School Chooser

Tulip Academy

Special · ages 2-19MixedAcademy238 pupilsSixth formNurserySpaldingLincolnshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, June 2025
Attendance88.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families51%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull238 pupils, 230 places
Pupils per teacher8.2School workforce census
Pupils on roll238Census January 2026

Tulip Academy is a special academy in Spalding for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 238 pupils, 8 more than it has places for. About 51 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Neville Avenue, Spalding, PE11 2EH01775 725566Mrs Tina Cox headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 10 June 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.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Sixth formOfsted calls this “post-16”
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

38 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE scoreOfficial name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and mathsOfficial name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and mathsOfficial name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-2.23In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2018/19, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018LincolnshireEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11383228262528
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 81.71.946.246.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-2.23-1.79
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%43%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths8%4%65%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.110.184.074.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%37%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged1.92.6
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged1.61.0
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers0.20.3

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

2 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 11Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected levelOfficial name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024LincolnshireEngland
Pupils tested25

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Lincolnshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll238Census January 2026
Places230103% full
Pupils from low-income families50%51% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English11%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%238 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)50%£124,700 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls176 / 62
White British pupils82%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Lincolnshire with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (89), language and communications needs (48), Moderate learning difficulty (32), Other difficulty or disability (15), Severe learning difficulty (12), Specific learning difficulty (12).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll238215214210137137
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals50%55%54%47%45%39%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language11%10%12%12%7%5%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%1%1%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%99%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance88.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school32.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils10.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission4.4%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence12.0%13.0%11.2%8.2%4.4%7.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence7.6%9.9%9.7%7.2%3.3%5.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence4.4%3.1%1.5%1.0%1.0%2.1%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence32.4%38.1%31.2%21.6%10.5%19.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate10.76.54.38.04.4
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 28 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training96%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training96%89%80%93%
Education96%89%80%93%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training4%12%8%0%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers29.1full-time equivalent, 30 people
Pupils per teacher8.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers63%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants49.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£42,970
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher10.22024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£19,819England £30,720. Total £4.3m
Income per pupil£22,935England £33,526. Total £4.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£7,363England £11,966
Money in reserve3%Not much put by: £162k, £754 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£670kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£19,819spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m11612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate114 per 1,000 people26% higher than the England average
Typical house price£235,000South Holland
Nearest bus stop200 mSpalding Academy Bus Park, 5 stops within 500 m

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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Spalding AcademyAcademy110 m1,486Not inspected61Compare
Springwell Alternative Academy SpaldingFree schools alternative provision480 m49Outstanding 2023Compare
Spalding High SchoolCouncil (grammar)560 m970Outstanding 202394Compare
St Paul's Community Primary and Nursery School, SpaldingAcademy840 m209Good 202414Compare
Spalding Parish Church of England Day SchoolAcademy850 m537Good 202423Compare
Spalding Grammar SchoolAcademy (grammar)0.7 miles1,023Good 202484Compare
Ayscoughfee Hall SchoolIndependent0.7 miles135Not inspectedCompare
St Norbert's Catholic Voluntary AcademyAcademy1.0 miles204No overall grade 202526Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Tulip Academy a good school?

Tulip Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in June 2025.

What is Tulip Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Tulip Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 10 June 2025.

How many pupils does Tulip Academy have?

238 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 230 places, so it is 103% full.

What is attendance like at Tulip Academy?

Pupils were in school 88.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 32% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Tulip Academy have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Tulip Academy have a sixth form?

Yes.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Neville Avenue, Spalding, PE11 2EH
Telephone
01775 725566
Headteacher
Mrs Tina Cox
Type of school
Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
Phase
Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Community Inclusive Trust (19 schools)
Local authority
Lincolnshire
Ward
Spalding St Paul's
Constituency
South Holland and The Deepings
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2016 (academy converter)
URN
142667 · LAESTAB 9257009 · UKPRN 10055671
Formerly
The Garth School, The Priory School

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from