Thames Ditton Infant School Review 2026: Oversubscribed Elmbridge infant, with specialist autism provision

Traditional headline attainment measures are not the best fit for an infant school, particularly one that finishes at Year 2. In most cases, families should treat this phase as foundational rather than exam-driven, with the real question being whether pupils leave Year 2 confident readers, secure writers at an age-appropriate level, and ready for junior school expectations.

The clearest external benchmark available is inspection. The latest Ofsted inspection, dated 20 April 2022, judged the school Good overall, and also graded quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision as Good.

For parents comparing local infant options, that pattern suggests a broadly consistent quality picture across the areas that matter most at this stage, including early years delivery, classroom culture, and leadership capacity. Where the school stands out is less about published attainment figures and more about the combination of mainstream provision with specialist communication and interaction support.

If you are shortlisting using performance data, it is worth switching mindset. At infant level, look for evidence of structured phonics teaching, clear reading practice routines, and consistent behaviour expectations. The school website references specific early reading and phonics resources for families, which is often a marker of a systematic approach, even when the site is not presenting formal results tables.

In an infant school, teaching quality usually shows up in small, repeated behaviours: the consistency of classroom routines, the clarity of instructions, and the way staff build learning habits without turning school into a pressured experience. The published school-day structure is tightly defined, with registration taken promptly in the morning and afternoon, planned break times for Years 1 and 2, and a clear end-of-day handover process. This level of operational clarity tends to support learning because it reduces the “noise” around transitions.

Early years practice is described in a way that implies continuous access to outdoor learning spaces for Reception, rather than treating outside time as a single fixed slot. For many pupils, particularly those who regulate better through movement or need practical, sensory learning, that matters. It also sits well alongside the presence of specialist provision for communication and interaction needs, where structure and environment design can be as important as lesson content.

Inclusion is not framed as a bolt-on. The school describes both mainstream SEND approaches and a discrete specialist unit. There is also a named Deputy Headteacher responsible for inclusion and SEND coordination, which signals that SEND is treated as a leadership priority rather than a peripheral responsibility.

For most families, the main transition question is the move from Year 2 into junior provision. The admissions arrangements explicitly reference a feeder relationship with Thames Ditton Junior School in the sibling criteria, which indicates an established local pathway and a practical linkage for families with children across both settings.

At this stage, parents should prioritise two things: how the school supports transition preparation in Year 2, and how well it communicates with receiving junior schools about pupils’ needs, especially for children with SEND. Families considering The Nest, or mainstream places with significant support needs, should also ask about transition planning and whether a phased approach is used where appropriate.

Admissions for Reception places are coordinated through Surrey’s primary admissions process, with the school’s published admission number set at 60 for the September 2026 intake. Reception entry is competitive. For the most recent admissions, there were 258 applications for 60 offers, and the school is recorded as oversubscribed, with 4.3 applications per place. First preference demand is also strong, with the ratio of first preferences to first preference offers at 1.37.

The published oversubscription criteria for 2026 to 2027 place looked-after and previously looked-after children first, then exceptional social or medical need, then children of staff, then siblings, then other children. Where places remain under the final criterion, allocation is by distance to the school gate measured in a straight line, using the local authority’s mapping system.

The practical implication is straightforward. If you are outside sibling priority, you should treat distance as the likely deciding factor once higher-priority criteria have been applied. Parents in this situation should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check their home-to-school distance with precision, then sanity-check it against the pattern of allocations in your application year.

In infant schools, pastoral care is inseparable from behaviour policy and everyday classroom practice. Here, the published stance is that wellbeing is everyone’s responsibility, and that behaviour should be interpreted as communication. This is a useful framework for families with children who may struggle with regulation, separation anxiety, or social communication in the early years.

Safeguarding leadership is clearly signposted in the school’s published information, and the school identifies named safeguarding roles, including a designated safeguarding lead and deputies. For families, the meaningful question is not the existence of roles, but how concerns are handled in practice, including communication with parents and the consistency of staff responses. Open events, parent sessions, and day-to-day handover routines are usually where schools demonstrate this culture most clearly.

The specialist unit also shapes wellbeing culture in the mainstream. Schools that run dedicated communication and interaction provision often become more skilled at sensory-aware classroom practice, predictable routines, and explicit social teaching. That can be a quiet advantage for many pupils, not only those formally placed within specialist provision.

Infant schools do not need an enormous activities list to feel rich. The most important factor is that the offer is age-appropriate, well-supervised, and consistent with the school’s learning priorities. Thames Ditton Infant School runs a broad wraparound and enrichment offer branded under Acorns, alongside termly clubs.

Specific club examples published for the spring programme include Football, Spanish, and Karate. For parents, these are not just “nice extras”. They can be a practical solution for confidence building, routine-setting after the school day, and widening experiences for children who may not yet have strong extracurricular options outside school.

Wraparound provision is described as including a mix of activities such as cooking and crafting, sports, and forest skills, alongside structured snack time and a light tea during after-school club. In an infant setting, that combination matters because it balances decompression time with purposeful activities, and it can significantly reduce the end-of-day stress for working families.

The school also refers to The Studio as a community-facing facility used for creative activities. Even if your child never uses it directly, the presence of a named dedicated space often correlates with stronger arts and performance opportunities over time, particularly when linked to trust-wide events.

The school day is published clearly. Drop-in starts at 8:25am and gates close at 8:35am; home time is 3:05pm.

Wraparound care is a defined feature. Breakfast club drop-off is available from 7:15am, and after-school club runs until 6:15pm. For parents needing consistent childcare cover across the working day, those hours are often as important as any curriculum detail.

For transport, the school sits within Thames Ditton village context, where local rail links and bus routes provide access across Elmbridge and towards Kingston and Surbiton. Families should still test the practicalities at peak times, including walking routes for drop-off and whether parking constraints change during the school run.

• Oversubscription pressure. Demand is high, with 258 applications for 60 offers in the latest. Families should plan with alternatives in mind if they are not protected by higher-priority criteria.

• Distance is likely decisive outside priority groups. Once looked-after status, exceptional need, staff children, and siblings are accounted for, allocation can come down to proximity.

• Specialist provision fit. The Nest is designed for children with high-level communication and interaction needs. Families should explore how places are allocated, the integration model, and how transition is planned beyond Year 2.

• Infant-only structure. The school finishes at Year 2, so the junior transfer is a major planning point, particularly for pupils with additional needs.

This is a well-organised, in-demand infant school with a clear inclusion identity and a practical wraparound offer that will matter to many families day-to-day. It suits parents who want structured routines, a calm approach to behaviour, and the option of specialist communication and interaction support on site, alongside mainstream infant schooling. The biggest constraint is admission competition, so shortlisting should be paired with a realistic plan for how the family will handle outcomes if a place is not offered.