Castle & Kingsway (E02003627) is part of Bedford local authority (view on map). Castle & Kingsway has an approximate population of 11,000 people, of which 17% are children 15 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".
Castle & Kingsway neighbours De Parys, Harpur, Newnham, Queens Park, Kingsbrook, Cauldwell, and Kempston North.
Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.
The data displayed is sourced from:
Castle & Kingsway is the 15th least deprived area in Bedford (out of 21) with 39% of children living in low-income families, compared to 34% across Bedford and 38% nationally.
Information acquired from the school census.
In Castle & Kingsway, 22% of state-funded pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 24% in Bedford and 27% nationally.
| % in Castle & Kingsway | % in Bedford | % in England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible for free school meals | 22% | 24% | 27% |
| Not eligible for free school meals | 78% | 76% | 73% |
In Castle & Kingsway, 13% of pupils in state-funded settings have special educational needs (SEN), compared to 17% in Bedford, and 19% nationally.
This includes the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan and the number of pupils with SEN support.
| % in Castle & Kingsway | % in Bedford | % in England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No special educational needs | 87% | 83% | 81% |
| Receiving special educational needs support | 8% | 12% | 14% |
| With an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) | 5% | 5% | 5% |
In Castle & Kingsway, 46% of pupils are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 41% in Bedford, and 33% nationally.
Percentages may not sum to 100%, due to small values being suppressed.
| % in Castle & Kingsway | % in Bedford | % in England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 52% | 59% | 67% |
| Asian | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| Black | 14% | 9% | 7% |
| Mixed | 11% | 12% | 7% |
| Other | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| Not known | 2% | 2% | 2% |
The percentage of pupils in Castle & Kingsway with English as an additional language is 40%, compared with 26% in Bedford, and 22% nationally.
Numbers may not sum to 100%, due to a small number of pupils with an unclassified language.
| % in Castle & Kingsway | % in Bedford | % in England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Known or believed to be other than English | 40% | 26% | 22% |
| Known or believed to be English | 59% | 74% | 78% |
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Castle & Kingsway has 8 registered childcare providers.
| Type | Number in Castle & Kingsway |
|---|---|
| All childcare providers | 8 |
| Childminders | 1 |
| Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care | 7 |
There have been no inspections of childcare providers in Castle & Kingsway since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.
Castle & Kingsway has 2 state-funded schools.
| Type | Number in Castle & Kingsway |
|---|---|
| All state-funded schools | 2 |
| Nursery schools | 0 |
| Primary and all-through schools | 2 |
| Secondary and all-through schools | 0 |
| Special schools | 0 |
| Registered alternative provision | 0 |
In Castle & Kingsway, there has been 1 full inspection of schools since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.
Under the renewed education inspection framework, schools are evaluated on the following areas:
The evaluation scale for each evaluation area, other than safeguarding, is:
Achievement: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Attendance and behaviour: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Curriculum and teaching: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Early years: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Inclusion: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Personal development and wellbeing: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).
Post-16 provision: There have been no inspections of Post-16 provision in Castle & Kingsway so no outcomes are available for this area.
The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of state-funded schools in Castle & Kingsway. The tables are split by provider type, and show the number of inspections that have taken place for each area, and the outcomes of those inspections.
| Number of inspections | Exceptional | Strong standard | Expected standard | Needs attention | Urgent improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Curriculum and teaching | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Early years | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Inclusion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Leadership and governance | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal development and wellbeing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Post-16 provision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of inspections | Exceptional | Strong standard | Expected standard | Needs attention | Urgent improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curriculum and teaching | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Early years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inclusion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leadership and governance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal development and wellbeing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Post-16 provision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of inspections | Exceptional | Strong standard | Expected standard | Needs attention | Urgent improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Curriculum and teaching | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Early years | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Inclusion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Leadership and governance | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal development and wellbeing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Post-16 provision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of inspections | Exceptional | Strong standard | Expected standard | Needs attention | Urgent improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curriculum and teaching | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Early years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inclusion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leadership and governance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal development and wellbeing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Post-16 provision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of inspections | Exceptional | Strong standard | Expected standard | Needs attention | Urgent improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curriculum and teaching | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Early years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inclusion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leadership and governance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal development and wellbeing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Post-16 provision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of inspections | Exceptional | Strong standard | Expected standard | Needs attention | Urgent improvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curriculum and teaching | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Early years | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Inclusion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leadership and governance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Personal development and wellbeing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Post-16 provision | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Data sources: