Howden Church of England Infant School

Howden Church of England Infant School is a small Church of England infant school within The Education Alliance trust, led by a headteacher appointed since the previous inspection. Inspectors found the school performing in line with expected standards across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils generally achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and are prepared for the next stage. Reading, phonics and mathematics are prioritised, and children in early years make a secure start.

Strengths

• Pupils generally achieve well and outcomes are broadly in line with national averages.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make suitable progress from their starting points.
• Reading is prioritised, phonics is taught consistently, and pupils develop independence as early readers.
• Attendance exceeds national averages and persistent absence is well below national averages.
• Leaders use a wide range of effective strategies to improve attendance and remove barriers.
• Behaviour is generally positive, with warm relationships and high expectations.
• The curriculum is well thought-through and adapted to the school context and pupils' needs.
• Early years provision is a priority, with a clear curriculum and strong focus on communication, language, reading, writing and mathematics.
• Inclusion is effective: needs are identified quickly, staff are well trained, and adaptations are thoughtful.
• The pupil premium strategy is targeted effectively and its impact is tracked systematically.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with ambitious leaders and strong trust and diocese support.
• Personal development is well taught, including PSHE, relationships and sex education, British values, leadership roles, clubs and trips.
• Pupils feel safe, enjoy school, and benefit from a calm start and mindfulness activities.
• Parents have positive views of the school and new leadership.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not consistently maintain and reinforce high expectations of pupils' conduct around school.
• Staff do not always design learning activities that help pupils sustain focus or use independent work time productively.
• Teaching is not consistently highly effective in choices about what to teach and how to teach it, so pupils are not always consistently well focused.

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 Howden Church of England Infant School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.6% 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, 3.8% of pupils at Howden Church of England 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 Howden Church of England Infant School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Howden Church of England Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.8% 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 Howden Church of England Infant School received £7,406 and spent £7,762 for each of its 156 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £131,000 (-£841 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of The Education Alliance, income was £7,594 and spending £7,673 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 East Riding Of Yorkshire · East Riding of Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

Howden Church of England Infant School is part of The Education Alliance, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Howden Junior School Goole
• The Snaith School Goole
• North Cave Church of England Primary School Brough
• Hunsley Primary Brough
• South Hunsley School and Sixth Form College North Ferriby
• Wilberfoss Church of England Primary School York
• Naburn Church of England Primary School York
• Beverley Minster CE Primary School Beverley
• Malet Lambert Hull
• Driffield School and Sixth Form Driffield

What is Howden Church of England Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Howden Church of England Infant School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Howden Church of England Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Howden Church of England Infant School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Howden Church of England Infant School have?

Howden Church of England Infant School has 171 pupils on roll.

What age range does Howden Church of England Infant School cover?

Howden Church of England Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Howden Church of England Infant School?

Howden Church of England Infant School is at Hailgate, Howden, DN14 7SL.