Kidgate Academy

Louth Kidgate Primary Academy is a caring school where pupils enjoy learning, behave well and benefit from strong relationships with staff. Reading and phonics are a notable strength, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well identified and included, and the early years provision is thoughtfully organised. Personal development is broad, with a wide range of visits, clubs and pupil responsibilities, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The quality of education is not yet good enough, and pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The curriculum has been redesigned and is improving rapidly, but in a small number of subjects the essential knowledge is not clearly specified. New assessment systems are not yet fully embedded, so teachers do not consistently check learning over time or address gaps. Some pupils cannot confidently recall earlier learning. Leadership and management require improvement. Until recently, subject leaders lacked time and support, staff workload and well-being were not given enough consideration, and monitoring and evaluation were not strong enough to identify what needed to change. An acting headteacher has been in post since September 2024, with support from Lincolnshire Gateway Academy Trust, and recent training, governance changes and raised expectations are beginning to have an impact. Staff are committed and the school is moving in the right direction.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy school and build positive relationships with staff and peers.
• Pupils behave well in calm classrooms and take pride in their work.
• Reading and phonics are taught effectively, with well-matched home reading books.
• Pupils with SEND are identified well and included fully in school life.
• The early years curriculum is logically ordered and prepares children well for key stage 1.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain concepts clearly.
• Personal development is broad, including clubs, visits, speakers and pupil leadership roles.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff are dedicated, caring and committed to improvement.
• Recent governance changes have begun to strengthen accountability.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum in a small number of subjects does not clearly identify the important knowledge pupils should learn.
• New assessment systems are not yet embedded, so gaps in pupils’ understanding are not systematically addressed.
• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should across the curriculum.
• Some pupils do not confidently recall learning from before the new curriculum.
• Until recently, staff workload and well-being were not given enough consideration.
• Subject leaders previously lacked the time and support to design and refine their curriculums.
• Monitoring and evaluation were previously insufficient and the new systems are not yet fully embedded.

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 Kidgate Academy attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.7% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Kidgate Academy 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 Kidgate Academy had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.5% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Kidgate Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Kidgate Academy received £6,395 and spent £6,810 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £219,000 (£521 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust, income was £8,133 and spending £8,144 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 Louth · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Kidgate Academy is part of Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Louth Academy Louth
• Somercotes Academy Louth
• Theddlethorpe Academy Mablethorpe
• Waltham Toll Bar Academy Grimsby
• Waltham Gateway Academy Grimsby
• Cleethorpes Academy Cleethorpes
• Scartho Gateway Academy Grimsby
• Reynolds Primary Academy Cleethorpes
• Pilgrim Academy Immingham
• Kirton Academy Gainsborough

What is Kidgate Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kidgate Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Kidgate Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Kidgate Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Kidgate Academy have?

Kidgate Academy has 397 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kidgate Academy cover?

Kidgate Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Kidgate Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kidgate Academy?

Kidgate Academy is at Kidgate, East Lindsey, Louth, Lincolnshire, LN11 9BX.