Horncastle Primary School

Horncastle Primary School is performing well and has been rated as 'Good' across all inspection areas, including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership. The school is inclusive and fosters a supportive learning environment, which is reflected in the positive feedback from pupils, parents, and staff. The headteacher, having recently taken leadership, has implemented effective strategies and an ambitious curriculum that aims to support all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Despite the overall good performance, the outcomes currently do not fully mirror the improvements made to the curriculum, presenting an area for further development.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school environment.
• Strong leadership identifying and addressing areas for improvement.
• Effective teaching in reading and mathematics.
• Ambitious and inclusive curriculum supporting knowledge retention.
• Strong personal development programs preparing pupils for life in modern Britain.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment practices in some foundation subjects.
• Lack of tailored support for some pupils, including those with SEND.

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 Horncastle Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.6% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Horncastle 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 Horncastle Primary School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.6% 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, 13.2% of pupils at Horncastle Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Horncastle Primary School received £6,996 and spent £7,498 for each of its 415 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £105,000 (£253 per pupil).

Across all 25 schools of Wellspring Academy Trust, income was £12,764 and spending £12,663 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 East Lindsey · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Horncastle Primary School is part of Wellspring Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Eastfield Infants and Nursery Academy Louth
• Lacey Gardens Junior Academy Louth
• Scartho Infants' School and Nursery Grimsby
• Laceby Stanford Primary Academy Grimsby
• Beacon Academy Cleethorpes
• Littlecoates Primary Academy Grimsby
• Coomb Briggs Primary Academy Immingham
• Trent View College Scunthorpe
• Oakhill Primary Academy Barnsley
• The Forest Academy Barnsley

What is Horncastle Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Horncastle Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Horncastle Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Horncastle Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Horncastle Primary School have?

Horncastle Primary School has 417 pupils on roll.

What age range does Horncastle Primary School cover?

Horncastle Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Horncastle Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Horncastle Primary School?

Horncastle Primary School is at Bowl Alley Lane, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, LN9 5EH.