Eastrop Infant School

Eastrop Infant School is a small infant and nursery school that was inspected in September 2026 and is judged to be meeting the expected standard across all areas, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils are happy, calm and safe, and the school’s nurturing environment supports positive behaviour and good attendance. Early years provision and phonics and early reading are particular strengths, and disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make secure progress in reading and mathematics. Leadership is knowledgeable and strategic, including during the school’s transition to a new trust, and governance provides appropriate oversight and challenge. Staff are well supported, morale is high, and professional development helps maintain consistent practice. Inclusion and pastoral support are effective, and pupils benefit from a well-planned personal development programme with enriching experiences. Leaders’ priorities include strengthening checks of pupils’ knowledge in wider-curriculum subjects, improving letter formation and handwriting, and making attendance analysis more precise for vulnerable pupils. Pupils’ direct engagement with a wider range of communities, cultures and faith groups is less developed, and evaluation of the personal development offer is not precise enough to show impact over time, particularly for vulnerable pupils. Some adaptations for pupils with SEND are also not applied consistently across all subjects.

Strengths

• Children get off to a flying start in the early years
• Phonics and early reading are taught accurately and consistently
• Books closely match pupils’ phonics knowledge
• Additional daily reading and mathematics practice build fluency
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make secure progress in reading and mathematics
• Pupils behave well and learning is rarely disrupted
• Staff and pupils have warm, respectful relationships
• Pupils feel safe and say bullying is rare
• Leaders monitor attendance and support families to reduce barriers
• Pupils with SEND and other vulnerabilities are identified quickly and supported effectively
• Pastoral support helps vulnerable pupils build confidence and resilience
• Leaders and governors know the school well and provide effective oversight
• Staff wellbeing and workload are considered during trust transition
• Professional development supports consistent practice and improvement
• Personal development is rooted in the school’s values and enriched by visits and clubs

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not recall key knowledge in wider-curriculum subjects
• Checks of learning in the wider curriculum are not used consistently to identify gaps
• Letter formation is not secure enough for more pupils to develop fluent handwriting
• Attendance analysis lacks precision for some vulnerable and persistently absent pupils
• SEND adaptations are not applied consistently across all subjects
• Opportunities for pupils to engage directly with a wider range of communities, cultures and faith groups are less developed
• Evaluation of personal development impact is not precise enough, particularly for vulnerable pupils

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 Eastrop Infant School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.1% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Eastrop 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 Eastrop Infant School had 25.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.0% 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, 4.4% of pupils at Eastrop Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Eastrop Infant School received £7,234 and spent £7,153 for each of its 132 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £180,000 (£1,365 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Grove Learning Trust, income was £6,237 and spending £6,421 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 Swindon · Swindon local authority: places and applications

Eastrop Infant School is part of Grove Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Southfield Junior School Swindon
• Haydonleigh Primary School Swindon
• Oakhurst Community Primary School Swindon
• Peatmoor Community Primary School Swindon
• Shaw Ridge Primary School Swindon
• Wroughton Junior School Swindon
• Millbrook Primary School Swindon
• Wroughton Infant School Swindon

What is Eastrop Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Eastrop Infant School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Eastrop Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Eastrop Infant School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Eastrop Infant School have?

Eastrop Infant School has 135 pupils on roll.

What age range does Eastrop Infant School cover?

Eastrop Infant School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Eastrop Infant School?

Eastrop Infant School is at Eastrop, Highworth, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN6 7AP.