Leighton Buzzard North & East

Summary

Leighton Buzzard North & East (E02003638) is part of Central Bedfordshire local authority (view on map). Leighton Buzzard North & East has an approximate population of 7,800 people, of which 18% are children 15 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Leighton Buzzard North & East neighbours Toddington, Heath & Reach, Leighton Buzzard Central, Linslade East, Leighton Buzzard South East, and Granborough, Stewkley & Great Brickhill.

Headlines

  • 10% of pupils are receiving SEN support, placing it in the bottom 10% of all areas in England – see more.
Guidance and data sources

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:

Deprivation

Leighton Buzzard North & East is the 14th least deprived area in Central Bedfordshire (out of 33) with 23% of children living in low-income families, compared to 25% across Central Bedfordshire and 38% nationally.

Data source

State-funded pupil characteristics

Information acquired from the school census.

Free school meals

In Leighton Buzzard North & East, 12% of state-funded pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 16% in Central Bedfordshire and 27% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

Table showing the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

% in Leighton Buzzard North & East % in Central Bedfordshire % in England
Eligible for free school meals 12% 16% 27%
Not eligible for free school meals 88% 84% 73%

Data source

Special educational needs

In Leighton Buzzard North & East, 15% of pupils in state-funded settings have special educational needs (SEN), compared to 17% in Central Bedfordshire, 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.

10% of pupils are receiving SEN support, placing it in the bottom 10% of all areas in England .

Contents

Percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

Table showing the percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

% in Leighton Buzzard North & East % in Central Bedfordshire % in England
No special educational needs 85% 83% 81%
Receiving special educational needs support 10% 11% 14%
With an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) 5% 6% 5%

Data source

Ethnicity

In Leighton Buzzard North & East, 12% of pupils are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 21% in Central Bedfordshire, and 33% nationally.

Percentages may not sum to 100%, due to small values being suppressed.

Contents

Percentage of pupils by major ethnic groups

Table

% in Leighton Buzzard North & East % in Central Bedfordshire % in England
White 86% 80% 67%
Asian 3% 5% 14%
Black 3% 4% 7%
Mixed 6% 9% 7%
Other – 1% 3%
Not known 2% 2% 2%

Data source

English as an additional language

The percentage of pupils in Leighton Buzzard North & East with English as an additional language is 9%, compared with 11% in Central Bedfordshire, and 22% nationally.

Numbers may not sum to 100%, due to a small number of pupils with an unclassified language.

Contents

Percentage of pupils with English as an additional language

Table

% in Leighton Buzzard North & East % in Central Bedfordshire % in England
Known or believed to be other than English 9% 11% 22%
Known or believed to be English 91% 89% 78%

Data source

Provider information

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Registered childcare providers

Leighton Buzzard North & East has 19 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Leighton Buzzard North & East
All childcare providers 19
Childminders 16
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 3

There have been no inspections of childcare providers in Leighton Buzzard North & East since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Data source

State-funded schools

Leighton Buzzard North & East has 6 state-funded schools.

Type Number in Leighton Buzzard North & East
All state-funded schools 6
Nursery schools 0
Primary and all-through schools 3
Secondary and all-through schools 2
Special schools 1
Registered alternative provision 0

In Leighton Buzzard North & East, 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:

  • Achievement
  • Attendance and behaviour
  • Curriculum and teaching
  • Early years (where applicable)
  • Inclusion
  • Leadership and governance
  • Personal development and wellbeing
  • Post 16 provision (where applicable)

The evaluation scale for each evaluation area, other than safeguarding, is:

  • Exceptional
  • Strong standard
  • Expected standard
  • Needs attention
  • Urgent improvement

Achievement: 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 1).

Attendance and behaviour: 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 1).

Curriculum and teaching: 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 1).

Early years: There have been no inspections of Early years in Leighton Buzzard North & East so no outcomes are available for this area.

Inclusion: 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 1).

Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 1).

Personal development and wellbeing: 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 1).

Post-16 provision: There have been no inspections of Post-16 provision in Leighton Buzzard North & East so no outcomes are available for this area.

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of state-funded schools in Leighton Buzzard North & East. 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.

Contents

All schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 0 0 1
Attendance and behaviour 1 0 0 0 0 1
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 0 0 1
Early years 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 0 0 1
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 0 0 1
Personal development and wellbeing 1 0 0 0 0 1
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Nursery schools

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

Primary schools

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

Secondary schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 0 0 1
Attendance and behaviour 1 0 0 0 0 1
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 0 0 1
Early years 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 0 0 1
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 0 0 1
Personal development and wellbeing 1 0 0 0 0 1
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Special schools

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

Registered alternative provision

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: