Townhill Infant School

Townhill Infant School is a much smaller than average infant and nursery school that serves a relatively deprived area, with a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with EHC plans. It is part of Hamwic Education Trust and includes a small resourced provision for pupils with complex speech, language and communication needs, as well as nursery provision for two- and three-year-olds. Since the previous inspection, numbers on roll have fallen significantly, and nearly half of pupils now travel in from outside the designated area. The headteacher oversees a second infant academy within the same trust, and the local governing body covers both schools.

Strengths

• Early years provision is a standout strength: highly skilled staff interactions, a well-sequenced curriculum and a strong focus on communication and language help children make excellent progress
• Reading and phonics are prioritised from Nursery onwards, with children confidently applying sounds to read and write books matched to their knowledge
• Leadership, governance and trust support are highly effective, evidence-based and united in ambition, with robust challenge and a strong professional learning programme
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is extensive, sharply tailored to pupils' needs and makes a demonstrable difference to their confidence and resilience
• Inclusion is underpinned by a positive culture of care, prompt identification of needs and effective pastoral support, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Pupils behave calmly and respectfully, bullying is rare, and attendance is improving rapidly, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Staff morale is high, workload is managed well and relationships across the school are open and positive

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' knowledge and understanding in some wider curriculum subjects are not as secure as in core subjects, and recall in some subjects is not yet as leaders intend
• Historical rates of absence and persistent absence have been above national averages, and further sustained improvement is needed to bring attendance consistently in line with national figures
• The resourced provision is being refined so that more pupils with complex needs have increasing access to the mainstream curriculum and experiences

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 Townhill Infant School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.3% 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 Townhill 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 Townhill Infant School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.7% 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, 17.5% of pupils at Townhill Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.7% 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 2024–25 Townhill Infant School received £9,235 and spent £9,653 for each of its 150 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £83,000 (-£554 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Hamwic Education Trust, income was £7,058 and spending £7,015 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 Southampton · Southampton local authority: places and applications

Townhill Infant School is part of Hamwic Education Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Harefield Primary School Southampton
• Glenfield Infant School Southampton
• Beechwood Junior School Southampton
• Thornhill Primary School Southampton
• Sholing Junior School Southampton
• Sholing Infant School Southampton
• Ludlow Infant Academy Southampton
• Woolston Infant School Southampton
• Weston Park Primary School Southampton
• Hollybrook Junior School Southampton

What is Townhill Infant School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Townhill Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Townhill Infant School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Townhill Infant School have?

Townhill Infant School has 143 pupils on roll.

What age range does Townhill Infant School cover?

Townhill Infant School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Townhill Infant School?

Townhill Infant School is at Benhams Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO18 2FG.