Huthwaite All Saints Church of England Infant and Nursery School Review 2026: Small Church School, Strong Foundations

This is an infant and nursery school, so families should expect a different evidence base from a full primary. There are no Key Stage 2 outcomes because pupils move on before Year 6, and national headline measures for this phase are naturally narrower.

The best public indicator of quality remains inspection history, and the most recent graded Ofsted judgement for the predecessor setting at the same site was Good following a short inspection visit on 30 March 2017.

The 2017 inspection letter also flags safeguarding as effective, and it highlights calm routines and positive behaviour as a lived feature of the school day, including how pupils move around school and respond to adult direction, which is particularly relevant for younger children who are learning what “school” feels like.

For a church school, the SIAMS inspection can add useful texture on ethos and spiritual development. The school’s SIAMS inspection was graded Excellent, with the inspection taking place on 10 March 2022.

The most helpful way to judge teaching in an infant school is to look for clarity of approach, consistent routines, and whether reading is treated as the organising spine of learning rather than one subject among many.

Reading looks structured. The school describes a mix of shared, guided and independent reading, plus regular read-aloud, and it uses a book band approach tied to Bug Club, with running record assessment to match books to a child’s stage.

Implication for families: children who thrive on predictable steps and regular practice often do well in this kind of model, and parents typically find it easier to support at home when the approach is explicit.

The curriculum also makes space for learning beyond desks. Forest School appears as a named strand, framed around outdoor, hands-on learning and confidence-building.

Implication: for pupils who need movement, practical exploration, or confidence with sensible risk, this can be a meaningful complement to phonics and early number work.

Digital learning tools are referenced for home learning support, including Purple Mash, Bug Club, and Maths Chase for times table practice. While times tables are a later focus than Reception, it suggests the school is thinking about continuity across the infant years and building learning habits that travel well into junior school.

Because the school ends at Year 2, transition is the key outcome parents should be thinking about. Families will be looking for a smooth handover into a junior or primary setting, so the most useful questions to ask are practical: which schools are the common next step, what information is shared, and whether children who have attended nursery at the school are guaranteed a Reception place.

On that last point, the trust’s published admissions arrangements are explicit: attendance in the early years provision does not guarantee a Reception place, and parents must apply through their home local authority as part of the normal admissions round.

Implication: if your child is in the nursery, you should still treat Reception as a fresh application, not a formality.

If you are mapping the wider pathway, FindMySchool’s comparison tools can help you shortlist likely junior and primary options alongside this school, and sense-check what “good” looks like locally across early years, attendance culture, and transition support.

This is a state school, so there are no tuition fees. The decision is about fit, admissions criteria, and practicalities.

For Reception entry connected to the 2026 intake, the school’s admissions page states that children born between 01 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 need to apply for a school place between 03 November 2025 and 15 January 2026.

The trust admissions document for 2026 to 2027 reinforces the 15 January 2026 closing date for applications in the normal admissions round, and it sets out a published admission number (PAN) of 30 for Reception.

Oversubscription criteria are faith-informed, which is important to understand before you apply. After children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, the criteria include looked after and previously looked after children, then several tiers linked to sibling connections and parental church commitment, followed by other church commitment categories, then other faith groups, and finally other children.

Implication: if you want church commitment taken into account, you should expect to complete a supplementary information form as well as the local authority application, as described in the admissions arrangements.

For nursery, the arrangement is different. The nursery page indicates places for free nursery entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds and directs families to apply via the nursery’s application forms.

The school is also part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham Multi Academy Trust, and the Ofsted page for the current URN places it within that trust.

In infant schools, pastoral strength usually looks like predictable routines, swift communication with families, and staff knowing children well enough to spot small changes.

Evidence points to a calm culture supported by strong routines. The 2017 inspection letter describes pupils settling quickly, understanding routines, and moving around school in a calm and cheerful manner.

The school also appears to invest in family-facing support. A Family Hub page lists a range of early help and parenting interventions signposted to families, including play, talk, and support programmes, which can be a practical lifeline for some households during the early years.

Implication: if you value a school that can point you to broader support, especially around early communication and confidence, that infrastructure may matter as much as any single classroom practice.

For an infant and nursery, enrichment should be age-appropriate, simple, and frequent rather than “elite”.

There are signs of purposeful enrichment with named strands. Forest School is one example. Another is the school’s use of structured reading practice through Bug Club.

For clubs, the historical events listings include a Year 1 after-school walking club, and the pupil premium strategy documents refer to an invite-only after-school reading club to support identified pupils in Year 2, which suggests interventions are sometimes extended beyond the standard day when needed.

Implication: parents who want early movement and early reading to be treated as core priorities will likely recognise those choices.

School hours are clearly published in the welcome booklet: gates open at 8.45am, register is at 8.50am, and children are dismissed at 3.20pm.

Wraparound care exists in the form of breakfast club, which the school booklet states runs from 7.30am until school starts. It is pre-booked and paid via the school’s system, and pricing is published.

For after-school care, the extended services policy indicates there are currently no regular after-school clubs in place, so families who need a consistent after-school childcare solution should check the latest position directly with the school before relying on it.

• Infant-only structure. Because the school ends at Year 2, transition planning matters more than in a 4 to 11 primary. Ask early what the most common next schools are and how handover information is managed.

• Nursery is not a guaranteed route into Reception. The admissions arrangements state that early years attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; you still apply through the local authority.

• Faith-aware oversubscription criteria. Families who want faith commitment considered should be ready for supplementary paperwork and clear evidence, because the published criteria prioritise church commitment at multiple tiers.

• After-school childcare may be limited. Breakfast club is established, but regular after-school provision is not described as a standing offer in the school’s extended services policy, which can be a deal-breaker for working patterns.

A small Church of England infant and nursery that puts a lot of emphasis on early routines, reading practice, and close links with families, with evidence of calm behaviour expectations and effective safeguarding in its inspection history. It will suit families who want a Christian ethos, a structured approach to early reading, and a smaller setting where staff roles are clearly defined and communication is straightforward. The key decision points are admissions priority, especially if you want faith commitment considered, and how you plan the move into juniors after Year 2.