The Harrowby Church of England Primary School

The Harrowby Church of England Primary School is a small, inclusive church school within Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust, serving a disadvantaged local context with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Pupils are happy, feel safe and are exceptionally well known by staff, and relationships are built on kindness. Behaviour is calm and purposeful, safeguarding arrangements are met, and leaders have created a positive culture with strong support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing are notable strengths. Leaders are ambitious, staff feel well supported, and the school has strengthened phonics and early reading. The curriculum is broad and logically sequenced, and there is a strong pastoral and parental engagement offer. However, pupils have not consistently been well prepared for the next stage of education, and the quality of curriculum delivery varies too much across the school. Key priorities are to raise expectations and consistency in teaching so pupils secure essential knowledge and skills, improve handwriting, and tackle attendance. Too many pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, are persistently absent, although leaders are taking appropriate action and beginning to see improvement. Pupils would also benefit from a wider range of opportunities to develop talents and interests.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and are exceptionally well known by staff.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, with a well-embedded values-based approach.
• Safeguarding standards are met and there is an open culture of safeguarding.
• Early years provision is strong and children get off to a good start.
• Inclusion is effective, with tenacious support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Leaders are ambitious, visible and supportive of staff wellbeing and workload.
• Phonics and early reading have improved, with extra help for pupils who need it.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and logically sequenced, including for mixed-age classes.
• Personal development and wellbeing are prioritised, with strong pastoral and parental support.
• Pupils understand respect and British values and respond well to the school’s HEART values.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because too many pupils have not secured key skills and knowledge.
• Pupils are not consistently well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent, and expectations of what pupils can do are sometimes too low.
• Leaders need further expertise to ensure consistent curriculum delivery across subjects and key stages.
• Handwriting is a weakness; pupils do not always form letters accurately or write fluently and legibly.
• Attendance is too low, with significant persistent absence among disadvantaged pupils.
• Opportunities for pupils to develop personal talents and interests are too limited.

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 Harrowby Church of England Primary School attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.5% 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, 1.9% of pupils at The Harrowby 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 Harrowby Church of England Primary School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 36.0% 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, 20.9% of pupils at The Harrowby Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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 2024–25 The Harrowby Church of England Primary School received £12,266 and spent £36,820 for each of its 49 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£921 per pupil).

Across all 24 schools of Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust, income was £7,689 and spending £7,482 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Grantham · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

The Harrowby Church of England Primary School is part of Lincoln Anglican Academy Trust, which runs 24 schools. The nearest others:

• St Wulfram's National Church of England Primary School Grantham
• Brown's Church of England Primary School Sleaford
• The Edenham Church of England School Bourne
• The Morton Church of England (Controlled) Primary School Bourne
• Ruskington Chestnut Street Church of England Academy Sleaford
• Stamford St Gilberts Church of England Primary School Stamford
• Swineshead St Mary's Church of England Primary School Boston
• Branston Church of England Infant Academy Lincoln
• Spalding Parish Church of England Day School Spalding
• Tattershall Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Lincoln

What is The Harrowby Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Harrowby Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in January 2026.

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

The Harrowby Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does The Harrowby Church of England Primary School have?

The Harrowby Church of England Primary School has 67 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Harrowby Church of England Primary School cover?

The Harrowby Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is The Harrowby Church of England Primary School?

The Harrowby Church of England Primary School is at New Beacon Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 9LJ.