Portway Infant School, Andover Review 2026: Outstanding infant provision with a strong outdoor and enrichment thread

Infant schools sit in an awkward accountability gap for parents: there are no GCSE style outcomes, and Key Stage 2 results do not apply because pupils leave before Year 6. In that context, the most useful external indicator is the quality of education judgement, plus the curriculum substance behind it.

The latest inspection (May 2024) rated the school Outstanding overall, and Outstanding in every graded category, including Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, and Early Years.

What sits behind that headline is a curriculum described as carefully constructed and regularly reviewed, with knowledge and vocabulary specified clearly so that understanding builds over time. Reading is treated as a central organising principle, with stories deliberately used to build language and engagement, supported by a consistent phonics approach and quick intervention for children who need extra help.

For parents, the practical implication is that the school is unlikely to rely on “nice activities” as a proxy for learning. Instead, it aims for early mastery of foundational numeracy and literacy, and it uses systematic checking to identify gaps and address them quickly.

Early reading is explicit and structured. The school states that it teaches phonics through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic synthetic phonics programme. The key advantage for families is consistency: children hear the same sound routines, language, and blending expectations across the week, which tends to accelerate confidence for pupils who need repetition and clarity.

Mathematics is framed as building fluency across domains, with content spanning number and place value, operations, fractions, measure, geometry, statistics, and more. In an infant context, the most meaningful part is the emphasis on confidence and fluency, because early maths anxiety often forms before children can articulate it. A curriculum that normalises representation, talk, and practice can keep pupils engaged while still developing accuracy.

Topic work looks intentionally experiential. Geography is described as building curiosity about the world and its people, and “Far Away Friday” is used to bring countries and cultures to life, sometimes linked to the lived experience of military families or family heritage. For pupils, this kind of recurring feature can help knowledge stick, because it blends language, art, music, and discussion into one memorable anchor.

Outdoor learning is not an occasional treat. Forest School is presented as a long-term programme that supports play, exploration, and managed risk-taking, with the aim of building confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning in a natural setting. In practice, that can be particularly helpful for children who learn best through movement and doing, not only through seatwork.

The main transition point is to junior school at the end of Year 2. The school notes that children normally remain until the end of the summer term in the year they turn seven, then transfer on.

For many families, the natural pathway is to Portway Junior School, which is listed by the local authority as a linked school, and attendance at a linked school can assist with priority admission. The important word is assist, it signals potential priority within an admissions framework, not a guarantee. Families who assume an automatic progression can get caught out, so it is worth reading the relevant admissions policy for the junior phase early.

The school’s own emphasis on smooth transition is also reinforced in external evaluation, which highlights structured support for moving on.

Reception entry is coordinated through the local authority. For September 2026 entry, the school publishes clear application timings: applications open on 1 November 2025 and close at midnight on Thursday 15 January 2026. It also lists school tour dates in autumn 2025 and early January 2026 for prospective families.

The school’s published admission number is up to 90 pupils in Reception as part of a three-form entry structure.

Demand, however, is higher than places. The most recent recorded admissions figures available show 217 applications for 83 offers, which equates to 2.61 applications per place. First-preference demand is also strong, at 1.38 first preferences per offer. The plain-English takeaway is that this is an oversubscribed infant school where listing it as a preference needs a realistic Plan B.

Behaviour and routines are described as a strength, with children behaving exceptionally well, focusing in lessons, and showing kindness to one another. In infant schools, this is not a cosmetic detail, it is the foundation for learning. When classrooms are calm, teachers can spend more time on teaching and less on resetting behaviour, and quieter pupils are more likely to contribute.

The inclusion offer is unusually well-specified for a small primary phase. The school’s SEND page lists an Inclusion Team led by the SENDCo, Mr Banks, and names roles spanning assistant SENDCo, family support, sensory needs support, emotional literacy support, Thrive practice, and learning support with music therapy. It also states that it employs a play therapist, speech therapist, and occupational therapist on a referral basis. For families navigating early concerns, this clarity is valuable because it indicates both capacity and a willingness to intervene early.

There is also a family-facing wellbeing layer, including published resources around emotional health, behaviour, and online safety. As a signal of safeguarding culture, the inspection confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

This is where the school differentiates itself most clearly from a standard infant offer, because it turns enrichment into routine rather than a once-a-term add-on.

Forest School is a recurring strand, with class updates showing practical activities such as den building, bug hunting, plant identification using iPads, clay modelling, and outdoor creative tasks. The learning implication is that pupils repeatedly practise collaboration, language, and resilience in a setting that suits young children’s attention spans.

Far Away Friday acts as a curriculum “event” that blends geography, culture, art, and talk, with examples including learning about countries through imaginative travel, passports, flags, and cultural activities such as flamenco. This kind of repeated motif can be especially helpful for vocabulary development, because children encounter and reuse the same language structures in varied contexts.

After-school clubs are also specific, free, and clearly timetabled. The published menu includes Dance, Puzzles and Games, Science, Yoga, Art, Lego, Cosy Club, Football, Recorders, and Disney, with clubs running 3.15pm to 4.15pm. For working families, the key point is that enrichment does not automatically mean extra cost, although wraparound childcare is a separate paid offer.

Trips and visitors appear to be used to make topics concrete. Examples from school updates include visits to The Hawk Conservancy, Longdown Activity Farm, and the Army Flying Museum, plus in-school experiences such as a Wild Science animal visit and an author and illustrator visit from Petr Horacek. For many children, these moments become the memory hooks that drive later reading and writing.

The school day runs 8.45am to 3.15pm, with Reception collection available from 3.00pm to 3.15pm. The published weekly total is 32.5 hours.

Breakfast club starts at 8.00am and costs £2 per session, including breakfast.

After-school childcare is available from 3.15pm to 5.30pm. The school’s PortwayPlus+ wraparound provision runs 3.20pm to 5.30pm and costs £11 per session, including a light snack.

As an infant school serving a local area, most families will prioritise walkability and short journeys. If you are comparing multiple options, FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature can help you track practicalities (timings, wraparound availability, and admissions rules) alongside your shortlist.

• Competition for places. The school is oversubscribed, with 217 applications for 83 offers in the most recent recorded figures. If you list it as a preference, plan realistically for alternatives in your application.

• Infant-only age range. Children leave at the end of Year 2, so families need a clear plan for the junior phase, even if a linked junior pathway looks likely.

• Wraparound costs add up. Breakfast club is low-cost, but paid after-school childcare is £11 per session, which can become a meaningful weekly expense for full-time users.

• Enrichment is structured, which may not suit every child equally. Forest School and themed curriculum experiences suit many pupils, especially active learners, but children who prefer quieter, highly predictable indoor routines may need careful settling support in the early weeks.

An Outstanding infant school with a clearly articulated approach to early reading, consistent routines, and an enrichment layer that is unusually tangible for this age group. The combination of Forest School, structured cultural learning through Far Away Friday, and a wide free club menu suggests a school that takes childhood seriously while still pushing for strong foundations.

Best suited to families in the local area who want a high-expectation, well-organised start to schooling, and who are comfortable planning ahead for the junior transition. The main challenge is securing a place in a consistently oversubscribed intake.