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Hemswell Cliff Primary School

Primary Ages 3-11 36 pupils Gainsborough
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Gainsborough

Hemswell Cliff Primary School is a community school in Gainsborough for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has 36 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Hemswell Cliff Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023. In 2025, 17% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. It has plenty of spare room: 65% of its places were unfilled in 2024/25, more than at most primary schools.

Ofsted inspection: January 2023. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Community school
Age Range 3-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Capper Avenue
Hemswell Cliff
Gainsborough
Lincolnshire
DN21 5XS
Phone 01427668383
Reference Number 120491

General Makeup

Number of pupils 36
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 55.56%
Girls: 44.44%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 63.9%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 8.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 12
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 15
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 10.5

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 4 3 7
2 2 3 5
3 5 2 7
4 2 2 4
5 2 3 5
6 4 1 5

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 75%
White & Black (Caribbean) 2.8%
Unclassified 2.8%
Mixed, Other 2.8%
Pakistani 2.8%

Hemswell Cliff Primary School is performing well, achieving a 'Good' overall rating in its recent Ofsted inspection. The school provides a safe and nurturing environment where pupils are able to flourish and develop both academically and personally. With a focus on high expectations for behaviour and strong support for pupils with special educational needs, leaders have worked to adapt the curriculum effectively in light of previous pandemic-related learning delays. The inclusive nature of the school and the frequent enrichment opportunities contribute positively to the pupils' experience.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
 >  Quality of education Good
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Good
  >  Personal Development Good
  >  Leadership & Management Good
  >  Early Years Provision Good
Last Report Date 15 Nov 2022
Date Report
15 Nov 2022 School inspection:
16 Mar 2017 Short inspection
27 Feb 2013 Full inspection:
15 Mar 2010 Full inspection:
16 May 2007 Full inspection:
15 Jan 2001 Full inspection

Strengths

  • High expectations for pupils' behaviour
  • Effective support for pupils with SEND
  • Strong curriculum planning in most subjects
  • Good provision in early years
  • Strong teaching of reading
  • Inclusive environment with diverse enrichment opportunities
  • Proud and dedicated staff

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistent curriculum planning in a few foundation subjects
  • Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 17%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 105
Maths 99

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 1.3
Writing -2.2
Maths -3

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 0 0
Third Preference 1 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Hemswell Cliff Primary School had 37 pupils for 105 places. 68 places (64.8%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Hemswell Primary” planning area

Lincolnshire counted 32 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 25 in 2029–30, down 22%.

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 105105105105105105105105105105105105105105105
Pupils 859681788389868170564644403537
Unfilled 19.0%8.6%22.9%25.7%21.0%15.2%18.1%22.9%33.3%46.7%56.2%58.1%61.9%66.7%64.8%

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 Hemswell Cliff Primary School attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.5%2.6%3.3%4.0%3.4%4.4%5.4%6.3%6.3%5.6%2.6%
Unauthorised absence 0.8%0.8%0.7%1.0%1.1%0.7%1.9%2.5%1.3%0.9%0.6%
Severely absent pupils 1.2%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%4.1%0.0%0.0%2.6%0.0%

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, 11.4% of pupils at Hemswell Cliff Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 10.13.16.92.53.52.20.00.09.63.63.60.00.00.023.114.3
Permanent exclusions 0010000000000000

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 Hemswell Cliff Primary School had 6.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 61.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 11.39.07.78.310.17.78.67.76.17.36.75.16.04.83.83.6
Teachers who left state teaching 16.7%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%3.3%20.8%0.0%0.0%0.0%23.8%59.5%21.1%0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 37.5%28.6%50.0%42.9%37.5%37.5%37.5%16.7%33.3%–33.3%100.0%–28.6%20.0%–
Sick days per teacher 4.32.015.75.02.82.56.30.30.3–5.25.7–0.31.8–

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, 27.8% of pupils at Hemswell Cliff Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 4 2
Social, emotional and mental health 5 0
Moderate learning difficulty 0 2
Specific learning difficulty 1 0

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 Hemswell Cliff Primary School received £15,891 and spent £17,700 for each of its 36 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £21,000 (£595 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20192020202120222023202420252026
Revenue reserve £82,000£53,000£114,000£121,000£65,000£137,000£87,000£21,000
per pupil £1,458£955£2,278£3,196£1,558£3,510£2,473£595
In-year balance -£14,000-£29,000£61,000£8,000-£56,000£71,000-£50,000-£65,000
per pupil -£244-£529£1,227£198-£1,333£1,832-£1,438-£1,809

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

Name Distance
Willoughton Primary School
Northfield Lane, Willoughton, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 5RT
2.49 miles
Normanby Primary School
Main Street, Normanby-by-Spital, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2HE
3.29 miles
Ingham Primary School
The Green, Ingham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN1 2XT
4.12 miles
Waddingham Primary School
The Green, Waddingham, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 4SX
4.31 miles
Name Distance

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

What is Hemswell Cliff Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hemswell Cliff Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was Hemswell Cliff Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hemswell Cliff Primary School was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Hemswell Cliff Primary School have?

Hemswell Cliff Primary School has 36 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hemswell Cliff Primary School cover?

Hemswell Cliff Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Hemswell Cliff Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 17% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hemswell Cliff Primary School?

Hemswell Cliff Primary School is at Capper Avenue, Hemswell Cliff, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 5XS.

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