West Hove Infant School Review 2026: Two-site infant school with exceptionally strong early reading

Infant schools sit slightly awkwardly in a results-driven conversation because the commonly compared metrics sit later, at the end of Year 6. Here, the strongest usable evidence is the quality of curriculum thinking and the impact on early reading, which is where long-term attainment is often won or lost.

The latest Ofsted inspection (19 November 2024) graded every area as Outstanding, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

Within that, early reading is presented as a defining strength. Reception children are described as becoming fluent and accurate readers quickly, with reading treated as a priority and staff coaching used to secure consistency in how reading is taught and checked. There is also a stated focus on pupils who read less often at home, with structured checking and early intervention for those needing more help.

For parents, the implication is practical: if you want a school where phonics and early literacy are not left to chance, the evidence points to a deliberately engineered approach that aims to make outcomes less dependent on what happens outside school.

The school explains its curriculum through a set of drivers intended to be embedded across subjects, labelled SEED: Standards, Enjoyment, Enquiry and Diversity. What matters is not the acronym but what it signals. The narrative is clear that challenge is expected for all children, and that creative and critical thinking skills are planned into topics rather than bolted on.

Another clear strand is “growth mindset” teaching. The school’s curriculum material frames this as helping children see challenge as normal, view mistakes as part of learning, and value effort, persistence and feedback. In infant settings, that can translate into calmer classrooms because children are coached to stay with a task rather than avoid it. It also tends to suit children who need explicit reassurance that it is safe to try, fail, and try again.

There is also evidence of structured curriculum thinking beyond English and maths. The most recent inspection notes deep dives that included mathematics, art and design, history and geography. For an infant school, that breadth matters, it suggests the wider curriculum is not treated as filler between phonics sessions.

Most families look at infant school through the lens of the next step, Year 3. The school is federated with Hove Junior School, with governance and executive leadership working across both schools, and both schools operating across the Portland Road and Holland Road sites.

Transition arrangements are described as purposeful. The school’s transition policy references children spending a full transition day at the junior school in July, and the use of key workers and learning mentors to support the move. It also states that if a child is allocated a junior place elsewhere, the school will contact that school to support transition visits or communication.

Families should still treat junior transfer as an admissions process, not an automatic entitlement, because infant and junior allocations are coordinated separately by the local authority. What the federation does give you is a smoother pathway in practice, with aligned expectations and a mature handover model for children who do move on within the linked junior phase.

Admissions for Reception are coordinated by Brighton & Hove City Council rather than handled solely by the school, and families should plan around the council’s current published deadlines.

Demand is a defining feature. In the latest published admissions snapshot, there were 389 applications for 160 offers, which equates to 2.43 applications per place. Many families will interpret that as a need to be realistic: you should apply with a ranked set of preferences that includes options you would genuinely accept.

Visits matter because this school operates across two sites, and daily experience can differ slightly by location and routines. The school’s parent information indicates that tours for September entry typically run in the autumn term and into early January, and are arranged by contacting the school offices. If you are planning ahead for a later year, treat that as a pattern rather than a guarantee and check the updated schedule when applications open.

A practical tip: if you are weighing several local schools and want to be systematic, use FindMySchool’s Map Search to compare routes and likely travel time at drop-off, then save your shortlist so you can revisit it once you have visited and read the most recent inspection.

The strongest indicators here are culture and systems rather than programmes with catchy names. Official reporting describes a school where pupils feel known and heard by adults, and where wellbeing is shaped through positive routines and clear expectations that reduce low-level disruption.

The description of inclusion is also concrete. Adjustments to routines and systems for pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities are presented as normalised, and pupils are described as having a deep understanding of equality and kindness. For parents, the practical implication is that pastoral care is not only reactive; it is built into how classrooms and common spaces run.

Safeguarding is also addressed directly in the most recent report, with safeguarding arrangements stated as effective.

For an infant school, enrichment tends to be about play, creativity and confidence rather than specialist outcomes. Here, the most distinctive evidence is the investment in outdoor learning and structured childcare beyond the school day.

The school’s published prospectus references an outdoor classroom and a Forest School area, alongside playground features such as a pirate ship, climbing wall, adventure trail and an astro-turfed area, with further development described around reading spaces. The implication is straightforward: children who learn best through movement, talk and hands-on exploration are likely to get more opportunities to do so, not only at breaktime but in planned learning.

Wraparound provision is also unusually explicit. Breakfast and after-school provision is described as running on both sites, with breakfast club starting from 7:40am at Holland Road and from 7:45am at School Road, and after-school club running until 6pm. The published cost is £5.50 per session for breakfast club. That matters for working families because it can remove the need to patch together multiple childcare arrangements across the week.

Within the clubs offer, the published description also emphasises play-based activities, including arts and crafts, board games, construction, physical play, cookery and reading. For children, that usually translates into a softer end to the day, less formal than classroom learning, which can be helpful for stamina at ages 5 to 7.

The school day differs slightly by site. Published opening times are 8:50am to 3:15pm at School Road, and 8:50am to 3:05pm at Holland Road.

Wraparound care exists and is integrated with the linked junior school at both sites. Breakfast club is described as operating before school, and after-school club runs from the end of the school day until 6pm on weekdays in term time.

As a state school, there are no tuition fees. Families should still budget for typical incidentals such as uniform and trips, and for wraparound care if used.

• Oversubscription reality. With 389 applications for 160 offers in the latest snapshot, competition is material. Have a realistic spread of preferences and avoid relying on a single outcome.

• Two-site logistics. A two-site model can be a positive, but it does mean routines and travel patterns matter more. Visiting both sites, where relevant, helps you judge daily practicality and fit.

• Infant-to-junior is a transition point. The federation supports continuity, but junior transfer remains a separate admissions route, so families should read the council’s guidance early and plan ahead.

• Limited headline performance data. If you are looking primarily for end of primary published outcomes, an infant school will not provide those, so your decision needs to rest on curriculum quality, early reading, culture and transition support.

This is an infant school with a strong evidence base around early reading, curriculum sequencing and consistency across staff, even at scale. The federation structure with the junior phase strengthens continuity, especially for families who value a coherent pathway from Reception into Year 6.

Who it suits: families seeking a highly structured start to schooling, with clear expectations, strong early literacy practice and wraparound childcare options. The main hurdle is admission, because demand is high, so planning and realistic preferences matter as much as fit.