The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School

The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School is a welcoming and caring primary where most pupils enjoy school and feel safe. Inspectors found a broad, ambitious curriculum and effective personal development, including trips, clubs and pupil responsibilities. Safeguarding is effective, pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported well, and attendance has improved. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they should because the curriculum is not implemented consistently. Teachers do not always check understanding, activities are sometimes poorly matched to the intended learning, and writing, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary are not addressed consistently. Behaviour has improved, but too many pupils still need reminding of routines, and early years routines are not well established. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there have been several leadership and staffing changes since the previous inspection. Leaders, with local authority support, have quickly identified the right priorities, but this improvement work is at an early stage.

Strengths

• Welcoming and caring school where most pupils enjoy coming to school
• Pupils feel safe and well cared for and know they can talk to staff
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with clear key knowledge, skills and vocabulary
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly
• Reading is prioritised and children start phonics in Reception, with regular staff training
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported well to access the curriculum
• Reception children learn in a secure and nurturing environment
• Behaviour has improved because staff deal with issues consistently
• Attendance has improved through high expectations and effective support
• Personal development is effective, including British values, equality, health and safety
• Trips, clubs and pupil responsibilities build cultural development and character
• Staff are proud to work at the school and most feel well supported
• Governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should across the curriculum
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some classes
• Teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding well enough, so misconceptions and gaps persist
• Learning activities are sometimes not well matched to the intended learning
• Some pupils do not produce high-quality written work and basic grammar and punctuation errors are not routinely addressed
• Teachers do not consistently ensure pupils use and understand the ambitious vocabulary mapped out
• Phonics learning is sometimes interrupted by reminders about routines
• Classroom routines are not well established, so learning time is lost during transitions
• Too many pupils need reminding of classroom and school routines, and some do not show positive attitudes to learning
• In early years, some children find it hard to focus and routines are not well established
• Some children in Reception do not make progress in some areas of learning as well 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 The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.6% 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, 4.5% of pupils at The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.7% 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, 23.8% of pupils at The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School received £9,028 and spent £8,561 for each of its 189 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £209,000 (£1,104 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 Gainsborough · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School have?

The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School has 189 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School cover?

The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School?

The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School is at Baines Road, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 1TE.