Navenby Church of England Primary School

Navenby Church of England Primary School is a small, welcoming church school that is performing at the expected standard overall. Safeguarding standards are met, and all inspected areas—achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development—are at the expected standard. Pupils are happy, feel safe and describe the school as like a family. They behave well, attend regularly, and benefit from a broad curriculum and strong pastoral support. The school's key strengths include highly effective phonics teaching, strong early years provision, and an inclusive culture that supports pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils well from their starting points. Attendance is above national averages, persistent absence is low, and pupils' personal development is a clear priority. Leaders are well regarded by staff and parents, and governance is effective. The main areas for improvement are the consistency of writing and handwriting teaching and the depth of leaders' evaluation. Some pupils do not get enough purposeful practice to secure handwriting and writing fluency, and leaders do not always know precisely which strategies are making the most difference, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Published outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are below national averages, although the report notes that small cohorts and overlapping barriers mean progress is not always reflected in the data.

Strengths

• Pupils make a positive start in early reading and phonics outcomes are above the national average.
• By the end of Year 6, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is broadly in line with national averages, with grammar, punctuation and spelling often above.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils make appropriate progress from their starting points.
• Attendance is above the national average over time, with persistent absence below national figures.
• Pupils behave well in a calm, orderly and respectful environment.
• The curriculum is well designed, with effective phonics teaching and strong support for pupils with SEND.
• Early years provision is ambitious, and children get off to a good start.
• Inclusion is a priority, with positive relationships and personalised support for pupils and families.
• Leaders create a supportive culture where staff feel well supported and share a child-centred vision.
• Governance is effective, with governors fulfilling their roles and holding leaders to account.
• Personal development is broad and values-led, helping pupils understand safety, relationships and British values.
• Pupils feel safe, known and part of a welcoming, family-like community.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching of writing, including handwriting, is less consistently effective, with some pupils lacking purposeful practice to secure fluency.
• Leaders' evaluation lacks depth, so they cannot always identify which strategies have the greatest impact or adapt ineffective ones promptly.

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 Navenby Church of England Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.1% 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 Navenby Church of England 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 Navenby Church of England Primary School had 24.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.5% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Navenby Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Navenby Church of England Primary School received £6,794 and spent £6,569 for each of its 195 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £151,000 (£775 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 Navenby Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Navenby Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Navenby Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Navenby Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Navenby Church of England Primary School have?

Navenby Church of England Primary School has 195 pupils on roll.

What age range does Navenby Church of England Primary School cover?

Navenby Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Navenby Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Navenby Church of England Primary School?

Navenby Church of England Primary School is at East Road, Navenby, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 0EP.