Ashbrook Infant School

About Ashbrook Infant School

Ashbrook Infant School is a state primary in Erewash, Derbyshire, and it’s currently running well above its official capacity. With 143 pupils on roll against a capacity of 120, the school is clearly in demand locally. That demand is backed up by the 2025/26 admissions data: the school received 47 applications for just 25 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.88. All 25 first-preference applicants were offered a place, but with 22 other families also applying, competition is real. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 21.2%, which is worth noting against the national primary average of around 23.8% – so the school serves a slightly less disadvantaged cohort than the national norm, though still a significant minority. The school is mixed, non-denominational, and takes children from age 3 to 7, with nursery provision on site. It’s a small school that’s clearly popular with local families, even if that popularity means some applicants will inevitably miss out.

Academically, the picture is mixed. Ashbrook’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, did not assign an overall effectiveness grade but the school was previously rated Requires Improvement in 2022, and the 2025 breakdown shows most areas still at that level. Quality of education, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management were all judged as Requires Improvement. The one bright spot was early years provision, which was rated Good. There are no KS2 SATs results to draw on here – the school only goes up to age 7 – so the main academic benchmark is the Ofsted judgement. For context, across Derbyshire’s 353 primary schools, only 9 are rated Outstanding, and the nearest one, Redhill Primary School, is 1.3 km away. The local authority average for KS2 attainment is 59, but that applies to older primary pupils, not Ashbrook’s infant cohort. Parents responding to the Parent View survey were overwhelmingly positive: 88% would recommend the school, and 97% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy there.

For families considering Ashbrook, the practical picture is reassuring in several ways. The school offers a strong range of facilities for its size, including a forest school, sensory room, music rooms, an ICT suite, art studios, and a sports hall. There’s a decent selection of clubs – science, drama, film, art, book club, and choir – plus sports like tennis, swimming, gymnastics, and cricket. SEND provision covers social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties, though the Parent View data on SEND support had no responses, so it’s hard to gauge parent satisfaction in that area. The school is oversubscribed, so families applying will need to be realistic about the chances of a place, especially if not living in the immediate catchment. Ashbrook suits families who value a small, community-focused infant school with strong early years provision and a wide range of enrichment activities, but who are comfortable with a Requires Improvement rating in most other areas.

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