The FMS Inspection Score is FindMySchool's proprietary analysis based on official Ofsted and ISI inspection reports. It converts ratings into a standardised 1–10 scale for fair comparison across all schools in England.
Disclaimer: The FMS Inspection Score is an independent analysis by FindMySchool. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Ofsted or ISI. Always refer to the official Ofsted or ISI report for the full picture of a school’s inspection outcome.
A good infant school can feel deceptively simple, children arrive happy, learn to read, and grow in confidence. The detail is what separates the best from the rest. Here, that detail shows up in the way pupils are taught to persevere through the school’s “learning powers”, the consistent priority placed on reading, and the practical support offered to families whose lives change quickly because of Armed Forces commitments. The most recent inspection confirmed standards are being maintained, with pupils described as polite, kind and hardworking, and with safeguarding judged effective.
This is a small school by design, with a capacity of 180 pupils and an age range that finishes at Year 2, so it retains the feel of a close early-years community. Local identity is not an add-on. The curriculum and wider life are repeatedly tied back to the village and the local area, and the school explicitly frames itself as part of the community going back to 1898.
A distinctive feature is how directly the school addresses mobility and separation that can come with service life. A Deployment Club is designed to help pupils manage feelings when a parent or carer is away, and it sits alongside a wider expectation that adults spot emotional needs quickly and respond consistently.
The tone is also shaped by a common language about learning. “Learning powers” are not just a poster concept; they are listed and explained in detail, from perseverance and aiming high to celebrating difference and learning from mistakes. For young children, that shared vocabulary matters, it gives pupils a way to explain how they tackled a challenge, not just whether they got the answer right.
Leadership is stable and visible. The headteacher is Lauren English, who took up the role in September 2018 and is also the designated safeguarding lead.
Infant schools sit in a slightly different results context to full primaries. Nationally published headline measures focus more heavily on the end of Year 6, so parents should expect fewer simple “league table” comparisons for a school that finishes at Year 2. In this case, there is no published local or England ranking position available from the performance.
What you can rely on is the quality picture from external review and the school’s own curriculum evidence. Ofsted’s ungraded inspection on 26 and 27 November 2024 concluded the school had taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.
Pupils are expected to work hard and do, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and reading is treated as a whole-school priority from the start of Reception.
If you are comparing nearby options, FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages and the Comparison Tool can still be useful for looking at broader local context side by side, particularly when you are weighing infant-plus-junior pathways against all-through primaries.
A clear strength here is curriculum intent that is specific enough to be meaningful. The school describes foundation subjects as taught discretely, even when a theme links learning across the year groups, so pupils understand when they are learning history, geography, art and design, and so on. That sounds small, but for infant-age children it reduces muddle and helps them form early “subject” concepts.
Early years is structured around independence and confidence, with concrete outcomes such as learning and reciting nursery rhymes, building ambitious vocabulary, and developing local knowledge, including understanding that they live near a Royal Air Force base.
Reading is treated as a core pillar. Staff training and consistency in phonics language is highlighted, with a recognition that precision matters, especially when pupils are first learning sounds and blending. Writing is supported through repeated practice and carefully chosen texts, with pupils encouraged to check and correct their work as they get older.
Mathematics is described in practical classroom terms, including explicit teaching of key vocabulary and pupils using resources to demonstrate and prove their thinking. That emphasis on explanation, even at infant stage, is often a marker of strong teaching, because it builds the habit of reasoning early.
One area for development is assessment across the wider curriculum. The latest report flags that assessment is not fully developed in all subjects, which can make it harder for teachers to be as confident about what pupils remember over time in the foundation subjects. For many families this will not be a deal-breaker, but it is a sensible question to raise at a visit: how does the school check knowledge retention beyond English and maths?
Quality of Education
Good
Behaviour & Attitudes
Good
Personal Development
Good
Leadership & Management
Good
FMS Inspection Score calculated by FindMySchool based on official inspection data.
Because the school finishes at Year 2, transition is not to Year 7 but to junior school. The school is explicit that the majority of Year 2 pupils move on to Mayhill Junior School, and staff describe relationships with junior colleagues as part of maintaining a coherent learning journey from Reception through to Year 6 locally.
That “linked school” relationship is also reflected in practical arrangements, including a secure walking bus mentioned for daily transfer routes.
For parents, the implication is straightforward: choosing this school is also choosing an infant-to-junior pathway. It suits families who like the smaller-scale feel of an infant setting for the earliest years, and who are comfortable navigating another admissions and transition point at age 7.
Admissions are coordinated by Hampshire County Council, not directly by the school, and the published admission number for Reception entry in 2026 to 2027 is 60.
The school is oversubscribed. In the latest admissions, there were 91 applications for 57 offers, which equates to 1.6 applications per place offered. That is competitive, but not the “one chance only” level seen in the most pressured urban catchments; it usually means distance and criteria details matter, and late applications can be costly in practice.
