Garrick Green Infant School

Garrick Green Infant School is a happy, nurturing school where pupils feel safe and are kind, polite and eager to learn. Inspectors found strong provision across education quality, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. The school is part of the Wensum Trust and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; under the current inspection framework it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade. The curriculum is ambitious and carefully planned, with reading a particular priority. Phonics is taught well from the start, pupils develop strong knowledge and vocabulary, and children in Reception benefit from purposeful play and exploration. Pupils with SEND usually have well-thought-out plans, and leaders work closely with the trust and local governing body. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are writing and SEND support. Some pupils have not yet developed correct letter formation or the stamina to write at length, which limits the quality of their written work. Not all staff have yet had the training and guidance to meet the full range of pupils' needs, so some pupils, particularly those with SEND, are not consistently supported to access the curriculum as well as they could be.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and are well cared for in a nurturing environment.
• Pupils are kind, polite, work hard and listen carefully.
• The curriculum is ambitious, rigorous and carefully chosen across subjects.
• Reading is a high priority, with books widely available and stories shared regularly.
• Phonics is taught well from the start, and pupils needing extra help catch up quickly.
• Pupils develop strong knowledge and vocabulary across the curriculum.
• Pupils with SEND have clearly thought-out plans that teachers use to adapt learning.
• Early years children have many opportunities to learn and explore through play.
• Staff work closely with the multi-academy trust and value the support for their development.
• The local governing body and trustees provide effective challenge and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have not developed correct letter formation or the stamina needed to write at length, which limits the quality of their writing.
• Not all staff have received the training and guidance needed to support the differing and diverse needs of pupils, particularly those with SEND.
• Support for pupils with SEND is not consistently effective because some staff have less developed skills in meeting specific needs.

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 Garrick Green Infant School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.4% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Garrick Green 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 Garrick Green Infant School had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.5% 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, 9.5% of pupils at Garrick Green Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Garrick Green Infant School received £6,763 and spent £7,008 for each of its 143 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £27,000 (£190 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Wensum Trust, income was £7,356 and spending £7,170 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 Norwich · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Garrick Green Infant School is part of The Wensum Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Lodge Lane Infant School Norwich
• Heather Avenue Infant School Norwich
• Firside Junior School Norwich
• Kinsale Junior School Norwich
• Kinsale Infant School Norwich
• Hellesdon High School Norwich
• Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Acle Academy Norwich
• Wells-Next-the-Sea Primary and Nursery School Wells-Next-The-Sea
• Alderman Peel High School Wells-Next-The-Sea

What is Garrick Green Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Garrick Green Infant School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Garrick Green Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Garrick Green Infant School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Garrick Green Infant School have?

Garrick Green Infant School has 116 pupils on roll.

What age range does Garrick Green Infant School cover?

Garrick Green Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Garrick Green Infant School?

Garrick Green Infant School is at Garrick Green, Old Catton, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 7AL.