North Scarle Primary School

North Scarle Primary School is a small, welcoming village school that has improved since its previous inspection and is now performing well across the board. Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for, behaviour and attitudes are positive, and parents are overwhelmingly supportive. The school has acted at pace to address earlier weaknesses, with a clear focus on disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Reading is a particular strength: the school has made it central to the curriculum, established well-stocked libraries, and uses a consistent phonics programme with targeted support for pupils who fall behind. Early years provision is effective, outdoor learning contributes strongly to personal development, and pupils benefit from clubs, leadership roles and well-being assemblies. Support for pupils with SEND is well organised, and governance and staff development are effective. The main areas for further work are the curriculum and foundational writing. In a minority of subjects, curriculum thinking is less clear and knowledge is not sequenced as well, so pupils do not build understanding as securely as they do elsewhere. Some pupils also do not secure accurate letter formation, handwriting and spelling before tackling more complex writing, which can make extended writing harder in key stage 2. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Highly effective early years provision where children explore, learn and build independence rapidly.
• Strong culture of reading, including well-stocked libraries, a consistent phonics programme and targeted catch-up support.
• Pupils feel happy, safe and well cared for, with positive relationships and effective handling of any bullying.
• Outdoor learning, clubs, assemblies and pupil leadership roles enrich pupils' personal development.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, with early identification, regularly reviewed targets and prompt external support.
• Effective governance and leadership that are well informed, provide suitable staff training and consider workload and well-being.
• Teachers generally have strong subject knowledge and explain new ideas clearly, helping pupils learn effectively in many subjects.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school and its care for pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum sequencing is less clear in a minority of subjects, so pupils do not build knowledge as securely as in stronger subjects.
• Some pupils do not secure accurate letter formation, handwriting and spelling before moving on to more complex writing tasks.

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 North Scarle Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.3% 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, 2.0% of pupils at North Scarle 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 North Scarle Primary School had 10.4 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, 6.2% of pupils at North Scarle Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.2% 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 North Scarle Primary School received £12,234 and spent £12,885 for each of its 49 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £26,000 (£533 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 North Scarle Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for North Scarle Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was North Scarle Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

North Scarle Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does North Scarle Primary School have?

North Scarle Primary School has 48 pupils on roll.

What age range does North Scarle Primary School cover?

North Scarle Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is North Scarle Primary School?

North Scarle Primary School is at School Lane, North Scarle, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 9EY.