Pound Hill Infant Academy

Pound Hill Infant Academy is a highly inclusive and successful infant school that has been inspected for the first time since opening as an academy within The University of Brighton Academies Trust. Pupils are described as flourishing emotionally and academically, with excellent behaviour, strong pastoral care and an exceptionally rich personal development offer. Early years provision gives children a strong start, reading is prioritised from the outset, and pupils with SEND are well supported through personalised provision. The curriculum is carefully planned and trust support has helped build secure subject knowledge among staff, and attendance is above the national average. The main area for improvement is that some pupils do not recall essential knowledge securely over time. In some lessons, activities do not build precisely enough on pupils’ prior understanding, so learning tasks need to be designed more consistently to help all pupils learn and remember key content across every subject. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and leaders, governors and trustees are seen as ambitious, diligent and supportive of staff wellbeing.

Strengths

• Reading is prioritised from early years, with expert phonics teaching and effective catch-up support.
• Support for pupils with SEND is a strength of this highly inclusive school.
• Behaviour is excellent across classrooms and the playground.
• Personal development is exceptional, with meaningful pupil responsibilities and rich enrichment.
• Early years provision gives children a strong and nurturing start.
• The curriculum is carefully thought through, with strong trust support and secure staff subject knowledge.
• Attendance is better than the national average and continuing to improve.
• Pastoral care is transformative, including therapeutic and sensory support.
• Leaders, governors and trustees are ambitious, knowledgeable and effective.
• The school ensures enrichment opportunities are accessible to all pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils’ recall of essential knowledge over time is less secure across the curriculum.
• In some lessons, activities do not build precisely enough on pupils’ prior understanding.

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 Pound Hill Infant Academy attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.5% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Pound Hill Infant Academy 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 Pound Hill Infant Academy had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.3% 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 Pound Hill Infant Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Pound Hill Infant Academy received £6,489 and spent £6,899 for each of its 269 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £6,000 (£23 per pupil).

Across all 65 schools of Reach2 Academy Trust, income was £7,346 and spending £7,105 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 Crawley · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

Pound Hill Infant Academy is part of Reach2 Academy Trust, which runs 65 schools. The nearest others:

• Desmond Anderson Primary Academy Crawley
• Aerodrome Primary Academy Croydon
• Robert Fitzroy Academy Croydon
• Holmbush Primary Academy Shoreham-By-Sea
• St Mark's Church of England Primary Academy London
• Eastbrook Primary Academy Brighton
• The Globe Primary Academy Lancing
• Tidemill Academy London
• Brampton Primary Academy Bexleyheath
• White Meadows Primary Academy Littlehampton

What is Pound Hill Infant Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pound Hill Infant Academy is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Pound Hill Infant Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Pound Hill Infant Academy was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Pound Hill Infant Academy have?

Pound Hill Infant Academy has 269 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pound Hill Infant Academy cover?

Pound Hill Infant Academy for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Pound Hill Infant Academy?

Pound Hill Infant Academy is at Crawley Lane, Pound Hill, Pound Hill Infant Academy, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 7EB.