Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery

Lightwater Village School has performed well in its first inspection since becoming an academy, receiving a 'Good' overall effectiveness rating. The school has effectively navigated leadership and curriculum changes, fostering a positive environment where pupils feel safe and valued. High expectations are established early on, leading to commendable achievements, particularly in reading and mathematics, while the inclusive nature of the school supports pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The governance structure provided by the school strategy board is in place but requires improvement in evaluating the effectiveness of subjects beyond English and mathematics.

Strengths

• Positive relationships foster a caring environment for pupils.
• High expectations in early years support rapid settling and engagement.
• Systematic phonics teaching helps children learn to read quickly.
• Pupils with SEND receive timely and effective support.
• Pupils demonstrate school values through various responsibilities.

Areas for Improvement

• Insufficient evaluation of learning in subjects with reorganised content.
• Lack of strategic oversight by the school strategy board on non-core 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 Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery 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 Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.1% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery received £7,065 and spent £8,008 for each of its 174 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £149,000 (£858 per pupil).

Across all 42 schools of Glf Schools, income was £7,514 and spending £7,514 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.

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

Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery is part of Glf Schools, which runs 43 schools. The nearest others:

• Lightwater Village Junior School Lightwater
• Pine Ridge Infant School & Nursery Camberley
• Cordwalles Junior School Camberley
• Lorraine Infant School & Nursery Camberley
• Frogmore Junior School Camberley
• Floreat Montague Park Primary School and Nursery Wokingham
• Windmill Primary School and Nursery Wokingham
• Wheatfield Primary School and Nursery Winnersh
• Springfield Primary School Sunbury-On-Thames
• Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre Reading

What is Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery have?

Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery has 199 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery cover?

Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery?

Lightwater Village Infant School and Nursery is at Catena Rise, Lightwater, Surrey, GU18 5RD.