King's Ford Infant School and Nursery

King’s Ford Infant School and Nursery is a good school overall, with good judgements across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are happy, feel safe and build strong relationships with staff and each other. Behaviour is positive, pupils are well mannered and inclusive, and they are well prepared for their next stages of learning. The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, who make strong progress and are fully included. Reading is a notable strength: children begin phonics in Nursery, staff are well trained, and pupils develop a love of reading. Early years provision is also strong, with skilful staff and meaningful learning opportunities. Pupils benefit from a broad personal development programme and a wide range of enrichment experiences. The main area for improvement is curriculum clarity in a small number of subjects. In these subjects, the exact knowledge pupils need to learn is not identified precisely enough, which sometimes makes it harder for teachers to design learning that builds on prior knowledge and helps pupils remember more. This can leave gaps in pupils’ learning. Safeguarding is effective, staff feel well supported, and governors know the school well. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and trust adults to listen to their worries.
• Pupils build strong relationships and behave positively in and out of lessons.
• The school sets high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils with SEND make strong progress and are fully included in school life.
• Early years provision is strong, with skilful staff and meaningful learning opportunities.
• Pupils develop a love of reading from an early age through an effective phonics programme.
• The school provides a broad personal development programme and a wide range of enrichment experiences.
• Staff feel well supported, and governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the exact knowledge pupils should learn lacks clarity.
• Teachers sometimes do not plan activities that build securely on what pupils need to learn.
• Gaps in pupils’ learning are not addressed as quickly as they could be in some subjects.
• Pupils do not always build their foundational knowledge as successfully as they should.

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 King's Ford Infant School and Nursery attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% 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, 3.7% of pupils at King's Ford Infant School and Nursery 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 King's Ford Infant School and Nursery had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 18.8% of pupils at King's Ford Infant School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.3% 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 King's Ford Infant School and Nursery received £8,904 and spent £8,743 for each of its 142 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £32,000 (£227 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 Colchester · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is King's Ford Infant School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for King's Ford Infant School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was King's Ford Infant School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

King's Ford Infant School and Nursery was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does King's Ford Infant School and Nursery have?

King's Ford Infant School and Nursery has 154 pupils on roll.

What age range does King's Ford Infant School and Nursery cover?

King's Ford Infant School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is King's Ford Infant School and Nursery?

King's Ford Infant School and Nursery is at Gloucester Avenue, Shrub End, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9AZ.