Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School

Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School is a diverse and vibrant community school where pupils feel proud, safe and cared for. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are all good, and safeguarding is effective. Pupils behave well from the early years, lessons are calm, attendance is strong, and the welfare team supports pupils and families expertly. The school has positive momentum under experienced new leaders, including a headteacher who joined in September 2024. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The quality of education requires improvement. The phonics curriculum is well planned but not implemented consistently: staff do not check pupils’ sounds well enough, reading books are not routinely matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge, and pupils who fall behind do not always get precise enough help to catch up. Leaders have acted with urgency and there are signs of improvement, but more work is needed. The wider curriculum is mostly well planned, with writing particularly strong, although in a few subjects, especially in key stage 1, the knowledge pupils must acquire is not identified precisely enough. Most pupils with SEND experience an ambitious curriculum and parents are complimentary about the support they receive, but some pupils with SEND do not have enough planned opportunities to develop independence or to socialise and learn with peers. Early years provision is good, with children well cared for, confident and independent, and the outdoor learning space is carefully designed. Pupils benefit from a well-planned personal development programme and a wide range of activities, including sports, yoga, dance, gardening and visits. The school is a strong community hub with a respectful and inclusive culture.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud, happy, safe and cared for in a diverse community.
• Behaviour and attitudes are good; lessons are calm and pupils are focused.
• Personal development is good, with a well-planned PSHE curriculum.
• Leadership and management are good, with new leaders creating optimism.
• Early years provision is good, including a carefully designed outdoor space.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• The welfare team supports pupils and families expertly, and attendance is strong.
• The writing curriculum is particularly well crafted and sequenced.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities and community events.
• Most pupils with SEND experience an ambitious curriculum, and parents are complimentary about support.
• The school is a strong community hub with a respectful and inclusive culture.

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics is not implemented consistently by all staff.
• Reading books are not routinely matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge.
• Pupils who fall behind in reading do not always receive precise enough catch-up support.
• Some pupils do not learn to read as accurately or fluently as they could.
• Curriculum planning in a few subjects is not precise enough, particularly in key stage 1.
• Some pupils with SEND do not have enough planned opportunities to develop independence and socialise or learn with peers.

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 Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Lincoln Monks Abbey 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 Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 17.9% of pupils at Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School received £7,555 and spent £7,328 for each of its 552 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £709,000 (£1,285 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).

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What is Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School have?

Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School has 588 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School cover?

Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School?

Lincoln Monks Abbey Primary School is at Monks Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 5PF.