Lionwood Infant and Nursery School

Lionwood Infant and Nursery School is a highly effective school where pupils thrive and are well supported to be successful and happy. Inspectors found the quality of education strong, with behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision all judged outstanding. Pupils enjoy an ambitious curriculum designed around their needs and interests, behave well, and achieve well across the curriculum. The early years provision is particularly strong and prepares children exceptionally well for Year 1, while consistent phonics teaching and focused support help pupils who fall behind in reading to catch up. The school’s Specialist Hub of Inclusive Practice has strengthened support for pupils with SEND and increased staff expertise across the school. Personal development is a notable strength, with a rich programme of trips, activities and pastoral support helping pupils build confidence, curiosity and a love of learning. Leadership is strong, staff receive effective training and support, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is part of the Inclusive Schools Trust and has a SEN unit for eight pupils; the head of school was absent during the inspection. The main area for improvement is assessment in a few subjects. In these subjects, staff do not consistently check that pupils have a secure understanding of important knowledge before moving on to new learning, which can leave gaps and slow progress. The school should ensure that staff check pupils’ understanding effectively in all subjects so that pupils can build securely on prior learning.

Strengths

• Pupils thrive and are valued, supported to be successful and happy.
• The curriculum is ambitious and designed around pupils’ needs and interests.
• Pupils behave exceptionally well and treat each other with respect.
• Early years provision is highly effective and prepares children exceptionally well for Year 1.
• Phonics teaching is consistent, with focused support helping pupils catch up in reading.
• The Specialist Hub of Inclusive Practice strengthens SEND support and staff expertise.
• Personal development is outstanding, with rich trips, experiences and pastoral support.
• Leadership and management are outstanding, with strong staff training and trust collaboration.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, staff do not consistently check that pupils have secured important knowledge before moving on.
• Assessment of retained knowledge is still developing in some subjects, which can leave gaps and slow progress.

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 Lionwood Infant and Nursery School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.7% 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, 1.8% of pupils at Lionwood Infant and Nursery 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 Lionwood Infant and Nursery School had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 41.0% 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, 19.8% of pupils at Lionwood Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 7 pupils.

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 2023–24 Lionwood Infant and Nursery School received £6,309 and spent £6,484 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £124,000 (£590 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Clarion Corvus Trust, income was £7,184 and spending £7,455 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

Lionwood Infant and Nursery School is part of Clarion Corvus Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Lionwood Junior School Norwich
• Mousehold Infant & Nursery School Norwich
• George White Junior School Norwich
• Drayton Community Infant School Norwich
• Nightingale Infant & Nursery School Norwich
• Hobart High School Norwich
• Manor Field Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Aslacton Primary School Norwich
• Thurlton Primary School Norwich
• Pakefield High School Lowestoft

What is Lionwood Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lionwood Infant and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Lionwood Infant and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lionwood Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Lionwood Infant and Nursery School have?

Lionwood Infant and Nursery School has 212 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lionwood Infant and Nursery School cover?

Lionwood Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Lionwood Infant and Nursery School?

Lionwood Infant and Nursery School is at Telegraph Lane East, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 4AN.