Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School

Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School is a large community primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11. Following its July 2025 inspection, the school continues to require improvement in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, while early years provision is good. The inspection took place during a period of change: the acting headteacher has been in post since October 2023, and a new headteacher is due to start in September 2025. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Early years provision gives children a positive start and develops their learning and communication skills well.
• Reading is prioritised, with a consistent phonics programme and early support for pupils who need additional help.
• Pupils speak enthusiastically about the school's values of wisdom, community and kindness.
• Staff identify promptly the needs of pupils who may require additional support, including those with SEND.
• Leaders and governors have a clear understanding of what the school needs to improve.
• Clear systems are in place to support pupils and families with attendance, and attendance is improving.
• Most pupils show positive attitudes to learning and are keen to join in lessons.
• Pupils benefit from wider opportunities such as residential visits, house captain roles and online safety guidance.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum development is inconsistent across subjects, so teaching quality and pupil achievement vary.
• Assessment is underdeveloped in some subjects, misconceptions are not consistently addressed, and pupils do not remember prior learning well.
• Pupils with SEND do not consistently receive appropriate adaptations to access the curriculum.
• Behaviour expectations are not applied consistently, particularly during social times, and some pupils struggle to regulate their behaviour.
• The personal development offer does not prepare all pupils well for life beyond school, including work on fundamental British values and protected characteristics.
• Some pupils do not engage with the wider opportunities the school provides.
• Strategic oversight and review systems are not robust enough to ensure improvement actions have the intended impact.
• Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should.

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 Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.4% 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, 3.3% of pupils at Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 3 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 Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 13.3% of pupils at Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School received £7,201 and spent £7,486 for each of its 549 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £8,000 (-£15 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 Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School have?

Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School has 562 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School cover?

Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School?

Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School is at Bristol Drive, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 7UE.