Digby the Tedder Primary School

Digby the Tedder Primary School is a small primary on the RAF Digby airbase, serving mostly pupils from service families and experiencing very high pupil mobility. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors found a caring school where relationships are consistently positive and service children are expertly supported to settle quickly and achieve well. Pupils behave exceptionally well, love school, and benefit from a strong personal development offer, high attendance and effective safeguarding. The curriculum is ambitious and well designed in most subjects, and pupils remember their learning well in subjects such as English and mathematics. Reading and phonics are particular strengths, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well, and leadership and governance are strong, with staff feeling proud and well supported. The main areas for improvement are that in a small number of subjects and some early years areas, the curriculum does not make clear the most important knowledge pupils should know and remember, so teachers do not always prioritise the right content and pupils' recall is inconsistent. In some subjects, assessment information is also not used well enough to identify curriculum strengths and weaknesses or to inform strategic improvement work.

Strengths

• Pupils are well cared for and staff-pupil relationships are consistently positive.
• Service children are expertly supported and quickly settle into school.
• Behaviour and manners are exemplary.
• Pupils thrive on opportunities to contribute through well-being champion, reading ambassador and librarian roles.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well designed in most subjects.
• Pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics and remember their learning well.
• The phonics programme is well considered and pupils at early stages of reading achieve well.
• Pupils develop a love of reading through regular reading, daily story time and pupil librarians.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and learn the same curriculum as their peers.
• Personal development is strong, including a well-structured PSHE curriculum and secure understanding of British values.
• Attendance is high and pupils love school.
• Leadership and governance are strong, and staff are well supported with workload, well-being and training.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, and in some early years areas, the curriculum does not make clear the most important content pupils should know and remember.
• In those subjects, teachers do not know which parts of the curriculum to prioritise, so pupils' recall of important knowledge is inconsistent.
• In a small number of subjects, assessment information is not used well enough to identify strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum and its implementation.
• Assessment information is not yet used consistently to inform strategic improvement work.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Digby the Tedder Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Digby the Tedder Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Digby the Tedder Primary School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 11.4% of pupils at Digby the Tedder Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Digby the Tedder Primary School received £8,460 and spent £8,053 for each of its 88 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £33,000 (£377 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Lincoln · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is Digby the Tedder Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Digby the Tedder Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Digby the Tedder Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Digby the Tedder Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Digby the Tedder Primary School have?

Digby the Tedder Primary School has 88 pupils on roll.

What age range does Digby the Tedder Primary School cover?

Digby the Tedder Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Digby the Tedder Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Digby the Tedder Primary School?

Digby the Tedder Primary School is at Trenchard Road, Ashby-De-La-Launde, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN4 3JY.