St John's School
Academy special converter school in Bedford (Bedford).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
I am delighted to extend a warm welcome to St John's School, a proud member of Bedford Inclusive Learning and Training Trust (BILTT).
I trust that our website provides a glimpse of the diverse offerings at St John's. However, we invite you to visit us in person and meet some of our remarkable young people, allowing you to truly experience life at St John's. At St John's, we are dedicated to providing excellent education and support for children and young people aged 2 to 19 with severe and complex learning difficulties and health, and care needs.
As a school, we strive to uphold our mission statement: 'Working Together,' which begins with fostering positive relationships with parents, carers, families, therapists, and professionals, as we believe collaboration is key to nurturing each childs potential. We are passionate about tailoring our support and provision to meet the unique needs of every individual.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
3 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Essential Letters and Sounds
- Letters and Sounds
- Little Wandle
Awards
3 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- ArtsmarkArts and culture
- Healthy SchoolsHealth and wellbeing
- UNICEF Rights Respecting SchoolsChildren's rights
Key facts
- URN
- 137469
- Type
- Academy special converter
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2011
Governing body (8 current, 2 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.3 governors are linked to a profile (all confirmed).
Governors marked “Confirmed same person” have exactly the same forename and surname as the only officer of that name at the school’s own academy trust company on the Companies House register, so we treat them as the same person. The governance record itself comes from DfE.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Deirdre Murphy Confirmed same person | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr Simon Broomfield Confirmed same person Former | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · term ended 2026 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Robinson Confirmed same person | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Michael Wright | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Olivia Pacey | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Ebony Willis | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Sue Reed | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Rachel Mellor | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Ms Shannon Poulter | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Deirdre Murphy Confirmed same person Former | Local Governor | Appointed by GB/board | since 2023 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record