Churchdown Village Infant School

Churchdown Village Infant School has improved markedly since its previous inspection and is now performing well across education, behaviour, personal development, leadership and early years. There have been significant changes in leadership and staffing, including a new headteacher and the school joining Gloucestershire Learning Alliance, and inspectors found strong ambition and rapid improvement, with some work still in its early stages. The school is warm and welcoming, pupils are polite and well-mannered, and staff have high expectations for behaviour. Pupils work hard, achieve well across many subjects, and benefit from a clear and coherent curriculum, with reading a particular priority and a well-structured early years provision. Pupils’ personal development is a notable strength: they learn about different cultures and beliefs, take part in community activities and charity work, and understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe. The school is calm and orderly, most pupils attend regularly and on time, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The trust is seen as supportive, staff value the professional development they receive, and parents are positive about the school. There are still areas to improve. Information about pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is not always used well enough in the wider curriculum, so some pupils do not learn as well as they could. In a small number of subjects, staff subject knowledge is less secure and assessment systems are not fully embedded, meaning some pupils have gaps in their learning. Recent changes to phonics teaching in the nursery are also in their early stages, and occasionally some pupils’ behaviour disrupts the learning of others.

Strengths

• Warm and welcoming school culture with high expectations for behaviour
• Pupils are polite, well-mannered and respond quickly to staff reminders
• Ambitious for all pupils, who work hard and achieve well across many subjects
• Clear and coherent curriculum with English and mathematics prioritised
• Reading is a priority, with pupils reading books that match the sounds they know
• Well-structured early years provision that prepares children well for Year 1
• Strong personal development, including learning about democracy, health and different cultures
• Pupils take part in community activities, charity fundraising and local projects
• Calm and orderly school environment with regular attendance
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Supportive trust and strong professional development for staff
• Parents are positive about the school and value its kind, supportive staff

Areas for Improvement

• Information about pupils with SEND is not always used well enough in the wider curriculum
• Some pupils with SEND do not develop their knowledge as well as they could across all subjects
• In a small number of subjects, staff subject knowledge is not secure
• Assessment and checking of what pupils know and remember are not embedded in some curriculum areas
• Some pupils have gaps in their understanding because earlier learning is not recalled and embedded well
• Recent changes to phonics teaching in the nursery are in their early stages
• Occasionally, some pupils’ behaviour disrupts the learning of others

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 Churchdown Village Infant School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Churchdown Village 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 Churchdown Village Infant School had 20.8 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, 16.0% of pupils at Churchdown Village Infant School 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 2024–25 Churchdown Village Infant School received £7,482 and spent £7,690 for each of its 173 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £132,000 (£765 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Gloucestershire Learning Alliance, income was £6,776 and spending £6,867 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Gloucester · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

Churchdown Village Infant School is part of Gloucestershire Learning Alliance, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Longford Park Primary Academy Gloucester
• Springbank Primary Academy Cheltenham
• Rowanfield Junior School Cheltenham
• Rowanfield Infant School Cheltenham
• Tredington Community Primary School Tewkesbury
• Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy Cheltenham
• Northway Infant School Tewkesbury
• Carrant Brook Junior School Tewkesbury
• Great Oldbury Primary Academy Stonehouse
• Badsey First School Evesham

What is Churchdown Village Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Churchdown Village Infant School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Churchdown Village Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Churchdown Village Infant School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Churchdown Village Infant School have?

Churchdown Village Infant School has 187 pupils on roll.

What age range does Churchdown Village Infant School cover?

Churchdown Village Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Churchdown Village Infant School?

Churchdown Village Infant School is at Station Road, Churchdown, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL3 2NB.