The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy
similar schools
The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy is a converter academy in Gainsborough for boys and girls aged 0 to 7. It has 231 pupils, 51 more than it has places for. About 48 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 33 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 51% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Heapham Road, Gainsborough, DN21 1SW01427 613483hillcrestearlyyearsacademy.co.ukMiss Samantha Stokes principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 29 April 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
37 places were empty (21% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 10% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (38 offers for 60 places).
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 60 | 38 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Primary | 60 | 44 | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Primary | 60 | 37 | – all offered | LA |
| 2023 Primary | 60 | 56 | – all offered | LA |
| 2022 Primary | 60 | 46 | – all offered | LA |
| 2021 Primary | 60 | 51 | – all offered | LA |
| 2020 Primary | 60 | 56 | – all offered | LA |
| 2019 Primary | 60 | 56 | – all offered | LA |
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (22), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Hearing impairment (1), Other difficulty or disability (1), Physical disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 231 | 221 | 237 | 251 | 240 | 252 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 33% | 35% | 39% | 36% | 40% | 38% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 7% | 7% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 6% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 9% | 15% | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 5% | 5% | 3% | 2% | 4% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.3% | 8.1% | 6.6% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.8% | 5.8% | 5.5% | 7.2% | 6.1% | 3.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 22.9% | 19.3% | 27.8% | 25.0% | 23.7% | 6.5% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.8 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White's Wood Academy | Academy | 150 m | 195 | Good 2022 | 5 | Compare |
| The Gainsborough Charles Baines Community Primary School | Council | 220 m | 189 | No overall grade 2025 | 6 | Compare |
| St George's Church of England Community Primary School, Gainsborough | Church of England | 890 m | 189 | Good 2023 | 12 | Compare |
| Benjamin Adlard Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 234 | Report card 2026 | 61 | Compare |
| The Gainsborough Parish Church Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 255 | Report card 2026 | 7 | Compare |
| Castle Wood Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 272 | Good 2024 | 13 | Compare |
| Mercer's Wood Academy | Academy | 1.2 miles | 157 | Good 2022 | 5 | Compare |
| Morton Trentside Primary School | Council | 1.7 miles | 178 | Good 2023 | 50 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 33 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 33% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 14 to 62. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 1.4 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | +0.07 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.30 | 2024/25; 118 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy scores 33 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 51% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 14 to 62, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 29 April 2025.
How many pupils does The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy have?
231 pupils aged 0 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 128% full.
Is The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 37 places were empty in 2024/25 (21% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy?
Pupils were in school 93.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 23% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy?
The average class had 24.2 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does The Gainsborough Hillcrest Early Years Academy have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Heapham Road, Gainsborough, DN21 1SW
- Telephone
- 01427 613483
- Website
- www.hillcrestearlyyearsacademy.co.uk
- Principal
- Miss Samantha Stokes
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 0-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Single-academy trust
- Hillcrest Early Years Academy Limited (1 schools)
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Ward
- Gainsborough East
- Constituency
- Gainsborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 July 2012 (academy converter)
- URN
- 138330 · LAESTAB 9252208 · UKPRN 10037771
- Formerly
- The Gainsborough Hillcrest Community Infant and Nursery School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Lincolnshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.