The oversubscription rules follow standard local-authority patterns, with priority first to children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, then looked-after and previously looked-after children, then exceptional medical or social need (with independent professional evidence), then children of qualifying staff, then catchment-area children with siblings, and so on. If the school is oversubscribed within a criterion, places are prioritised by straight-line distance.
For September 2026 entry, county “main round” timings are clear: applications open 1 November 2025 and close 15 January 2026, with offers notified on 16 April 2026.
For visiting, the school states it prefers small individual tours rather than open mornings, and for September 2026 starters it welcomes visits from 15 September 2025 onwards.
Parents weighing a move should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check their likely distance positioning, then treat it as guidance rather than certainty, because annual intake patterns can shift.
Applications
91
Total received
Places Offered
57
Subscription Rate
1.6x
Apps per place
Wellbeing is not framed as a separate bolt-on. It is threaded through routines, vocabulary, and targeted interventions. The most obvious example is support for service families: pupils are helped to manage feelings around deployment, and staff are expected to respond quickly when family circumstances change.
The “learning powers” work as an emotional literacy tool as well as an academic one. Teaching children that mistakes are normal, that perseverance is valued, and that difference should be celebrated gives staff a consistent way to talk about confidence and self-image in age-appropriate terms.
Safeguarding is treated as a core competence, and safeguarding arrangements were judged effective in the latest inspection.
Extra opportunities are strongest when they reinforce the school’s character rather than just adding noise. Here, several named programmes do exactly that.
First, there is a clear “community citizenship” thread. Pupils value the “acorns to oaks” club, described as gardening alongside older members of the community, and they take part in intergenerational links with local organisations.
Second, outdoor learning is structured rather than occasional. Woodland School is described as a programme for small groups of Year 2 pupils, running for at least six weekly sessions and lasting up to two hours, with skills built up week by week. For many children, this kind of repeated outdoor curriculum supports confidence, risk-awareness and teamwork more effectively than a one-off “forest day”.
Third, pupils are given additional experiences such as Trailblazers and other trips, and the school’s published calendar indicates a regular rhythm of themed and cultural events across the year.
There are also smaller details that matter to parents of infant-age children. The inspection report references playtime features like a stage and a car track, and the school dog is mentioned as part of the welcoming culture, which can be a real comfort for younger pupils who are still learning school routines.
The school day has precise routines. Children arrive between 8.30am and 8.40am, with registration closing at 8.55am, and the school day finishes at 3.10pm, with gates opened at 3.05pm for pick-up.
Parking is described as extremely limited, with an explicit request for families to walk where possible and to park considerately if driving.
Wraparound childcare is available via an on-site provider. Breakfast club runs from 7.45am until school starts, and after-school club runs from the end of the school day until 6.00pm.
An infant-only pathway. School finishes at Year 2, so all pupils move on at age 7. For most, that is to Mayhill Juniors, with transition planned as a continuum, but it is still an extra change point compared with a full primary.
Competition is real, even if not extreme. The school is oversubscribed, with 91 applications for 57 offers in the latest. Families should take the admissions criteria seriously, especially catchment and distance rules.
Curriculum assessment is a development area. The latest inspection highlights that assessment is not yet fully developed across all subjects, which matters if you want clear evidence of what your child remembers in the wider curriculum as they move through Year 1 and Year 2.
Drop-off and parking require planning. Limited parking and a tight arrival window suit families who can walk, cycle, or arrange predictable routines.
This is a small, community-rooted infant school that has done the hard work of making values practical, especially for very young children. Its support for service families is unusually explicit and well thought through, and the curriculum intent, particularly in reading and early learning habits, is clear.
Who it suits: families who want an infant setting with a strong sense of belonging, who value a shared language around confidence and perseverance, and who are comfortable with the planned transition to junior school at the end of Year 2. The main hurdle is admission, not the experience once a place is secured.
The school is judged Good overall, and the most recent inspection in late 2024 confirmed it is maintaining standards. The report describes pupils as kind and hardworking, with reading treated as a priority from the start and with a well-designed curriculum that supports strong progress.
Applications are made through Hampshire County Council. For September 2026 entry, applications open on 1 November 2025 and close on 15 January 2026, with offers issued on 16 April 2026. The school’s admissions policy sets out oversubscription criteria and how distance is used as a tie-break.
Yes. An on-site provider runs wraparound care, with breakfast club from 7.45am until school starts and after-school club running until 6.00pm. Families should check availability and booking arrangements directly with the provider.
Most pupils move on to Mayhill Junior School, and staff describe transition planning as part of a coherent local journey from Reception to Year 6. It is sensible to look at the junior-school step early, because it is part of the pathway choice you make at age 4.
They are a set of shared learning attitudes taught explicitly across the school, including ideas such as making mistakes, aiming high, exploring, persevering, celebrating difference, and teamwork. The aim is to give children simple language for how they learn, not just what they learn.
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