The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School

The Holbeach St Mark’s is a small rural Church of England primary within the Griffin Federation. Inspectors found a nurturing, close-knit school where pupils feel safe and happy, parents value the care their children receive, and personal development is a clear strength. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is promoted well, and pupils are polite and kind to one another. The school has also begun to strengthen its curriculum, drawing on federation training and support. However, the inspection found that the school’s high aspirations are not yet applied consistently. The curriculum and early years improvements are not fully embedded, assessment is not used sharply enough to address misconceptions, and some key stage 2 reading tasks are poorly matched to pupils’ needs, particularly for weaker readers and pupils with SEND. Pupils are too reliant on adults, and some SEND adaptations and early years practice limit independence and problem-solving. Leadership, behaviour and attitudes, and early years require improvement, while personal development is good. The school was previously judged good, and because this was a graded inspection under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Strong sense of community in a small, rural setting
• Pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for
• Parents value the school’s nurturing ethos
• Pupils are kind, polite and work well together
• Broad and rich personal development programme
• Pupils learn respect and tolerance for diversity
• Pupils know how to stay safe online and look after their health
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong attendance habits, including full-time nursery places
• Curriculum knowledge carefully mapped for mixed-age classes
• Good use of federation training and support
• Early reading programme reviewed with timely help for pupils at risk
• Pupils with SEND well supported to access early reading
• Improvements in early years learning, including planting and growing
• Governors have clear vision and use federation resources well
• Staff are motivated and positive about workload support

Areas for Improvement

• School vision and expectations are not implemented consistently by all staff
• Curriculum systems and routines are not delivered consistently
• Staff do not consistently check for and resolve pupils’ misconceptions
• Key stage 2 reading curriculum is underdeveloped
• Some pupils receive reading texts that are too challenging
• Staff do not always check how well pupils can access and read texts
• Early readers and pupils with SEND are particularly affected by reading weaknesses
• Some SEND learning adaptations are unsuitable and resources do not always help
• Pupils, including those with SEND, are overly dependent on adult support
• Pupils do not become independent learners or build resilience
• Early years staff sometimes intervene prematurely, limiting deeper thinking
• Some children do not develop independence or problem-solving sufficiently
• Assessment is not used consistently to adapt curriculum and respond to needs
• Staff do not routinely promote effective learning habits and attitudes
• Behaviour and attitudes require improvement because pupils lack independence

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 Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.8% 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 The Holbeach St Mark's 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 The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School had 12.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 14.6% of pupils at The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.4% 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 Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School received £11,360 and spent £11,477 for each of its 48 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £34,000 (£710 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 Spalding · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School have?

The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School has 48 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School cover?

The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School?

The Holbeach St Mark's Church of England Primary School is at St Marks Road, Holbeach St Mark's, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 8DZ.