The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby

The St Sebastian’s Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby has been inspected and continues to be regarded as a good school. Notably, the school prioritizes values such as truthfulness and perseverance, promoting a positive environment that fosters high standards of behavior among pupils. The support system for students, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities, is recognized as strong, and parents express satisfaction with the community and educational support provided by the school. Pupils engage positively with their learning and appreciate the broad curriculum offered. However, while the school has a well-structured curriculum to support effective learning, there are identified areas for improvement. Leaders need to enhance their systems to check pupils’ knowledge across all subjects to address any gaps and ensure that all staff are equipped with the necessary understanding of prior learning. This ungraded inspection follows the school's previous evaluation as good and highlights a continued commitment to improvement amidst the context of recent adaptations in response to pandemic challenges.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive environment.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND.
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum.
• Effective phonics teaching promotes strong reading skills.
• Pupils behave well with minimal disruption.
• High attendance and positive pupil attitudes towards school.
• Strong community involvement and parental satisfaction.

Areas for Improvement

• Incomplete systems to check pupils' knowledge in some foundation subjects.
• Some staff lack understanding of previous units of work in a few 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 The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.7% 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, 2.4% of pupils at The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby 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 St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.4% 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, 9.7% of pupils at The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.7% 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 St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby received £8,433 and spent £8,255 for each of its 155 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £207,000 (£1,333 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 Grantham · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby last inspected by Ofsted?

The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby have?

The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby has 155 pupils on roll.

What age range does The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby cover?

The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby?

The St Sebastian's Church of England Primary School, Great Gonerby is at High Street, Great Gonerby, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 8LB.