Shepeau Stow Primary School

Shepeau Stow Primary is a small, nurturing community school where pupils feel safe, welcome and included. Relationships are warm, pupils are polite and respectful, and behaviour and personal development are clear strengths. Pupils benefit from trips, clubs and a strong reading culture, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has also worked proactively with families to improve attendance. The school has high aspirations and has made substantial progress since the previous inspection, including a well-planned curriculum in most subjects and stronger leadership structures. However, the curriculum is not delivered consistently well, including in the early years. Teaching does not routinely check or build on what pupils already know, misconceptions are not always addressed, and pupils often remember activities rather than the intended knowledge and skills. Early years planning does not identify the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary children need, and some activities lack purpose. Leadership and management also need further development: not all subject leaders have an accurate view of their subjects, and implementation and assessment are inconsistent. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is mostly appropriate, but resources are not always used effectively. The school is part of a federation with Gedney Hill CofE Primary and shares an executive headteacher and governing body.

Strengths

• Nurturing and inclusive ethos where pupils feel safe and cared for
• Warm relationships between pupils and adults
• Pupils are polite, courteous and respectful to each other
• Strong reading provision with well-trained phonics staff and closely matched reading books
• Effective additional phonics support for pupils who need help to keep up
• Promotes reading for pleasure through daily story times
• Pupils engage well in lessons
• Tailored support for pupils who need help managing emotions and behaviour is highly effective
• Proactive attendance work has significantly reduced persistent absence
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of safety, including online
• Pupils are wholly accepting of differences between people
• A range of clubs and trips broadens pupils’ experiences
• Staff workload and wellbeing are well supported
• Regular training and federation collaboration benefit staff
• The governing body fulfils its statutory duties, including safeguarding and equalities
• Most pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive appropriate support

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum is not taught consistently well across subjects
• Learning does not build successfully on pupils’ prior knowledge
• Pupils often remember activities rather than the intended knowledge or skills
• Teachers do not check pupils’ understanding effectively or act on gaps and misconceptions
• Some lesson activities are not adapted to address misconceptions or knowledge gaps
• Early years curriculum does not identify the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary children should acquire
• Some early years activities lack purpose
• Staff spoken interactions in early years do not sufficiently develop children’s language
• Not all subject leaders have an accurate evaluation of their subjects
• Curriculum implementation and assessment are inconsistent
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is sometimes undermined by ineffective use of resources
• Weaknesses in teaching are not addressed quickly enough
• Leaders do not review teaching and checks on pupils’ learning well enough

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 Shepeau Stow Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 2.9% of pupils at Shepeau Stow 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 Shepeau Stow Primary School had 13.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 29.3% of pupils at Shepeau Stow Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% 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 Shepeau Stow Primary School received £11,997 and spent £12,303 for each of its 58 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £122,000 (£2,102 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 Spalding · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is Shepeau Stow Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shepeau Stow Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Shepeau Stow Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shepeau Stow Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Shepeau Stow Primary School have?

Shepeau Stow Primary School has 58 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shepeau Stow Primary School cover?

Shepeau Stow Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Shepeau Stow Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Shepeau Stow Primary School?

Shepeau Stow Primary School is at Dowsdale Bank, Shepeau Stow, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 0TX.