Bottesford Infant School

Bottesford Infant School is a highly successful, nurturing infant school where pupils thrive and achieve extremely well. Inspectors found outstanding provision across all key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their school, and they respond exceptionally well to the school's high expectations and routines. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and active, with particularly strong reading, phonics, mathematics and science provision. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve well, and safeguarding is effective. Children in Reception get off to an excellent start in a well-considered environment, with strong relationships and a clear focus on language development. Pupils benefit from rich experiences, leadership roles and meaningful visits that broaden their understanding of faiths and cultures. Leadership and governance are significant strengths; staff are well supported, and partnerships with parents contribute strongly to pupils' success. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains outstanding following its previous outstanding inspection. Under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade is given for graded inspections. No areas of concern or underperformance were identified in the report. The school is exceptionally strong across all inspected areas, and inspectors found no weaknesses requiring improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils thrive in a highly supportive and nurturing environment
• Pupils achieve extremely well and are fully prepared for the next stage
• Behaviour is exceptional, with calm and respectful routines
• Pupils take pride in their school and show strong character through leadership roles
• The curriculum is broad, highly ambitious and consistently delivered
• Reading and phonics are taught highly effectively, fostering fluency and a love of books
• Mathematics teaching builds knowledge well and develops skilled problem-solving
• Teachers check pupils' understanding precisely and adapt support expertly
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and benefit from well-considered curriculum adaptations
• Reception children flourish in an environment that supports learning expertly
• Personal development is enriched through meaningful experiences, visits and cultural links
• Leadership and governance are strong, with effective staff development and parental partnerships
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

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 Bottesford Infant School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Bottesford 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 Bottesford Infant School had 26.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.7% 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, 12.9% of pupils at Bottesford Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Bottesford Infant School received £6,285 and spent £6,366 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £24,000 (-£116 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 Scunthorpe · North Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

What is Bottesford Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bottesford Infant School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Bottesford Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bottesford Infant School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Bottesford Infant School have?

Bottesford Infant School has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bottesford Infant School cover?

Bottesford Infant School for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is Bottesford Infant School?

Bottesford Infant School is at Manor Road, Bottesford, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, DN16 3PB.