Fairisle Infant and Nursery School

Fairisle Infant and Nursery School is a happy, caring and inclusive school where pupils build strong relationships with staff and feel part of the ‘Fairisle family’. The school has high expectations for learning and behaviour, and pupils are confident, independent and achieve well across much of the curriculum. Personal development is exceptional, with a strong character education programme, meaningful pupil voice and rich opportunities that bring learning to life. Reading is taught well through a consistent phonics approach, and pupils who need extra help catch up quickly. Teachers generally check learning effectively, use questioning well and help pupils remember key knowledge, particularly in mathematics. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are assessment in a few subjects and attendance. In subjects where the curriculum has recently been revised, leaders do not yet have clear oversight of how well pupils are learning, so gaps in knowledge and skills are sometimes not identified and addressed. Persistent absence remains high for some pupils, meaning they miss valuable learning time and the school’s wider opportunities. The governing body has an accurate picture of the school, and staff value their training and professional development through the foundation trust and local authority. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school is part of The Bridge Education Trust. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade is given.

Strengths

• Inclusive, nurturing ethos where pupils are happy, well cared for and feel part of the ‘Fairisle family’.
• Clear, sequenced curriculum across all subjects, including Nursery and Reception, with a strong focus on oracy and vocabulary.
• Effective phonics-based reading teaching with consistent terminology and good support for pupils who need extra help.
• Teachers use questioning and feedback well to check learning and address misconceptions.
• Strong mathematics practice with regular recap and application to problem-solving.
• Exceptional personal development, including character education, empathy, cultural understanding and purposeful pupil voice.
• Pupils behave well, show confidence and independence, and demonstrate the school values.
• Accurate governing body oversight and valued staff training through trust and local authority relationships.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, recent curriculum revisions mean leaders do not yet have clear oversight of how well pupils are learning.
• Gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills are sometimes not identified and addressed in those subjects.
• Persistent absence remains high for some pupils, so they miss learning and wider opportunities.

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 Fairisle Infant and Nursery School attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.0% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Fairisle Infant and Nursery 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 Fairisle Infant and Nursery School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.7% 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, 21.0% of pupils at Fairisle Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Fairisle Infant and Nursery School received £7,782 and spent £8,085 for each of its 304 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £484,000 (-£1,593 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 Southampton · Southampton local authority: places and applications

Fairisle Infant and Nursery School is part of Bridge Education Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Fairisle Junior School Southampton
• Newlands Primary School Southampton
• Oakwood Primary School Southampton
• Shirley Warren Primary & Nursery School Southampton
• Redbridge Primary School Southampton

What is Fairisle Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Fairisle Infant and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fairisle Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Fairisle Infant and Nursery School have?

Fairisle Infant and Nursery School has 324 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fairisle Infant and Nursery School cover?

Fairisle Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Fairisle Infant and Nursery School?

Fairisle Infant and Nursery School is at Fairisle Road, Lordshill, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 8BY.