%60%71%92%92%90%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard54%53%71%85%92%75%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)58%57%58%92%92%90%
Reading progressReading progress score-2.6+2.9+2.1-1.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.7+2.3+1.3-1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged22%32%22%78%96%64%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged49%53%58%86%81%83%

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. 1 of the 4 gaps 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

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
22%49%
Gap 27 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
29%52%
Gap 23 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
55%41%
Gap 14 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

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.

Nearly full405 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
96% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have grown by 20% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

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.

Pupils on roll432Census January 2026
Places420103% full
Pupils from low-income families21%22% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English51%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support11%46 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%22 pupils with a plan
Average class size25.016 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)23%£139,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls234 / 198
White British pupils35%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (25), emotional and mental health (15), Moderate learning difficulty (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (9), Physical disability (5), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll432446444409359355
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals21%20%20%18%17%20%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language51%50%50%45%42%33%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support11%11%10%16%16%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%4%3%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school17.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils4.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.3%5.9%7.8%8.4%3.5%3.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.7%4.0%5.3%6.6%2.6%2.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.6%1.8%2.6%1.8%0.9%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence17.2%18.9%22.7%27.4%7.8%9.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate4.50.04.42.82.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00110

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers20.9full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher20.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers96%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants22.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£47,502
Teachers who left in the year21%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.62024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£6,058England £7,738. Total £2.6m
Income per pupil£6,539England £7,697. Total £2.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,689England £3,480
Money in reserve16%A healthy amount put by: £435k, £1,012 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£207kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,058spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m20712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate79 per 1,000 people13% lower than the England average
Typical house price£365,000Central Bedfordshire
Nearest bus stop50 mTithe Farm Lower School, 8 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Thomas Whitehead Church of England AcademyAcademy560 m206No overall grade 202511Compare
St Vincent's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy730 m213Good 202273Compare
Houghton Regis Primary SchoolCouncil850 m386No overall grade 20255Compare
Lime Tree Primary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles360Good 202439Compare
Thornhill Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles516No overall grade 202574Compare
The Vale AcademyAcademy1.4 miles601No overall grade 202569Compare
Chantry Primary AcademyAcademy1.4 miles631Good 202383Compare
Chalton Lower SchoolCouncil1.4 miles65Good 202358Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Tithe Farm Primary School with the 46 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 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats0%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 8 is 58 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 12 · middle 66 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 46 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Tithe Farm Primary 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.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Thornhill Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles516No overall grade 202574Compare
Parklea Primary SchoolCouncil2.5 miles547Good 202433Compare
Stopsley Community Primary SchoolCouncil5.3 miles479Good 202366Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 8 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 8% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 4 to 15. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.21
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 59 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 1.8 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.19
DfE progress measure; 59 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.08
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.06
2024/25; 373 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.24
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 59 pupils
What parents say0%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 Tithe Farm Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Tithe Farm Primary School scores 8 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 4 to 15, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Tithe Farm Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Tithe Farm Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 10 December 2024.

How good are Tithe Farm Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 41% 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 Tithe Farm Primary School have?

432 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 103% full.

Is Tithe Farm Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Tithe Farm Primary School?

Pupils were in school 93.7% 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 Tithe Farm Primary School?

The average class had 25.0 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
Tithe Farm Road, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5JB
Telephone
01582 865047
Website
www.tithefarmprimary.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Rachel Worsfold
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
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
109585 · LAESTAB 8232279 · UKPRN 10074566

Where these figures come from