Great Casterton Church of England Primary School

Great Casterton Church of England Primary School is a nurturing, welcoming school where pupils feel safe, behave very well and flourish. Inspectors found strong provision overall, with particularly impressive early years provision, effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and a well-established early reading programme. Pupils benefit from high expectations, positive relationships and a broad range of opportunities, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders have an ambitious curriculum and know the school well, and staff feel supported in their workload and well-being. However, the curriculum is not yet consistently strong in a small number of subjects: key knowledge is sometimes not clearly defined, assessment does not always check what pupils already know, and some subjects are in the early stages of implementation. As a result, some pupils have gaps in knowledge and do not always recall or articulate important content as securely as in stronger subjects. The school is part of the Rutland Learning Trust and this was its first section 5 inspection. Under current arrangements it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade, but inspectors graded the key judgements and identified early years provision as exceptionally strong.

Strengths

• Nurturing and welcoming school where pupils feel safe and flourish
• Pupils behave very well and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning
• High expectations with effective support for pupils with SEND
• Strong early reading provision from Reception, with effective staff training and catch-up support
• Exceptional early years provision with a meticulously planned curriculum and highly engaged, independent children
• Well-considered personal development, including mental well-being, respect and leadership opportunities
• Effective leadership, governance and trust oversight, with attention to staff workload and well-being
• Broad range of opportunities, including residential visits, trips, performances and sporting events
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents and carers

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, key knowledge is not clearly defined, limiting pupils’ ability to recall important content over time
• In a few subjects, assessment does not accurately check pupils’ prior knowledge, so gaps in learning are not always identified and addressed
• A small number of subjects are in the early stages of implementation, so curriculum quality is inconsistent and pupils do not always articulate secure knowledge

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 Great Casterton Church of England Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.1% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Great Casterton 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 Great Casterton Church of England Primary School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 9.1% of pupils at Great Casterton Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Great Casterton Church of England Primary School received £6,713 and spent £7,581 for each of its 91 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£500 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of The Rutland Learning Trust, income was £7,559 and spending £7,570 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 Stamford · Rutland local authority: places and applications

Great Casterton Church of England Primary School is part of The Rutland Learning Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Empingham Church of England Primary School Oakham
• Ketton Church of England Primary School Stamford
• Exton and Greetham CofE Primary School Oakham
• Cottesmore Academy Oakham
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School Oakham
• Oakham CofE Primary School Oakham
• Langham CofE (Controlled) Primary School Oakham
• Uppingham Church of England Primary School Oakham
• Whissendine Church of England Primary School Oakham
• Glapthorn Church of England Primary School Peterborough

What is Great Casterton Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Casterton Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Great Casterton Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Casterton Church of England Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Great Casterton Church of England Primary School have?

Great Casterton Church of England Primary School has 77 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Casterton Church of England Primary School cover?

Great Casterton Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Great Casterton Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Great Casterton Church of England Primary School?

Great Casterton Church of England Primary School is at Pickworth Road, Great Casterton, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 4AU.