Carlton Road Academy

Carlton Road Academy is a welcoming primary academy where pupils are happy, feel safe and benefit from positive relationships and strong pastoral support. This was its first routine section 5 inspection since 2014, and the school is part of the Voyage Education Partnership; under current arrangements it receives judgements for each area rather than an overall effectiveness grade. Inspectors found good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, with personal development judged outstanding. Leaders have built a broad, well-sequenced curriculum and prioritise reading, including daily story reading and high-quality books. Pupils with SEND are well supported, and early years language development and outdoor learning are strengths. Pupils' personal development is exceptional, with strong opportunities for responsibility, careers awareness and understanding of respect and tolerance. Safeguarding is effective, and staff value trust training and consideration of workload. However, phonics teaching is not consistently delivered, so some pupils do not learn to read as well as they could. In some subjects, the key knowledge pupils need is not specified clearly enough, meaning learning does not always build on prior knowledge. Persistent absence remains too high, including for disadvantaged pupils, and the school needs to sustain its work to change attendance culture.

Strengths

• Welcoming school with positive relationships and pupils who feel safe and happy
• Strong reading culture with high-quality books and daily reading for pleasure
• Early years language development is a clear focus and staff model vocabulary well
• Significant improvements to the early years outdoor area support physical development
• Pupils with SEND receive appropriate, individualised support and achieve well
• Curriculum is well sequenced from early years to Year 6
• Pupils have positive attitudes, listen well and are polite
• Personal development is exceptional, including pupil responsibilities and careers awareness
• Pupils achieve well from their starting points in a diverse community where many speak English as an additional language
• Trust provides appropriate support and challenge, and staff training is valued
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics teaching is inconsistent, so some pupils do not become confident, fluent readers as quickly as they could
• In some subjects, key knowledge is not specified clearly enough, so learning does not build cumulatively
• Persistent absence rates remain too high, including among disadvantaged pupils

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 Carlton Road Academy attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.9% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Carlton Road 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 Carlton Road Academy had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.7% 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, 12.7% of pupils at Carlton Road Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 Carlton Road Academy received £8,040 and spent £7,488 for each of its 446 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £782,000 (£1,754 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Voyage Education Partnership, income was £8,516 and spending £8,053 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 Boston · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Carlton Road Academy is part of Voyage Education Partnership, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Staniland Academy Boston
• Boston Pioneers Free School Academy Boston
• Park Academy Boston
• Haven High Academy Boston
• Fishtoft Academy Boston
• Old Leake Primary Academy Boston
• Gosberton Academy Spalding
• Helpringham Primary Academy Sleaford
• Gedney Church End Primary Academy Spalding
• Wygate Park Academy Spalding

What is Carlton Road Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carlton Road Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Carlton Road Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Carlton Road Academy was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Carlton Road Academy have?

Carlton Road Academy has 458 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carlton Road Academy cover?

Carlton Road Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Carlton Road Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Carlton Road Academy?

Carlton Road Academy is at Carlton Road, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 8QX.