Farnham Common Infant School

Farnham Common Infant School is a caring and welcoming school where pupils feel secure, behave well and are proud of their school. Inspectors found notable strengths in personal development, behaviour and early years provision: pupils enjoy a wide range of trips, clubs and woodland learning, children settle well in the early years and achieve well, and safeguarding is effective. The school is part of a federation and has experienced leadership, staffing and governance changes, with several new governors appointed since September 2024. This graded inspection did not produce an overall effectiveness grade under the current framework. The main concern is reading. Previous inconsistencies in phonics teaching, reading books that were not well matched to pupils' learning, and extra support that did not work well enough have left too many pupils behind, including in the 2024 Year 1 phonics check. Leaders have begun to address this by working with specialist reading advisers, training staff and introducing a new phonics programme, but implementation is at a very early stage and checks on pupils' phonics learning are not rigorous enough. The quality of education and leadership and management are not yet good. Other strengths include a well-sequenced curriculum in mathematics and other subjects, improving attendance work and a strong focus on pupils' mental health and well-being. However, the very small number of pupils with significant behavioural needs are not always supported effectively because some staff lack the necessary expertise. Governors understand the school's priorities and staff value leaders' consideration of their workload, but the school still needs to fully establish the phonics programme, improve behaviour support and strengthen assessment of phonics learning.

Strengths

• Pupils feel secure and cared for through strong relationships
• Pupils are polite, welcoming and proud of their school
• Personal development is well supported through trips, visits and clubs
• Woodland learning enriches pupils' experiences
• Behaviour is generally good and staff apply the behaviour policy consistently
• Early years provision is welcoming and children settle and achieve well
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• The curriculum is well sequenced in mathematics and several other subjects
• Attendance monitoring has improved and pupils' mental health is prioritised
• Governors bring a valuable range of skills and are clear about priorities
• Staff feel leaders are thoughtful about their well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve well enough in reading
• Previous phonics teaching was inconsistent and reading books were poorly matched to pupils' sounds
• Extra reading support has not helped pupils who fell behind to catch up quickly enough
• The new phonics programme is at a very early stage of implementation
• Checks on pupils' phonics learning are not rigorous enough to identify underachievement
• Support for the very small number of pupils with significant behavioural needs is underdeveloped
• Some staff lack the knowledge and expertise to support complex behavioural needs effectively
• Quality of education is not yet good
• Leadership and management are not yet good

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Farnham Common Infant School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.5% of pupils at Farnham Common Infant School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Farnham Common Infant School had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.1% of pupils at Farnham Common Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Farnham Common Infant School received £8,386 and spent £8,235 for each of its 160 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £54,000 (£337 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Farnham Common Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Farnham Common Infant School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Farnham Common Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Farnham Common Infant School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Farnham Common Infant School have?

Farnham Common Infant School has 165 pupils on roll.

What age range does Farnham Common Infant School cover?

Farnham Common Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Farnham Common Infant School?

Farnham Common Infant School is at Beaconsfield Road, Farnham Common, Slough, Buckinghamshire, SL2 3HS.