Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School

This graded inspection did not give the school an overall effectiveness grade, but it shows a school that is improving after a previous inadequate judgement and is no longer in special measures. Behaviour and personal development are strong: pupils are happy and safe, relationships are positive, the school is calm, and pupils benefit from a diverse community and a widening range of opportunities. Safeguarding is effective. A new headteacher and two assistant headteachers appointed in September 2024, alongside almost all new teaching staff, have brought urgency and determination, and support for pupils with SEND has improved. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision still require improvement. Curriculum delivery is inconsistent, expectations are not always high enough, and gaps in pupils' learning remain. Phonics teaching is not consistently precise, some reading books are too difficult, and not all pupils make the progress they should. Attendance and punctuality are not high enough, and trust/governance oversight does not evaluate improvement strategies rigorously enough to identify what is working. The school has a clear sense of what needs to happen next.

Strengths

• Behaviour and attitudes are good, with a calm and happy atmosphere across classrooms, play areas, corridors and the dining hall.
• Pupils are happy and safe, and staff help them with any worries they may have.
• Relationships between pupils and adults are positive, and high behaviour expectations are applied consistently.
• Personal development is good: pupils value the diverse community, treat everyone equally and take on leadership roles.
• Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values, including democracy, and can access clubs, trips and educational activities.
• Pupils with SEND are now identified effectively, and well-considered staff training means their academic and pastoral needs are met far more often.
• The new headteacher and assistant headteachers have formed a strong partnership and brought urgency and determination to improvement.
• A clearly planned, ambitious curriculum identifies what pupils should know and by when, and early reading has been prioritised.
• Pupils are typically learning and remembering more than at the time of the previous inspection.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Trust leaders provide effective support for the school to improve.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects, including early reading, so not all pupils develop a strong body of knowledge over time.
• Expectations of pupils are sometimes not high enough, significant learning gaps remain and some errors go unchecked.
• Phonics teaching is not consistently strong: some staff do not model sounds precisely and some reading books are too difficult, so too many pupils do not make the expected progress.
• Some lessons and activities are not adapted well enough to meet pupils' needs, including in the early years, so not all pupils deepen their knowledge effectively.
• Attendance and punctuality are not high enough, meaning some pupils miss important learning and do not make the progress they are capable of.
• Trust and governance strategic thinking is not rigorous or monitored effectively enough, so improvement is not evaluated at timely intervals and leaders cannot readily identify which strategies are successful.

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 Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.0% 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, 2.8% of pupils at Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community 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 Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 60.0% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% 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 Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School received £9,275 and spent £8,554 for each of its 191 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £94,000 (£495 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of The Good Shepherd Trust, income was £7,677 and spending £7,643 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 Farnborough · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School is part of The Good Shepherd Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Walsh CofE Junior School Ash
• Walsh CofE Infant School Ash
• Valley End CofE Infant School Woking
• St Andrew's Church of England Infant School Farnham
• Potters Gate CofE Primary School Farnham
• Puttenham CofE Infant School Guildford
• Waverley Abbey CofE Junior School Farnham
• Christ's College, Guildford Guildford
• Queen Eleanor's Church of England School Guildford
• St Mark and All Saints Church of England Primary Godalming

What is Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School last inspected by Ofsted?

Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School have?

Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School has 205 pupils on roll.

What age range does Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School cover?

Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School?

Farnborough Grange Nursery & Infant Community School is at Moor Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 8HW.