South Wootton Infant School

South Wootton Infant School is a small, welcoming infant school within the South Wootton Federation. It has a nurturing ethos, strong relationships with parents and pupils, and safeguarding standards are met. Pupils attend well, behave positively, and benefit from a well-structured early years provision where reading and phonics are taught effectively. Inclusion, personal development and wellbeing are also generally effective, with pupils accessing a range of enrichment opportunities. However, some important areas need attention. Achievement is uneven: some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not develop sufficient depth of knowledge and are not well prepared for the next stage of education. Writing, in particular, is a weakness, with inaccurate letter formation and sentence structure. Curriculum and teaching are not consistently effective across subjects and phases, and assessment is not used sharply enough to check what pupils know and remember. Support for pupils with SEND who do not follow the specialised curriculum is not yet well embedded. Leadership and governance also need attention. Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school, and staff feel well supported, but improvement work is recent and not yet embedded. Governors do not challenge leaders robustly enough to bring about change quickly. The inspection followed the school’s federation with South Wootton Junior School, and the next steps focus on improving teaching quality, adapting learning for additional needs, developing writing, and embedding consistent behaviour routines.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where pupils feel safe.
• Pupils attend well; overall attendance is above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Persistent absence is low and leaders use a support-first approach with families.
• Behaviour is mostly effective, with calm and orderly lessons built on positive relationships.
• Early years provides a firm foundation and prepares children well for future learning.
• Early reading and phonics are prioritised, and children learn letter sounds quickly.
• Inclusion is well led; staff know pupils and families and identify SEND needs quickly.
• Personal development is well organised, including online safety, healthy minds and emotional understanding.
• Pupils learn about diversity, respect and fundamental British values at an age-appropriate level.
• Clubs, trips, forest school and community events enrich the curriculum and are accessible to disadvantaged pupils.
• Reading outcomes are strong, with pupils typically becoming fluent readers and positive phonics screening results.
• Staff feel supported, value the close-knit team and appreciate leaders’ consideration of workload and wellbeing.
• Parents and carers value the school highly and feel listened to as active partners.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not achieve well as they progress through the school and lack sufficient depth of understanding.
• Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not learn and remember knowledge confidently or build on it successfully.
• Foundational writing skills are weak; pupils do not always show accuracy in letter formation and sentence structure.
• Teaching of the curriculum is not consistently effective across some subjects and phases.
• Teachers do not always make clear the important knowledge pupils need to learn.
• Pupils do not always have enough opportunities to practise and consolidate key knowledge.
• Assessment is not used carefully enough to check what pupils know and remember.
• Support for pupils with SEND who do not follow the specialised curriculum is not well embedded.
• Teachers do not always adapt teaching effectively for pupils with additional needs.
• Improvement work to raise teaching quality is recent and not yet embedded.
• Governors do not challenge leaders robustly enough to ensure necessary changes happen quickly.
• Behaviour-related routines and approaches are not yet consistently applied across the school.

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 South Wootton Infant School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.9% 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, 0.6% of pupils at South Wootton 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 South Wootton Infant School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.7% 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, 14.7% of pupils at South Wootton Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 South Wootton Infant School received £7,061 and spent £7,255 for each of its 156 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £74,000 (£474 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 King'S Lynn · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

What is South Wootton Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Wootton Infant School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was South Wootton Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

South Wootton Infant School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does South Wootton Infant School have?

South Wootton Infant School has 156 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Wootton Infant School cover?

South Wootton Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is South Wootton Infant School?

South Wootton Infant School is at 9 Church Lane, South Wootton, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 3LJ.