Waddingham Primary School

About Waddingham Primary School

Waddingham Primary School sits within the Lincolnshire local authority, a large county with 280 primary schools. In the most recent local rankings, the school placed 237th, placing it well behind the top-performing peers in the area such as Quadring Cowley & Brown's Primary School, Deeping St Nicholas Primary School, and The Tydd St Mary Church of England Primary School. Within its immediate borough of West Lindsey, Waddingham ranks 41st out of 41 primary schools, placing it at the very bottom of the local table. The school is a small, mixed-gender state primary for children aged 2 to 11, with just 73 pupils on roll against a capacity of 105. It has no religious character and is led by headteacher Jenna Richards. Despite its low ranking, the school has held a Good rating from Ofsted since its most recent graded inspection in 2012, and a subsequent ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed that it remains Good.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show significant challenges. Only 19% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of 57%. No pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects. In reading, 48% reached the expected level and 10% reached the higher standard, while in writing the figures were 29% and 0% respectively. Maths saw 33% at the expected level and just 5% at the higher standard. Average scaled scores were 99 in both reading and maths, below the national benchmark of 100. Progress scores are not available for any subject. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 1% of primary schools for its combined RWM expected standard, and in the East Midlands it sits at the 99th percentile, meaning only a handful of schools in the region perform lower.

The school offers a range of facilities including a gymnasium, sports hall, forest school, sensory room and chapel, and pupils can take part in sports such as cricket, football, tennis and netball, plus clubs for chess, drama and film. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication support. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: 12 first-preference applications were received for 12 places, with 17 total applications giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.42. There is no nursery or sixth form. This is a small village school that may suit families who value its Good Ofsted rating and inclusive SEND support, but the academic outcomes are notably below local and national averages, so parents focused on strong KS2 results would likely want to consider the higher-performing schools nearby.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Waddingham Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents