Alton Infant School Review 2026: Rights respecting start, strong early reading

Because this is an infant school (up to Year 2), it does not sit within the standard end-of-primary Key Stage 2 published measures. What parents can use instead is the pattern of external evaluation and the clarity of the school’s curriculum approach.

Early reading is a major strength. Daily reading at home and school is reinforced through a structured phonics programme that staff deliver consistently; pupils read books matched closely to the sounds they know, helping them become fluent quickly. This is the kind of detail that usually correlates with confident independent reading by the end of Year 2, and it also tends to reduce anxiety for children who find decoding hard at first.

Mathematics is also positioned as a high-expectations subject, with leaders identifying a strong knowledge base for pupils to learn. Parents of children who enjoy pattern, number, and problem-solving will likely find the pace satisfying, while those with gaps can expect teaching that is designed to close misunderstandings quickly.

Phonics is taught through the DfE-accredited Unlocking Letters and Sounds systematic synthetic phonics programme, paired with a fully decodable reading scheme (Reading Stars Phonics). The practical implication is consistency: children hear the same language, routines, and sound structures across Reception and Key Stage 1, which supports both confidence and progress.

Curriculum delivery is mapped through half-termly themes and a planned progression of skills and knowledge. Teaching is described as creative and often investigative, with problem-solving and open-ended tasks used to help pupils “own” their learning. For younger children, this typically looks like tightly modelled tasks followed by structured independence, so pupils know what “good” looks like before they try it themselves.

The published curriculum map examples give a sense of what children actually study. In Year 1, themes include Dinosaurs, Best of British, Heroes, and Endangered Beasties, with linked activities like a “Royal Banquet” day, a farm visit, and local church visits. For parents, this suggests a curriculum designed to make knowledge memorable, rather than a narrow focus on worksheets.

Most pupils leave at the end of Year 2 and transfer to a junior school for Year 3. Communication from the school makes clear that pupils move on to Anstey Junior School.

For families, the key practical step is to treat the Year 3 transfer as a separate admissions process coordinated by the local authority, with its own timeline and paperwork.

Reception admissions are coordinated by Hampshire County Council. For September 2026 entry, applications opened on 1 November 2025 and the on-time deadline was 15 January 2026, with offers issued on 16 April 2026.

Demand is meaningfully above supply. The most recent application cycle shows 108 applications for 56 offers, around 1.93 applications per place, with the route recorded as oversubscribed. Where schools are this popular, families should avoid relying on informal word-of-mouth about “likely” chances and instead use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand how the local authority applies its oversubscription criteria. (Admissions rules and distances can shift year to year.)

Transition is handled deliberately. The school runs three familiarisation “Seedlings” sessions during the Summer Term for children due to start in September, designed to make routines and spaces feel familiar before day one. If you are joining from outside the most common feeder nurseries, this structure can be a real stabiliser.

Pastoral care is closely linked to the school’s rights-respecting and personal development work. Rights are taught across the curriculum, and class charters are used as an explicit agreement between children and adults about how rights are respected day to day.

Support for pupils who find emotional regulation difficult is described as practical and multi-layered. Staff teach emotional vocabulary and help pupils recognise risky situations and feelings, with additional professional support brought in when needed. The implication for parents is that the default response is early help and routine, not “wait and see”.

Enrichment is a genuine selling point here, because it is tied to curriculum content rather than being bolted on. Pupils have experiences such as visits to RHS Garden Wisley and Marwell Zoo, and school-based science moments like watching eggs hatch. These are concrete, high-recall experiences that help younger children build vocabulary and background knowledge they can later draw on in reading and writing.

Clubs are also specific rather than generic. Children can access activities including tennis, football, and Little Voices singing, with additional options such as art and craft club and multi-ball skills.

Environmental education is embedded through Eco Schools work: recycling and composting are structured responsibilities, with pupils acting as monitors and class eco-monitors, and the school notes practical steps such as solar panels and reusing materials for phonics games.

The school day runs from gates opening at 8.40am to a 3.15pm finish, totalling 32.5 hours per week.

Breakfast club runs daily from 7.45am to 8.45am and costs £5.00 per session (paid in advance). For after-school care, the school signposts an after-school club hosted by Anstey Junior School that runs 3.15pm to 5.45pm, priced at £11.00 per session. Availability and booking arrangements can change across the year, so parents should treat these as the current published offer rather than a permanent guarantee.

• Places are competitive. Recent demand data shows 108 applications for 56 offers (about 1.93 applications per place), and the intake is recorded as oversubscribed. This is a school where timing and understanding the admission rules matter.

• Behaviour expectations need consistent application. External evaluation notes that while behaviour is typically good, adults do not always apply expectations consistently enough, which can allow low-level disruption to linger.

• Some foundation subjects are still being tightened. In a small number of subjects beyond English and mathematics, the intended knowledge is not always identified and taught explicitly enough, which can leave gaps for some pupils.

• Wraparound may involve a partner site. Breakfast provision is on-site, but the published after-school club is hosted at the local junior school, which can be a factor for families wanting a single-site solution.

Alton Infant School offers a purposeful, values-driven start to education, with early reading treated as non-negotiable and personal development taught in a structured way. It suits families who want a calm, inclusive infant setting where routines, rights, and language for learning are explicit, and who are comfortable engaging early with admissions timelines. Entry remains the main obstacle rather than what happens once a place is secured.