Arden Forest Infant School

About Arden Forest Infant School

Arden Forest Infant School is a state primary in Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire, currently home to 159 pupils against a capacity of 180. That leaves a modest buffer of 21 places, but the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 93 applications for 54 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.72. Of those, 49 were first-preference applications, and 48 first-preference offers were made, meaning almost every family who put it top got a place, but competition is real. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 13.2%, which is slightly above the national primary average of around 12%, suggesting a broadly representative intake for the area. The school is mixed, non-religious, and caters for children aged 4 to 7, so it’s a pure infant school with no nursery or sixth form. Headteacher Rose Gunn leads a relatively small community, and the school’s popularity hints at a strong local reputation.

Academically, Arden Forest holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2022, with all key areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — all graded Good. That’s a solid, consistent picture, though it’s worth noting the school’s previous inspection in 2007 rated it Outstanding across the board, so the current Good represents a step down. In Warwickshire, only 12 out of 196 primary schools hold an Outstanding rating, so Good is still a strong position. The nearest Outstanding alternative is The Canons C of E Primary School, 3.1 km away. For academic outcomes at Key Stage 2, the local authority average is 62% reaching the expected standard, but Arden Forest only covers infants (Reception to Year 2), so it doesn’t publish KS2 SATs results. Parents should look at feeder junior schools for later-stage data.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for its size, including music rooms, a library, gymnasium, art studios, ICT suite, sensory room, and even a chapel. Sports provision is broad for an infant school, with football, cricket, netball, dance, gymnastics, tennis, and swimming all on offer. Clubs are more limited — science club, drama, and film club — but that’s typical for a small primary. SEND support is well-documented, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication issues, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. This suggests the school is equipped to handle a range of additional needs. For families in Nuneaton and Bedworth looking for a popular, Good-rated infant school with strong SEND provision and a clear oversubscription signal, Arden Forest is a realistic first choice — but applying early is wise.

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