Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is securely meeting expectations in several important areas but still has meaningful work to do before provision is consistently strong. Inspectors found inclusion to be central to the school's work, with ambitious leadership for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and others facing barriers, effective use of additional funding, and well-targeted support. Leadership and governance are also secure: leaders have a clear vision, the trust and governors provide effective support and challenge, staff development is central to improvement, and community relationships are positive. Personal development and wellbeing are a notable strength, with a thoughtful curriculum, strong pastoral support, and good opportunities through clubs, trips and careers activities. Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. However, several areas require further attention. Pupils' achievement is not yet consistently strong, and some pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. There are gaps in phonics knowledge and weaknesses in writing, including letter formation. Teaching quality varies, with some explanations unclear, tasks not well matched to pupils' abilities, and assessment checks that are not always regular or accurate enough to address misunderstandings. Attendance is not good enough for some pupils, and although behaviour is generally positive, low-level disruption can occur when pupils lose focus. In the early years, adult interactions are not consistently effective in developing speech and language, and the indoor environment does not yet support learning across all areas of the curriculum. Contextually, this was a full section 5 inspection at a school that has experienced significant leadership change, including a new headteacher, new assistant headteachers, a new CEO and a new chair of the local governing board. The school is part of the Empower Multi-Academy Trust and has 346 pupils, with proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND close to average. Leaders have correctly identified the main priorities for improvement, and early signs of progress are visible, but the report makes clear that improvement in achievement, attendance, teaching and early years is still at an early stage.

Strengths

• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with high ambition for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those facing other barriers.
• Leaders know pupils well and use additional funding effectively to identify and reduce barriers to learning.
• Staff receive training to support disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and teachers adapt teaching so pupils can access the curriculum.
• Leaders have high expectations and a clear vision, with pupils' interests at the centre of decision-making.
• Trust leaders, trustees and local governors provide effective support and appropriate challenge.
• A continuous professional development programme is central to school improvement and is beginning to have an impact.
• Leaders engage positively with families and the community and are building strong relationships.
• The personal development curriculum prepares pupils well for life beyond school, including healthy relationships, British values and cultural understanding.
• Pupils' wellbeing is a priority, with effective pastoral support and strategies to help pupils manage feelings and stay safe.
• Pupils benefit from clubs, enrichment activities, trips and careers activities, with improving participation for pupils with SEND and other barriers.
• Leaders have high expectations for behaviour, and staff use kind, nurturing approaches that help pupils with SEND regulate and make good choices.
• The curriculum has been improved so that knowledge builds logically over time and staff know what to teach and when.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start, with good outdoor learning, routines and early life skills, and equal opportunities for children with SEND.
• Pupils feel safe, treat each other with kindness and know adults will help them.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils are not consistently well prepared for the next stage of their education because they do not know and remember enough across a range of subjects.
• Some pupils have gaps in phonics knowledge, limiting fluency and confidence in reading.
• Some pupils have not built accurate letter formation, which makes writing a challenge.
• Teaching quality varies, with some explanations unclear and tasks not well matched to pupils' abilities.
• Assessment checks are not always regular or accurate enough, so teachers do not always address pupils' misunderstandings or errors.
• Leaders' progress tracking is at an early stage, and more work is needed to close gaps in reading and writing.
• Some pupils do not attend school often enough, missing important learning opportunities, and further improvement is needed despite appropriate plans.
• Pupils can lose focus in some lessons, leading to low-level disruption, and support for teachers to address this is still developing.
• In early years, adult interactions are not consistently effective in developing children's speech and language, and modelling of speech is at an early stage.
• The indoor early years learning environment does not yet support learning across all areas of the curriculum, so achievement in some areas is not as good as leaders expect.

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 Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.1% 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 Market Drayton Infant & 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 Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School had 27.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.5% 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, 13.3% of pupils at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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 Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School received £7,069 and spent £6,806 for each of its 318 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £445,000 (£1,401 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Empower Trust, income was £7,163 and spending £6,944 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 Market Drayton · Shropshire local authority: places and applications

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is part of Empower Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Market Drayton Junior School Market Drayton
• St Peter's CofE Primary School Shrewsbury
• St Marys CofE Primary School Shrewsbury
• Greenacres Primary School Shrewsbury
• Wilfred Owen Primary School Shrewsbury
• Woodfield Infant School & Nursery Shrewsbury
• St George's Junior School Shrewsbury

What is Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School have?

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School has 346 pupils on roll.

What age range does Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School cover?

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?

Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is at Longslow Road, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 3BA.