Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery

Meadowhead Community Infant School continues to be a good school, successfully fostering a positive learning environment where pupils feel secure and motivated. The school's ambitious curriculum is well-organized, supporting pupils, including those with special educational needs, to develop confidence and a love of learning, especially in reading. With strong leadership and effective safeguarding measures, the school thrives as a welcoming and engaging place for early years education. This inspection marks the first routine evaluation since early 2016, taking into account the impact of the pandemic on learning.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe, with staff welcoming them warmly each day.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-organized, building knowledge logically from early years to Year 2.
• Teachers effectively support and check pupils' understanding during lessons.
• Reading is prioritized, with a rich selection of books available and strong phonics instruction.
• Pupils with SEND achieve equally as well as their peers due to timely support and adaptations.
• Staff are committed and appreciated by school leaders.
• Pupils have opportunities for wider development through community involvement and responsibility roles.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, curriculum connections between current and earlier learning could be clearer.

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 Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.5% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Meadowhead Community 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 Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 24.9% of pupils at Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.5% 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 Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery received £9,269 and spent £9,602 for each of its 155 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £144,000 (£934 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 Blackburn · Blackburn with Darwen local authority: places and applications

What is Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in February 2023.

When was Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery was last inspected in February 2023.

How many pupils does Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery have?

Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery has 169 pupils on roll.

What age range does Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery cover?

Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery?

Meadowhead Community Infant School and Nursery is at Shorrock Lane, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 4TT.