Hiltingbury Infant School Review 2026: Outstanding infant provision with a strong reading culture

For infant schools, parents often find that standard public results data feels thinner than it does at Key Stage 2, because the school is not a Key Stage 2 test centre. In this case, the clearest, most up-to-date external benchmark is the graded inspection outcome.

The 12 and 13 September 2023 inspection judged the school Outstanding overall, and also Outstanding across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding was confirmed as effective.

For parents comparing local options, the most useful next step is often to use FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages and comparison tools to view later-phase outcomes side by side when children move into Key Stage 2.

Early reading is treated as a core craft, not a bolt-on initiative. The school explains that it teaches phonics systematically and then matches books to pupils’ current phonic stage so that practice is fluent rather than frustrating. The Year 1 information page is explicit about the approach: Little Wandle is used, it is taught daily, and parents are supported with shared terminology, alongside cued articulation to help children make and discriminate sounds accurately.

This matters in an infant setting because confidence gains compound quickly. When pupils can decode early and practise with the right level of text, they read more, build vocabulary faster, and develop stronger comprehension habits. The reading page also describes how staff map high-quality texts across the school to build cultural capital and broaden horizons, which is a helpful clue to how story time and class texts are chosen.

Beyond reading, the curriculum is presented as carefully sequenced. The school describes “curriculum drivers” (Possibilities, Creativity, Diversity and Community) and uses a “tree” metaphor to explain how those drivers shape what pupils learn and how learning connects across subjects. The latest inspection similarly points to a curriculum that sets out precise knowledge, skills and vocabulary and then checks learning closely to inform what comes next.

For children with speech, language and communication needs, published SEND documentation describes a model where needs are assessed and support is balanced between in-class strategies and targeted withdrawals, with oversight from named specialist leadership for the resource provision. For parents of children with SLCN, that integration often makes day-to-day school feel more normal, while still providing the specialist intensity children may need.

Because the school’s age range ends at 7, families should treat transition planning as part of the original choice. The school points families towards the linked junior school for the next stage, and Hampshire runs an infant-to-junior transfer process for Year 3.

For September 2026 transfer rounds, the local authority’s published key dates include Year 3 applications opening on 1 November 2025, closing on 15 January 2026, with offers notified on 16 April 2026. Even if a child is thriving, families should not assume paperwork takes care of itself. In a popular area, the administrative timeline matters.

Admissions are coordinated by the local authority, and the school’s own admissions page directs families to the Hampshire application route and to parent tours for September 2026 starters.

The published admissions policy for 2026 to 2027 sets a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 90 for Reception entry in September 2026, and confirms the on-time deadline as midnight on 15 January 2026, with notification on 16 April 2026. The same dates appear in Hampshire’s key dates guidance.

Oversubscription criteria follow the usual hierarchy for maintained schools in Hampshire, including priority for looked-after and previously looked-after children, exceptional medical or social need (with independent professional evidence), children of staff in defined circumstances, and then catchment and sibling rules, with distance as the tie-breaker when a criterion is oversubscribed.

From the supplied admissions data, demand is clearly higher than places. With 2.03 applications per offer, admission is competitive. If you are weighing several local options, it is sensible to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check your likely proximity position against the criteria, and to treat any single year’s pattern as indicative rather than guaranteed.

In an infant school, pastoral strength shows up in small, daily routines: how quickly adults learn what each child needs, how consistently behaviour expectations are taught, and whether children feel safe enough to take learning risks.

The latest inspection evidence highlights strong relationship-building, exemplary behaviour, and an age-appropriate approach to helping pupils understand safety. It also describes a culture where teamwork is visible across staff roles and where pupils learn to be part of a caring community, including those with additional needs.

Attendance is framed as strong in the inspection report, with low persistent absence overall, while also noting active work to improve attendance for a small group of pupils who could attend more regularly. That level of nuance is reassuring: it suggests leaders are not complacent and are prepared to intervene early when patterns emerge.

Infant schools do not need an enormous club list to be effective, but the best ones make enrichment purposeful and accessible. Official inspection evidence notes access to clubs and curriculum trips that broaden experience, with disadvantaged pupils benefiting.

The school’s own published funding strategy gives a clearer picture of the kinds of activities used to widen participation. It references increased after-school club provision including yoga, football, street dance, recorder and French. The practical implication is that enrichment is being used deliberately as part of inclusion and confidence-building, rather than as a separate, optional extra.

Wraparound provision is also positioned as part of the wider offer, not just childcare. The school runs on-site before-school and after-school clubs, and identifies staffing for these clubs publicly.

The school publishes clear day-to-day timings. Children can be dropped off from 8.45am, registration closes at 8.55am, and the school day finishes at 3.15pm, meeting the 32.5-hour week expectation.

Wraparound care runs from 7.45am to 8.45am before school and from 3.15pm to 6.00pm after school, with published pricing and booking cut-offs. For families relying on late pickups, the booking and cancellation windows matter as much as the headline hours.

Because admissions are catchment and distance-sensitive, practical travel planning is part of the decision. Families should check routes and realistic morning travel time, especially if considering a move, and confirm any parking or drop-off expectations through official school communications.

• Competition for places. The supplied admissions data shows 181 applications for 89 offers, and 2.03 applications per place applications per offer. That level of demand means families should treat admission as uncertain until an offer is confirmed.

• It is an infant school, so you will re-apply for Year 3. The main round transfer timeline matters, and Hampshire’s key dates show Year 3 deadlines align closely with Reception deadlines for September 2026 entry.

• Specialist speech, language and communication provision is present, but capacity is finite. Government records state a resourced provision capacity and an on-roll figure, and the school’s SEND documentation describes how support is organised. If you are seeking SLCN support, ask how placements are allocated and what a typical week looks like for a child in the provision.

• Wraparound is available, but it is a structured service with rules. Times, costs, and booking cut-offs are published, so families should check whether the pattern matches working hours and contingencies.

Hiltingbury Infant School is a high-performing, well-organised infant setting with Outstanding external validation and a clearly articulated approach to early reading, curriculum sequencing and inclusion.

It best suits families who want a calm, ambitious start to school life, value strong phonics and reading habits, and appreciate an inclusive model that supports speech, language and communication needs within mainstream classes. The main hurdle is admission competition, so families should plan their application timeline carefully.