Manby Lodge Infant School Review 2026, Weybridge three-form entry with strong early years focus

Infant schools do not publish the same end-of-primary outcomes that parents may be used to seeing at Year 6, so the more useful lens here is early reading, early mathematics, and whether children are building positive learning habits.

Evidence from formal evaluation places particular weight on early reading. The 2021 inspection describes a newly introduced phonics curriculum designed to help children become fluent readers and highlights careful matching of reading books to the sounds children have learned. For parents, the practical implication is straightforward: if your child thrives with structured, cumulative phonics and frequent practice with closely matched books, the approach described is aligned with that learning profile.

The curriculum framing on the school website aligns with a typical infant model, with Reception guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and Key Stage 1 following the National Curriculum. The distinctive element is how strongly the school emphasises behaviour expectations and learning behaviours as threads running through daily practice and assemblies, rather than treating them as an add-on.

In Reception, the school describes structured learning alongside developmentally appropriate provision, including regular PSHE sessions and supported sport sessions, with Forest School experiences built into the year. The Forest School programme is also described as weekly and led by a named, fully qualified Forest School teacher, Laura Wickwar.

The practical benefit for pupils is twofold. First, regular outdoor learning can support attention, language development and confidence for pupils who find desk-based concentration difficult at five or six. Second, the routine of “learning outside” can become a stabilising feature of the week, which is particularly helpful for children who benefit from predictable rhythms.

The learning behaviours framework is the other major teaching-and-learning lever. The published materials show concrete “I can” style statements linked to each behaviour, for example around reasoning and resourcefulness, which suggests staff want children to explicitly practise problem-solving and independent choice of resources, not simply follow instructions.

As an infant school, Manby Lodge is an early-stage setting and pupils move on at the end of Year 2. In Surrey, families with a child leaving Year 2 in July 2026 are explicitly included in the mainstream admissions round for September 2026 entry to the next school, so transition planning matters earlier than it does for all-through primaries.

A practical indicator of local partnership is the shared Home School Link Worker arrangement across Manby Lodge Infant, Oatlands Infant and Cleves Junior, which suggests joined-up family support and a degree of continuity for families moving between local schools.

What to do with this information as a parent: treat Year 3 planning as part of your overall decision. If you are choosing an infant school specifically, you will want to understand likely junior options, how travel would work, and how your child handles a second transition at age seven.

Manby Lodge is a state school, with admissions coordinated through Surrey’s local authority process. Surrey’s published timeline for September 2026 entry states applications open from 3 November 2025 and close on 15 January 2026.

The school’s admissions page confirms the published admission number is 90. Demand data indicates the school is oversubscribed, with 300 applications for 90 offers in the most recent cycle shown, which is around 3.33 applications per place. This typically means families should treat admission as competitive unless they are well placed under the relevant criteria.

For prospective parents, the school has historically run tours in the October to November window, with the 2026 entry tours listed across mid-October to mid-November. Those dates have passed in the current cycle, but the pattern is useful: expect tours to sit in that early autumn period and check the school’s updates for the next set.

If you are weighing options, FindMySchool’s Map Search is particularly useful for oversubscribed infants, since small differences in home-to-gate distance can matter in practice when places are allocated by criteria that include proximity.

Pastoral systems look stronger here than is typical for many infant schools simply because they are described clearly and by name. The school has an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) offer, with sessions taking place in a dedicated ELSA room intended as a calm, safe space for children who need targeted emotional support.

There is also a Home School Link Worker role described as supporting families across a range of issues, explicitly framed as a bridge between home and school. For families, this can be particularly valuable during Reception settling-in, attendance challenges, or periods of family change.

On inclusion, the staff pages show a designated Deputy Head and SENCO (Mrs K Saffer). The 2021 inspection report also describes staff as alert to pupils who are finding something difficult and emphasises timely support so that pupils feel safe and secure.

For an infant school, the club offer is unusually detailed and varied, with a clear mix of school-run and external-provider sessions. The published clubs list includes, among others, Rocksteady, Little Scientist, Theatre Works, Lego Club, and KWDA Movers (dance), alongside year-group football and multi-sports.

A few examples that help parents picture the week:

• Little Scientist (Year 1 and Year 2). Positioned as a school-run club, this can suit children who are curious and practical, and it gives a structured way to extend vocabulary and observation skills beyond the normal timetable.

• Lego Club (Year 1 and Year 2). Often valuable for fine motor development, turn-taking, and collaborative problem-solving, especially when the learning-behaviours framework encourages children to talk about planning and persistence.

• Rocksteady. A well-known primary music format, useful for confidence and early ensemble habits.

• KWDA Movers (Year 1 and Year 2). A dance offer that can appeal to children who learn best through movement and rhythm.

Outdoor enrichment also shows up through Forest School provision, described as weekly and led by a qualified specialist.

The school day is clearly set out, with classroom doors opening at 8:45am and the school day ending at 3:00pm, totalling 31 hours and 15 minutes across the week.

Wraparound care is established and named. Wraparound Rainbows Breakfast Club runs from 7:50am to 8:45am and After School Club runs from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on school days (with stated exceptions). Holiday childcare is also available on site via KOOSA Kids, which can matter for working families planning year-round coverage.

• Oversubscription reality. With 300 applications for 90 offers in the latest cycle shown, admission is competitive. Families should apply on time and keep realistic backup preferences.

• Two-step primary journey. As an infant school, pupils move again at the end of Year 2. Some children handle this easily; others find a second major transition at seven more demanding, so it is worth thinking about likely junior options early.

• Clubs are a mix of providers. The menu is broad, but several activities are run by external organisations. Families who prefer only school-led provision, or who are budget-sensitive around extras, may want to look carefully at what is optional and what is embedded.

• Tour timing. Tours have typically been scheduled in October to November for the following September intake. If you miss that window, you may need to rely on later opportunities or planned communications, so check early each autumn.

Manby Lodge Infant School reads as a structured, child-centred setting with a clearly articulated approach to learning behaviours, a strong emphasis on early reading, and more pastoral scaffolding than many infant schools describe publicly. Its size and admissions demand make it feel like a “big local” infant school that still aims for personal touch.

Best suited to families seeking a mainstream, state-funded infant school in Weybridge with clear routines, a defined early reading approach, and practical wraparound options, and who can plan confidently for the Year 3 transition as part of the overall primary journey.