Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School

Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School is a voluntary-controlled primary school in Lincolnshire with 203 pupils. Following its previous 'requires improvement' inspection, this graded inspection found the school to be good across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Inspectors described a calm, orderly and nurturing school where pupils are polite, friendly, behave well and enjoy learning. Staff are ambitious for all pupils, relationships are warm, and the school has a strong sense of community. The school's strengths include a broad and ambitious curriculum that is taught well in most subjects, strong early reading and phonics, effective support for pupils with SEND, improved attendance, and a purposeful early years provision. Pupils benefit from a well-planned personal development curriculum and a wide range of clubs, trips and community activities. Staff morale is high, governors understand the school well, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are that a small number of subjects are not taught with the same clarity and depth as others, leaving gaps in pupils' knowledge. In some subjects, leaders also lack a comprehensive way of checking the precise impact of the curriculum, which limits their ability to identify further improvements. The school is well placed to address these points within its positive culture of teamwork and continual improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, friendly and behave well in a calm and orderly school.
• The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum that is taught well in most subjects.
• Teachers use strong subject expertise to explain clearly and check pupils' understanding.
• Early reading and phonics are a high priority, with structured teaching and strong staff training.
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and mostly follow the same curriculum as their peers.
• Attendance has improved because the school works well with families and external agencies.
• Early years provision builds strong foundations through warm relationships and well-planned learning opportunities.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain and supports their health and well-being.
• Staff morale is high, and leaders support workload and well-being.
• Governors understand the school well and provide effective challenge and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, the curriculum is not delivered consistently well, so pupils have gaps in knowledge and do not gain the same depth of understanding as in other subjects.
• In some subjects, the school does not measure the precise impact of the curriculum, so leaders cannot accurately identify where further improvements are needed.
• Some parts of the curriculum are not yet taught in the same depth as others.
• Leaders have not yet developed an agreed approach to teaching the most important knowledge in these weaker subjects.

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 Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.0% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Dunholme St Chad'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 Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% 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 Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School received £7,417 and spent £7,342 for each of its 196 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £12,000 (£63 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 Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School have?

Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School has 196 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School cover?

Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Dunholme St Chad's 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 Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School?

Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School is at Ryland Road, Dunholme, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 3NE.