Ribbleton Avenue Infant School

Ribbleton Avenue Infant School is a welcoming, community-minded school where pupils feel happy, cared for and safe. Inspectors found the school performing well across education quality, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school has high ambition for pupils, including those with SEND, and pupils generally achieve well. Phonics teaching is a particular strength, behaviour is positive, attendance has improved markedly since the pandemic, and pupils benefit from trips, responsibilities and age-appropriate experiences that develop them as citizens. Governors support and challenge the school effectively, staff feel well supported, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement relate to the curriculum in a small number of subjects. Some curriculum refinements are relatively new, and weaknesses in the previous subject curriculum have left some pupils with gaps in knowledge that have not been identified or addressed. In a few classes, some learning activities do not help pupils connect new learning to what they already know, so some pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school is asked to ensure teachers have the knowledge to design activities that build securely on prior learning and to identify and remedy pupils' knowledge gaps swiftly. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, when it was judged outstanding and subsequently exempt from routine inspection. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. The school serves a community with a well-above-average proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language and an above-average proportion with education, health and care plans.

Strengths

• Pupils feel welcome, happy and cared for, and trust staff to help with worries
• The school has high ambition for pupils' learning and development, including those with SEND
• Pupils, including many with SEND, achieve well across much of the curriculum
• Staff teach the phonics programme consistently well and quickly support pupils who need extra help
• Pupils new to English as an additional language develop secure phonics understanding by the end of Year 2
• Behaviour across the school is positive and learning is rarely interrupted
• The school has been highly effective in improving attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic
• Pupils experience trips, responsibilities and activities that prepare them for life in modern Britain
• Governors support and challenge the school well to improve the quality of education
• Staff appreciate the support for their workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, some activities do not build on what pupils already know
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge from weaknesses in the previous subject curriculum
• Some knowledge gaps have not been identified or addressed, hindering pupils' understanding of new learning
• Teachers in a few subjects need more knowledge to design activities that connect learning and build deep knowledge

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 Ribbleton Avenue Infant School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Ribbleton Avenue 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 Ribbleton Avenue Infant School had 24.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.0% 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, 16.0% of pupils at Ribbleton Avenue Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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 Ribbleton Avenue Infant School received £7,692 and spent £7,478 for each of its 244 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £158,000 (£649 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 Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Ribbleton Avenue Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ribbleton Avenue Infant School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Ribbleton Avenue Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ribbleton Avenue Infant School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Ribbleton Avenue Infant School have?

Ribbleton Avenue Infant School has 244 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ribbleton Avenue Infant School cover?

Ribbleton Avenue Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Ribbleton Avenue Infant School?

Ribbleton Avenue Infant School is at Ribbleton Avenue, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 5RU.