Fair Oak Infant School Review 2026, Big-school opportunities with an infant-school focus

As an infant school, there is no KS2 end-of-primary performance picture to analyse in the usual way, and a school this size will often focus parent communication on early reading, number fluency, language development, and learning behaviours.

The most useful evidence here is the specificity around early reading and curriculum sequencing. Phonics starts immediately in Reception and is taught through an agreed sequence, with pupils building to more complex sound combinations through Years 1 and 2. The inspection narrative also highlights a practical constraint that matters for parents who are monitoring early reading at home: at the time of inspection, reading books did not always precisely match the sounds pupils had learned, which makes independent practice harder. Importantly, the improvement action is concrete (investment in decodable books aligned to taught sounds), which is exactly the sort of “fix” that tends to have a visible impact in infant settings.

On the wider curriculum, the school’s ambition is not confined to English and mathematics. The inspection narrative points to subject distinctiveness in a way that is reassuring for parents: science framed around predicting, testing and analysing; art including techniques like shading and perspective. When infants are taught those building blocks early, the main implication is confidence and vocabulary. Children arrive at junior school able to name what they are doing and why it matters, rather than simply having “done a topic.”

A final academic point worth understanding is sequencing. The curriculum is described as organised and planned, with staff clarity about what to teach and when, but with some instances where topic themes distorted subject progression. That is a sophisticated issue for an infant school to be discussing because it sits beneath the surface: parents will not see it in a spelling test. Over time, though, sequencing affects how well pupils retain and connect knowledge. For families who value a coherent, cumulative curriculum, it is a useful question to raise when visiting: how subject leaders now ensure that “topics” support learning rather than driving it.

If you are comparing local schools, use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to put like-for-like context around what “strong early learning” means for your area, without over-weighting a single headline judgement.

Teaching is described as clear and enthusiastic, supported by staff training that helps adults understand content and delivery. In an infant school, that professional development matters because subject confidence is not just a secondary-school issue; when teachers are fluent in early number, language acquisition, and subject vocabulary, pupils get more precise explanations and fewer mixed messages.

Early reading is a defining thread. The school’s approach has three parts that parents will recognise at home:

1. Routine and sequence: children learn sounds in a defined order and practise frequently.

2. Familiar methods: staff use consistent approaches so pupils are not constantly decoding the “how” of a lesson.

3. Book access: pupils need books that align to their taught sounds so practice is reinforcing, not guesswork.

That third element is where schools sometimes stumble, simply because it is resource-intensive. The advantage for families is that it is measurable: you can usually tell quickly whether the book your child brings home is decodable with what they have learned that week.

The school also uses experiences to anchor new learning. The inspection narrative gives a clear example: pupils experienced a planetarium before learning about the solar system. That is the right way round for infant children. The evidence-based implication is better language and schema-building, because pupils have “something real” to attach new facts to, rather than learning vocabulary in isolation.

The key transition is into junior provision at Year 3. Locally, the obvious pathway is into Fair Oak Junior School, which is referenced as a linked local option through the school’s own community information and local authority signposting. For many families, this continuity is a benefit: friendships remain stable, travel routines stay familiar, and children move up with a sense that “school is a normal place to be.”

The most helpful planning step is to treat Year 3 transfer as an admissions event in its own right. Hampshire County Council publishes a separate timeline for infant-to-junior transfer applications, and it aligns closely to the Reception timeline. If you are new to the system, that is easy to miss, and it can cause unnecessary stress in Year 2 when families realise a deadline is approaching.

For families considering moving house, or trying to understand travel feasibility, the FindMySchool Map Search is useful here because it lets you plan realistically for the “next step,” not just for Reception entry.

Admissions for Reception are coordinated by Hampshire County Council (rather than direct application to the school). For September 2026 entry, the main-round timeline is clear and published: applications opened 1 November 2025, closed 15 January 2026, and on-time applicants receive outcomes on 16 April 2026.

The school also ran parent tours by appointment during November 2025 for families considering September 2026 entry, with the senior leadership team leading tours and a specific note that the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) was available for most sessions. For future years, the safest interpretation is that tours typically sit in the autumn term and require booking, and families should check each year’s schedule as early as September.

