Meath Green Infant School

Meath Green Infant School is fulfilling the standards expected of it across all evaluated areas. Inspectors found a warm, family-feel school where pupils feel safe, valued and happy, behaviour is positive, and attendance has improved rapidly to above national levels, with persistent absence now below national averages. Reading and phonics are strengths, the early years provision gives children a positive start, and pastoral care and inclusion are well organised. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, generally make secure progress and are well prepared for the next stage of school. However, the school is not yet excelling. Teaching and curriculum planning are generally clear, but some small-group teaching and additional literacy practice are not sharp or precise enough to help all pupils catch up quickly. Writing is less consistent, and the English and literacy curriculum lacks clear end points. Leaders and governors have accurate improvement priorities, but they do not review the impact of their work deeply enough, and governors underuse achievement data to compare the school with others. Professional development is not consistently informed by the best available research, and monitoring of academic support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND is not precise enough. Contextually, this is a smaller-than-average infant school with a low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. The headteacher joined in January 2023 and many governors are new. Safeguarding standards are met, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. The next steps focus on evidence-informed professional development, sharper English and literacy end points, and stronger quality assurance and accountability.

Strengths

• Warm, family-feel school where pupils feel safe, valued and happy
• Positive behaviour and respectful relationships across the school
• Attendance above national average after rapid improvement
• Persistent absence below national levels
• Strong early reading and phonics provision with a love of reading
• Well-planned and sequenced curriculum in most subjects
• Strong pastoral care, including the nurture nest and wellbeing support
• Effective inclusion and clearly organised SEND support
• Early years provision gives children a happy and settled start
• Clear leadership with shared values and strong parental relationships
• Pupils generally make secure progress and are ready for key stage 1

Areas for Improvement

• Some small-group teaching is not sharp enough to help all pupils catch up quickly
• Writing, including handwriting and spelling, is sometimes less secure
• Additional literacy practice is not always precise enough for pupils to catch up on foundational skills
• English and literacy curriculum end points are not clear enough
• Pupils' mistakes are not always addressed in their work
• Leaders and governors do not review the school's work in enough depth to ensure accountability
• Governors underuse achievement data to compare the school with others
• Professional development is not consistently informed by the best available research
• Leaders do not monitor precisely enough the impact of academic support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Extra writing practice in early years is not always effective enough
• Pupils do not always retain personal development learning over time

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 Meath Green Infant School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.8% 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 Meath Green 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 Meath Green Infant School had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.5% 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, 9.4% of pupils at Meath Green Infant 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 Meath Green Infant School received £6,623 and spent £6,347 for each of its 267 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £274,000 (£1,025 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 Horley · Surrey local authority: places and applications

What is Meath Green Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Meath Green Infant School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Meath Green Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Meath Green Infant School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Meath Green Infant School have?

Meath Green Infant School has 267 pupils on roll.

What age range does Meath Green Infant School cover?

Meath Green Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Meath Green Infant School?

Meath Green Infant School is at Kiln Lane, Meath Green, Horley, Surrey, RH6 8JG.