Colman Infant School

Colman Infant School is performing well after a period of instability, with leaders and the Unity Schools Partnership having put in place an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum and taken effective action to secure rapid improvement. Pupils are rising to high expectations, behave well, feel a strong sense of belonging and benefit from calm classrooms and clear routines. The early years provision is a particular strength, with activities precisely matched to children’s needs and children thriving as confident, resilient readers and writers. Pupils in key stage 1 receive tailored support to close gaps, and the new phonics programme, refreshed reading books and focused work in English, mathematics and science are helping achievement improve. SEND identification and provision have been reviewed and strengthened, safeguarding is effective, and pupils access a good range of wider opportunities that support personal development and attendance. Governors and trustees provide effective oversight. There are still areas to develop: in some foundation subjects, teachers’ checks on learning are not used well enough to shape next teaching, and implementation is less secure than in the priority subjects. In these subjects, expectations of what pupils can achieve are not consistently high and staff do not yet share a clear understanding of high-quality work, so some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection; it is an academy converter within a multi-academy trust and has a specially resourced provision for deaf pupils.

Strengths

• Early years provision is exceptionally strong, with learning precisely matched to children’s needs.
• An ambitious, well-ordered curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge in logical steps.
• The new phonics programme and refreshed reading books are helping pupils close gaps and read confidently.
• Pupils behave well, follow clear routines and respond positively to praise.
• Pupils have a strong sense of belonging and understand the school’s ‘Colman Way’.
• SEND is accurately identified and provision has been reviewed and improved.
• Leaders and the trust have managed improvement effectively after a period of instability.
• Pupils benefit from wider opportunities, clubs and sports events that broaden their horizons.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Governors and trustees provide effective oversight of school improvement priorities.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, teachers’ checks on pupils’ knowledge are not used effectively to inform next steps in teaching.
• Some foundation subjects are at an earlier stage of implementation than others.
• In these subjects, some teachers do not have consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve.
• Staff do not yet have a shared understanding of what constitutes high-quality work in all subjects.
• As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in some foundation subjects.

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 Colman Infant School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.5% 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, 3.9% of pupils at Colman 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 Colman Infant School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 32.0% 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, 15.0% of pupils at Colman Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.0% 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 Colman Infant School received £9,750 and spent £10,512 for each of its 128 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £39,000 (£305 per pupil).

Across all 39 schools of Unity Schools Partnership, income was £8,494 and spending £8,500 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

Colman Infant School is part of Unity Schools Partnership, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Colman Junior School Norwich
• Henderson Green Primary Academy Norwich
• Valley Primary Academy Norwich
• Heartsease Primary Academy Norwich
• Robert Kett Primary School Wymondham
• Silfield Oak Primary Academy Wymondham
• Lingwood Primary Academy Lingwood
• Breckland School Brandon
• Sir Peter Hall School Bury St. Edmunds
• Sybil Andrews Academy Bury St. Edmunds

What is Colman Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Colman Infant School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Colman Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Colman Infant School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Colman Infant School have?

Colman Infant School has 100 pupils on roll.

What age range does Colman Infant School cover?

Colman Infant School for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is Colman Infant School?

Colman Infant School is at Colman Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7AW.