Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School

About Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School

Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School is a state primary for children aged 3 to 7, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2020 rated it Good overall, with Good marks for leadership, management, and early years provision. That puts it in line with the majority of schools in North Northamptonshire, where only two out of 111 primary schools have achieved Outstanding. The school has clearly improved since its previous graded inspection in 2010, when it was rated Requires Improvement, and an ungraded inspection in 2020 confirmed it remains Good. With 240 pupils against a capacity of 270, it is not quite full, but the admissions data tells a different story: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 117 applications for 60 places, making it oversubscribed by nearly two to one. Of those, 69 families put it as their first preference, and 57 were offered a place, so competition is real.

Academic outcomes at this age are measured through the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and phonics screening, though the data does not include specific KS2 results since the school only goes up to Year 2. The local authority average for KS2 attainment is 61, but that benchmark applies to schools with older pupils, so direct comparison is not possible here. What we do know is that the school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 17.2%, which suggests it serves a mixed catchment. The Ofsted report from 2020 noted that early years provision is Good, and the school has a range of SEND provisions in place, including support for dyslexia, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, visual impairment, and physical disabilities. This breadth of specialist support is a strong indicator that the school is equipped to handle a variety of learning needs from an early age.

Facilities include a sports hall, library, dining hall, ICT suite, music rooms, and even a chapel, which is unusual for a non-religious school. There is also a nursery provision on site, making it a natural choice for families looking for continuity from age three through to Year 2. The school offers a decent range of extracurricular clubs, including art, gardening, coding, and science club, plus sports like rounders, tennis, cross country, and dance. For parents in North Northamptonshire, this is a solid, well-regarded infant school that has turned around its performance and is now in genuine demand. It suits families who want a strong early years foundation with good SEND support, but be prepared to apply early and list it as your first choice to have a realistic shot at a place.

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