Long Sutton County Primary School

Long Sutton County Primary School is performing well overall, with good judgements across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005; the school joined Keystone Academy Trust in 2019, and its predecessor school was previously judged good. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has a strong values-led culture and high expectations. Pupils learn the curriculum well, behave politely, attend well, and benefit from an inclusive ethos and robust support for pupils with SEND. Reading is a particular strength, with children starting early and pupils developing a love of reading. The school's work on mental health and well-being is excellent, and pupils have many opportunities to develop leadership, confidence and interests through clubs, debates and trips. There are some areas for improvement. Checks on pupils' knowledge do not consistently give teachers enough information about prior learning, so some gaps are not identified and pupils do not build knowledge as securely as they could, especially in complex subject concepts. In addition, monitoring and evaluation are not equally effective across all aspects of the school's work, meaning a small number of development areas are not identified clearly. Overall, leaders are proactive and have secured significant improvements in curriculum, behaviour and attendance.

Strengths

• High expectations and strong values are evident throughout the school
• Pupils learn the curriculum well and are proud of their effort
• Excellent support for pupils' mental health and well-being
• Pupils behave well, are polite, and attend well
• Strong early years provision helps children settle quickly and develop a love of learning
• Pupils develop a love of reading through a purposeful and carefully selected range of texts
• Pupils at risk of falling behind in reading are identified quickly and helped to keep up
• Inclusive ethos with robust and supportive oversight for pupils with SEND
• Staff adapt lessons skilfully so pupils with SEND make progress
• Pupils form positive relationships with caring staff and receive support to manage emotions
• Pupils broaden their horizons through leadership roles, clubs, debates and residential trips
• Leaders are proactive and have secured significant improvements in curriculum, behaviour and attendance
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Checks on pupils' knowledge do not consistently identify gaps in prior learning
• In some subjects, pupils do not recall complex prior learning as well as they could
• Teacher assessment does not always provide the information needed to adapt teaching and fill knowledge gaps
• Monitoring and evaluation are not as effective in some aspects of the school's work
• A small number of areas for development have not been identified clearly

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 Long Sutton County Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.6% 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 Long Sutton County 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 Long Sutton County Primary School had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 17.9% of pupils at Long Sutton County Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 Long Sutton County Primary School received £6,834 and spent £6,651 for each of its 423 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £245,000 (£580 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Keystone Academy Trust, income was £6,919 and spending £6,449 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 Spalding · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Long Sutton County Primary School is part of Keystone Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Lutton St Nicholas Primary Academy Spalding
• The Cowbit St Mary's Church of England Academy Spalding
• Surfleet Primary School Spalding
• Tower Road Academy Boston
• Thurlby Community Primary Academy Bourne
• Bourne Westfield Primary Academy Bourne

What is Long Sutton County Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Long Sutton County Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Long Sutton County Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Long Sutton County Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Long Sutton County Primary School have?

Long Sutton County Primary School has 420 pupils on roll.

What age range does Long Sutton County Primary School cover?

Long Sutton County Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Long Sutton County Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 32% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Long Sutton County Primary School?

Long Sutton County Primary School is at Dick Turpin Way, Long Sutton, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE12 9EP.