In-demand schools often feel hard to “read” because parents confuse three separate questions:

• Is the school oversubscribed? (demand exceeds places)

• Is it popular as a first preference? (many families rank it top)

• How does that affect your individual chance? (depends on the admissions rules and your circumstances)

The demand indicators available for Reception entry suggest more applications than offers and a first-preference pressure point. The practical takeaway is not to treat the school as your only plan. Use all available preferences, and make sure you understand your fallback options before you submit.

Pastoral care in an infant setting is mostly about predictable routines and fast response. The inspection narrative supports a picture of pupils feeling safe within a kind culture, with bullying and poor behaviour identified and addressed quickly. When this works well, it reduces low-level anxiety and allows children to concentrate on learning and friendships, which is particularly important for pupils who are still developing emotional regulation.

Attendance is another window into wellbeing culture. The inspection narrative describes leadership support that helps families rebuild positive morning routines and maintain strong attendance oversight. For parents, that implies the school is likely to be pragmatic and supportive when routines wobble, which is common in Reception and Year 1.

On safeguarding education, the curriculum content is age-appropriate and concrete. Children learn who to trust, when to share worries, and how to stay safe online, and they also engage with structured teaching around body autonomy through recognised resources. That combination matters because it helps pupils develop language for concerns, not just rules.

A strength here is that “extra” is not treated as optional fluff. There is wraparound provision plus a set of independently-run clubs, which creates real choice for working families and for children who enjoy trying different activities.

On wraparound itself, the on-site model includes:

• Breakfast Club operating from 7:30am to 9:00am, with an arrival cut-off for breakfast at 8:15am, plus indoor and outdoor activities after breakfast.

• After School Club for Years 1 and 2 running 3:30pm to 6:00pm, with a light snack and activities.

For Reception (Year R), after-school care is provided through a partnership model with Wyvern College, where children are collected from school and taken to the Wyvern after-school provision until 6:00pm. The implication is helpful clarity for parents: Reception families can plan childcare without waiting for an internal place, but they should be comfortable with the transfer arrangement and the change of setting.

The independent club menu is unusually explicit for an infant school, which is good for parents. It includes sports coaching, football and dodgeball sessions, karate, a brick-based club (Funky Play Bricks), and street dance. The value is not simply “lots of clubs,” it is variety across physical skills, coordination, confidence-building performance, and structured play.

Beyond weekly clubs, news and enrichment also matter. The school’s published updates include competitive sport participation (for example, Year 2 football tournament involvement) and wider participation events. For infants, these are valuable because they teach taking turns, dealing with winning and losing, and representing a group, all without the intensity that older pupils might face.

The school day is published clearly: children are welcomed from 8:55am, and the school day ends at 3:25pm. That clarity matters for working families, especially when combined with on-site breakfast club and after-school provision.

Transport and travel are likely to be car, walking, or local bus routes typical for a village and suburban setting. For families shortlisting multiple options, it is worth pressure-testing the route at peak times because infant drop-off congestion can change the feel of the morning quickly.

• Inspection improvements were specific, and worth checking progress against. The 2021 inspection identified issues around decodable reading books matching taught sounds, and about subject sequencing when “topics” distort the logical order of content. Ask how these actions were addressed, and what monitoring looks like now.

• SEND support consistency beyond core subjects was flagged. The inspection narrative describes variable quality of adaptations for pupils on SEN support, particularly in foundation subjects, with leaders already beginning to address it. Families with emerging needs may want to discuss how the school plans, reviews, and tracks adaptations across the whole curriculum.

• Reception wraparound is a different model to Years 1 and 2. Reception after-school care operates via provision at Wyvern College, while older infant pupils can use on-site after-school club. This can be a positive, but it is worth checking logistics and whether a change of setting at 3:25pm suits your child.

This is a large infant school that takes early learning seriously, with a clear focus on phonics, a broad curriculum foundation, and strong structures around behaviour and safeguarding. It suits families who want a traditional infant-school experience with the practical benefit of wraparound care and a published menu of clubs. The main challenge is navigating admissions in an oversubscribed context, so families are best served by planning early, using all preferences, and understanding Year 3 transfer timelines as well as Reception entry.