Queen's Drive Infant School

Queen’s Drive Infant School is a welcoming, happy school where pupils enjoy learning and achieve well. Inspectors found good provision across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. The school has improved since its previous inspection, when it was judged to require improvement, and this graded inspection did not produce an overall effectiveness grade. Pupils benefit from high expectations, a carefully planned curriculum and consistent teaching. They behave well, collaborate at breaktimes, love reading, and receive strong phonics and additional support. Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and many achieve well, while safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors are focused on improvement, parents are positive, and staff feel supported. The main area to improve is the teaching of subject-specific vocabulary in a few subjects. Teachers are not always clear about the vocabulary pupils need, which can stop some pupils from taking part in meaningful discussion and communicating their understanding. Persistent absence is also high, although the school’s supportive strategies are helping more pupils attend regularly.

Strengths

• Welcoming school where pupils enjoy learning and are eager and engaged.
• High expectations and consistently strong teaching help pupils achieve well.
• Carefully planned curriculum from Reception to Year 2 builds knowledge effectively.
• Strong early reading and phonics support helps pupils read with confidence.
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and many achieve well.
• Clear rules and routines support good behaviour and collaborative play.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• Effective leadership and governance, with positive parental feedback and staff support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, teaching of subject-specific vocabulary is not focused enough, limiting some pupils’ ability to discuss and communicate understanding.
• Persistent absence remains high, although the school’s analysis and supportive strategies are improving attendance.

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 Queen's Drive Infant School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.5% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Queen's Drive 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 Queen's Drive Infant School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% 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, 12.0% of pupils at Queen's Drive Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.2% 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 Queen's Drive Infant School received £8,608 and spent £8,354 for each of its 208 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £134,000 (£642 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Peterborough · Peterborough local authority: places and applications

What is Queen's Drive Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Queen's Drive Infant School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Queen's Drive Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Queen's Drive Infant School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Queen's Drive Infant School have?

Queen's Drive Infant School has 208 pupils on roll.

What age range does Queen's Drive Infant School cover?

Queen's Drive Infant School for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is Queen's Drive Infant School?

Queen's Drive Infant School is at Queen's Drive West, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 2UU.