Heatherside Infant School

Heatherside Infant School is a happy, calm and highly inclusive school where pupils behave exceptionally well and feel safe. Inspectors found strong subject knowledge, a thoughtfully sequenced curriculum from early years to Year 2, effective early reading support, and good provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils benefit from an impressive wider offer that develops character and reflects the school’s values, and parents are overwhelmingly positive. Leadership is accurate and self-aware, staff feel supported, and safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is assessment in some foundation subjects other than English and mathematics. Staff do not check pupils’ learning precisely enough in these subjects, so gaps in prior knowledge can go unnoticed and pupils sometimes move on before they are secure. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first since 2015; it remains a strong school with no overall effectiveness grade under current arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils behave exceptionally well and are highly attentive in lessons
• Personal development is outstanding, with an impressive range of wider opportunities
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and the curriculum is well sequenced from early years to Year 2
• Early reading is taught from the first week and support helps pupils keep up
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and access the full curriculum
• The school is highly inclusive and works closely with parents
• Leaders understand strengths and areas for improvement and support staff workload and wellbeing
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Pupils are safe and have positive relationships with adults
• Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, staff do not check pupils’ learning precisely enough to identify next steps
• Pupils sometimes begin new content before prior learning is secure in these subjects

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 Heatherside Infant School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.4% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Heatherside 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 Heatherside Infant School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 1.7% 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, 3.4% of pupils at Heatherside Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Heatherside Infant School received £6,238 and spent £6,458 for each of its 266 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £106,000 (-£400 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 Fleet · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Heatherside Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Heatherside Infant School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Heatherside Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Heatherside Infant School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Heatherside Infant School have?

Heatherside Infant School has 266 pupils on roll.

What age range does Heatherside Infant School cover?

Heatherside Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Heatherside Infant School?

Heatherside Infant School is at Reading Road South, Fleet, Hampshire, GU52 7TH.