De Aston School

De Aston School has been judged to require special measures. Inspectors found that the school is not providing an acceptable standard of education and that leaders and those responsible for governance have not shown the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. It is a single-academy-trust secondary school with just under 1,000 pupils, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are a significant focus because their attendance and support are weaker than they should be. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils who attend say they are happy and feel safe. The strongest provision is in the sixth form, where teaching is more consistent, students are well prepared for education, training or employment, and personal development is effective. Across the main school, the curriculum is broad and some subjects, notably English, are stronger, with effective reading support and generally calm classrooms. Pastoral care, counselling, confidence in reporting bullying and a wide extra-curricular offer are also positives. However, achievement is uneven and teaching is not consistently adapted to pupils’ needs. Mathematics fluency, assessment of pupils’ understanding, SEND support and curriculum implementation all need improvement. Attendance is a serious concern, especially for SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and there are no effective catch-up systems. Suspensions are high and some pupils are suspended repeatedly, while the behaviour policy is not well adapted for SEND. Leaders’ evaluation and governance are not accurate or timely enough, and some parents lack confidence in communication about support.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Pupils who attend are happy and have positive relationships with staff.
• The sixth form provides more consistent teaching than key stages 3 and 4.
• Sixth-form students are well prepared for higher education, apprenticeships and employment.
• Sixth-form teachers encourage curiosity, independent thinking and resilience.
• Sixth-form students behave impeccably and act as role models.
• The sixth-form personal development programme covers careers, finance, wellbeing and citizenship well.
• The curriculum is broad and predominantly well sequenced.
• Teachers typically have secure subject knowledge.
• English teaching has a clear focus on reading and writing.
• Effective phonics-based support helps pupils who struggle to read.
• Personal development is well sequenced and includes PSHE, British values and safety.
• Leaders work with local police to reflect local safety concerns in PSHE.
• Pupils receive useful careers information and know about training and employment options.
• Pastoral support is strong, including in-house counselling and trusted adults.
• Most pupils are confident reporting bullying and believe staff will act.
• Older pupils mentor younger pupils and sixth-form students help run clubs.
• A wide range of visits, clubs and activities broadens pupils’ experiences.
• Leaders collaborate effectively with the virtual school and support pupils known to social care pastorally.
• Classrooms are generally calm.

Areas for Improvement

• The school requires special measures because it is not providing an acceptable standard of education.
• Leaders and governors have not demonstrated the capacity to secure necessary improvement.
• Pupils do not consistently achieve well across the school.
• Mathematics fluency is weaker than reading, and some pupils struggle with basic number facts.
• Assessment systems are in their infancy and teachers do not routinely use achievement information to adapt teaching.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, and leaders have not tackled inconsistencies swiftly enough.
• Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils.
• Curriculum adaptations for SEND are not routine across subjects.
• Information given to staff about SEND pupils lacks precise support strategies.
• Staff do not consistently understand or use the best strategies to overcome barriers to learning.
• Leaders do not check carefully enough on the progress of SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Attendance is too low and has shown little sustained improvement.
• Over half of pupils with SEND are persistently absent.
• There are no effective systems to help absent pupils catch up on missed learning.
• Suspension rates are significantly above national averages and some pupils are suspended repeatedly.
• The behaviour policy is not suitably adapted for pupils with SEND.
• Some staff do not feel well supported in managing pupils’ behaviour.
• Pupils who miss personal development sessions are not routinely supported to catch up.
• A small minority of pupils do not show tolerance and mutual respect in practice.
• Leaders do not track which pupils attend extra-curricular activities, so some groups miss wider opportunities.
• Leaders do not evaluate the quality of provision closely or accurately enough.
• Leaders and governors have not taken timely action to address weaknesses.
• Governance does not have an accurate view of the school and trustees struggle to secure appropriate external support.
• Some parents would not recommend the school and feel communication about support is poor.
• Staff have not routinely accessed professional learning to support school priorities.

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 De Aston School attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 11.9% of pupils at De Aston School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 De Aston School had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 14.8% of pupils at De Aston School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 De Aston School received £8,425 and spent £8,013 for each of its 998 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,184,000 (£1,186 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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All schools in Market Rasen · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is De Aston School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for De Aston School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was De Aston School last inspected by Ofsted?

De Aston School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does De Aston School have?

De Aston School has 939 pupils on roll.

What age range does De Aston School cover?

De Aston School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are De Aston School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.7, and 22% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is De Aston School?

De Aston School is at Willingham Road, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 3RF.