St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham

St Mary’s CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham is a small, friendly infant school where pupils are happy, behave well and benefit from warm, supportive relationships. The school has high expectations and a well-designed curriculum for most subjects, with strong provision for early reading and phonics. Personal development is exemplary, with an extensive range of opportunities, leadership roles and community links that enrich pupils’ learning. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff feel well supported by leaders and governors. The school’s main areas for improvement relate to the precision and depth of the wider curriculum. Occasionally, teaching tasks are not sharply focused on the key knowledge pupils need, which slows learning for some pupils. In a small number of wider curriculum subjects, pupils do not learn as deeply as they do in English and mathematics because recent curriculum refinements are still at an early stage of implementation. Leaders are aware of this and are taking action. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new headteacher joined in September 2023. The school is part of the Anglican Diocese of Guildford and receives strong support from the local authority and diocese. Under the current inspection framework, no overall effectiveness grade is given.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, enthusiastic learners who typically behave well and try their best.
• Relationships throughout the school are warm, supportive and kind.
• Personal development provision is exemplary, with a wide range of enriching opportunities.
• Pupils benefit from many leadership roles and community links.
• Early reading and phonics are taught well, and pupils master the phonics code quickly.
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and learning is adapted well so they can access the curriculum.
• The school is calm and well ordered, and pupils attend regularly.
• Reception children develop communication skills well through careful vocabulary modelling.
• Governors support and challenge the school effectively, with strong local authority and diocese guidance.
• Staff feel well supported and workload is considered when changes are made.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Occasionally, teaching tasks are not sufficiently focused on the key knowledge pupils need to learn.
• In a small number of wider curriculum subjects, pupils do not learn in as much depth as in others.
• Some curriculum improvements are at an early stage of implementation and need embedding across all subjects.

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 St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.0% 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 St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham 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 St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% 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, 4.7% of pupils at St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham received £7,988 and spent £8,082 for each of its 85 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £88,000 (£1,031 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).

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Farnham · Surrey local authority: places and applications

What is St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham have?

St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham has 85 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham cover?

St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham?

St Mary's CofE Aided Infant School, Frensham is at Frensham Road, Frensham, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 3DS.