Oatlands Infant School

Oatlands Infant School is a happy, inclusive infant school where pupils are proud to attend and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the opportunities provided. The school has high ambitions, a well-sequenced curriculum, strong early reading and early years provision, and highly effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils behave well, feel safe and cared for, and benefit from exceptional personal development and character education, including a strong focus on physical activity and citizenship. The main areas for improvement are writing and quality assurance. Pupils do not yet have enough high-quality opportunities to practise writing across the curriculum, so some are not developing the fluency, accuracy and handwriting they should. There are also some inconsistencies in expectations for the quality of work in lessons. Recent widespread changes have happened quickly, and leaders have not yet checked thoroughly enough that these actions are having the intended impact on pupils' learning. This was the school's first routine section 5 inspection; it had not previously been inspected and was last due a routine inspection before the COVID-19 pandemic. The school is part of the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, and the headteacher joined in September 2023. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff are proud to work at the school.

Strengths

• Inclusive and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe, valued and proud of their school
• High ambitions for all pupils, supported by a well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, with bespoke provision and strong parental involvement
• Strong early years provision, including an outdoor area that promotes activity and independence
• Pupils develop a love of reading, with well-trained staff supporting phonics and early fluency
• Exceptional personal development and character education, including citizenship, equalities and safety
• Pupils behave well and treat adults and each other with kindness and respect
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leaders, governors and trustees know the school community well and work together effectively
• Staff benefit from trust-wide collaboration, effective training and good consideration of workload and wellbeing

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not have enough high-quality opportunities to practise writing across the curriculum
• Some pupils are not developing writing fluency, accuracy and handwriting as well as they should
• Expectations for the quality of work are inconsistent in some lessons
• Leaders have not yet thoroughly evaluated the impact of recent widespread changes on pupils' learning

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 Oatlands Infant School attended 97.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 1.6% 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 Oatlands 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 Oatlands Infant School had 22.2 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, 4.8% of pupils at Oatlands Infant School 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 Oatlands Infant School received £5,850 and spent £6,113 for each of its 264 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £309,000 (£1,169 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, income was £6,950 and spending £6,849 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 Harrogate · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

Oatlands Infant School is part of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• St Aidan's Church of England High School Harrogate
• St Peter's Church of England Primary School Harrogate
• Pannal Primary School Harrogate
• Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School Harrogate
• All Saints Church of England School Harrogate
• North Rigton Church of England Primary School Leeds
• Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School Harrogate
• Masham CofE Primary School Ripon
• Embsay Church of England Primary School Skipton
• Skipton Parish Church of England Primary School Skipton

What is Oatlands Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oatlands Infant School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Oatlands Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Oatlands Infant School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Oatlands Infant School have?

Oatlands Infant School has 269 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oatlands Infant School cover?

Oatlands Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Oatlands Infant School?

Oatlands Infant School is at Hookstone Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 8BT.