Castle Wood Academy

Castle Wood Academy is performing well overall, having achieved a 'Good' rating across all inspected domains, including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, leadership, and early years provision. The school is noted for its inclusive approach, where pupils, including those with SEND, meet high expectations and show enthusiasm for learning. The newly appointed headteacher has quickly identified areas for improvement, illustrating a positive direction for the school's future. The supportive environment and focus on reading are key strengths that contribute to pupils feeling safe and engaged at school.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school environment
• Pupils demonstrate enthusiasm for learning
• Strong focus on reading and literacy development
• Effective support for pupils with SEND
• High expectations for behaviour and achievement
• Positive relationships among pupils and staff
• Clear monitoring systems in place for pupil achievement
• Emphasis on pupils understanding and respecting diverse cultures

Areas for Improvement

• Lack of clarity in leadership oversight
• Inconsistent quality of feedback to pupils
• Some pupils struggle to recall and connect learning effectively

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 Castle Wood Academy attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.8% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Castle Wood Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Castle Wood Academy had 16.2 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, 14.7% of pupils at Castle Wood Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 7 pupils.

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 Castle Wood Academy received £7,480 and spent £7,461 for each of its 280 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £511,000 (£1,824 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Tall Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, income was £8,345 and spending £7,971 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 Gainsborough · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Castle Wood Academy is part of Tall Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Mercer's Wood Academy Gainsborough
• White's Wood Academy Gainsborough

What is Castle Wood Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Castle Wood Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Castle Wood Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Castle Wood Academy was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Castle Wood Academy have?

Castle Wood Academy has 272 pupils on roll.

What age range does Castle Wood Academy cover?

Castle Wood Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Castle Wood Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Castle Wood Academy?

Castle Wood Academy is at The Avenue, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 1EH.