Ridgeway School
Hill Rise, Kempston, Bedford, MK42 7EB
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Acting Head
- Mr Joe Creswick (Executive Head)
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 125
- Pupils on roll
- 125
- URN
- 109742
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234402402
About this school
Ridgeway School is a community special school in Bedford. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 125 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 2 April 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -7.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -7.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ridgeway School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bedford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 16.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 95 |
| 2023/24 | 104 |
| 2024/25 | 122 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37%
- English as an additional language
- 18.9%
- Overall absence
- 12.94%
- Persistent absence
- 46.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Greys Education Centre0.7 miles
Academies · Bedford
-
Rivertree Free School0.9 miles
Free Schools · Bedford
-
Grange Academy1.2 miles
Academies · Bedford
-
St John's School1.7 miles
Academies · Bedford
-
Polam School2.6 miles
Independent schools · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
- Cambian Walnut Tree Lodge School Special schools
- Grange Academy Academies
- Greys Education Centre Academies
- Rivertree Free School Free Schools
- St John's School Academies
- Cherry Trees Nursery School Nursery
- Peter Pan Nursery School Nursery
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Bedford Road Primary Academy Primary
- Brickhill Primary School Primary
- Broadmead Lower School Primary
- Bromham CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ridgeway School teach?
- Ridgeway School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Bedford.
- Who is the acting head of Ridgeway School?
- The acting head of Ridgeway School is Mr Joe Creswick (Executive Head), as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ridgeway School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ridgeway School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Ridgeway School?
- Ridgeway School has 125 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Ridgeway School full?
- Ridgeway School has capacity for 125 pupils and 125 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ridgeway School a faith school?
- No. Ridgeway School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Ridgeway School have?
- The schools register lists Ridgeway School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Ridgeway School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Ridgeway School's absence rate?
- Ridgeway School's overall absence rate is 12.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ridgeway School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ridgeway School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.