Macaulay Primary Academy

Macaulay Primary Academy is performing strongly overall. Inspectors found achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing to be strong, while attendance and behaviour met the expected standard. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils achieve well, including disadvantaged pupils, and benefit from a broad, well-sequenced curriculum and highly effective teaching. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for pupils who join outside the usual admission times are particular strengths. The school is a larger-than-average primary in Grimsby with high levels of disadvantage and a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. It has recently undergone a significant leadership change, with a new head of academy and the previous head becoming executive principal. Staff and parents speak positively about the school, and pupils describe a welcoming, safe environment where they feel they can achieve. The main concern is attendance. Although pupils generally attend well and leaders have a whole-school approach, some pupils still miss too much school, and persistent absence remains above the national average. The report's next step is for leaders to keep refining and targeting their work on absence so that attendance for all pupils continues to rise.

Strengths

• Pupils make rapid progress through a well-sequenced curriculum.
• Pupils achieve well in national curriculum tests, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils demonstrate impressive subject knowledge and high-quality extended writing.
• Teaching is highly effective, with clear teaching steps and regular checks for understanding.
• The writing curriculum builds secure basic skills before longer pieces of writing.
• The early years provides a highly positive start and strong social and emotional support.
• Children leave the early years well prepared for Year 1.
• Pupils with SEND receive careful, effective support, including through stepping stones provision.
• Pupils who join outside the usual admission times settle quickly and make effective progress.
• The pupil premium strategy is highly effective and disadvantaged pupils achieve well.
• Leadership and governance are highly effective, with decisive action and strong trust support.
• Trustees understand the school well and fulfil their statutory duties.
• Staff feel supported, challenged and empowered, with manageable workload.
• Personal development is extensive, including the delta stars programme and rich enrichment.
• Pupils learn how to stay safe online and offline through PSHE.
• Pastoral support is timely and effective, helping pupils thrive.
• Behaviour is positive and bullying is rare; pupils are calm and respectful.
• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils still miss too much school and do not benefit fully from everything the school offers.
• Persistent absence remains above the national average.

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 Macaulay Primary Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.7% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Macaulay Primary 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 Macaulay Primary Academy had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.2% 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, 16.4% of pupils at Macaulay Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.0% 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 Macaulay Primary Academy received £6,928 and spent £6,689 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £477,000 (£1,135 per pupil).

Across all 62 schools of Delta Academies Trust, income was £7,459 and spending £7,562 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 Grimsby · North East Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Macaulay Primary Academy is part of Delta Academies Trust, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Willows Academy Grimsby
• John Whitgift Academy Grimsby
• Wybers Wood Academy Grimsby
• Strand Primary Academy Grimsby
• Weelsby Academy Grimsby
• Estcourt Primary Academy Hull
• Craven Primary Academy Hull
• Worlaby Academy Brigg
• Mersey Primary Academy Hull
• The Vale Academy Brigg

What is Macaulay Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Macaulay Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Macaulay Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Macaulay Primary Academy was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Macaulay Primary Academy have?

Macaulay Primary Academy has 402 pupils on roll.

What age range does Macaulay Primary Academy cover?

Macaulay Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Macaulay Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Macaulay Primary Academy?

Macaulay Primary Academy is at Macaulay Street, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, DN31 2ES.