Elmlea Infant School

Elmlea Infant School has received its first inspection since becoming an academy and has been rated as outstanding across all areas of performance. Pupils at the school achieve exceptionally well and demonstrate excellent behaviour and attitudes towards learning. The school fosters a supportive community where parents commend the attention given to each child. Leaders have effectively prioritized a broad and well-structured curriculum that caters to all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Overall, the school's emphasis on fostering a love of learning and strong personal development has led to high levels of pupil engagement and successful educational outcomes.

Strengths

• Outstanding quality of education provided to all pupils.
• High expectations for behaviour lead to exemplary conduct.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff foster a safe learning environment.
• Broad and rich curriculum designed exceptionally well.
• Staff demonstrate strong subject knowledge and effective teaching practices.
• Pupils display exemplary attitudes towards their learning.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND ensures they learn alongside their peers.

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 Elmlea Infant School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.3% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Elmlea 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 Elmlea Infant School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 8.1% of pupils at Elmlea Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.7% 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 2023–24 Elmlea Infant School received £5,611 and spent £6,000 for each of its 270 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £58,000 (£215 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Russell Education Trust, income was £7,032 and spending £6,908 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 Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Elmlea Infant School is part of Russell Education Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Elmlea Junior School Bristol
• Bristol Free School Bristol
• Turing House School Twickenham
• St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School London
• King's School Hove
• Becket Keys Church of England Free School Brentwood

What is Elmlea Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Elmlea Infant School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Elmlea Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Elmlea Infant School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Elmlea Infant School have?

Elmlea Infant School has 270 pupils on roll.

What age range does Elmlea Infant School cover?

Elmlea Infant School for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is Elmlea Infant School?

Elmlea Infant School is at Elmlea Avenue, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS9 3UU.