Padnell Infant School

About Padnell Infant School

Padnell Infant School sits within Hampshire’s large primary landscape, where 33 of 425 schools hold an Outstanding rating. The school itself is rated Good by Ofsted, and its nearest Outstanding neighbour, Front Lawn Primary Academy, is 3.6 kilometres away. Among the top-performing peers in the local authority, Preston Candover Church of England Primary School leads the ranking, followed by Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School and St Faith’s Church of England Primary School. Padnell is a state-funded, mixed-gender infant school in Havant, catering for children aged 4 to 7. With 269 pupils on roll against a capacity of 270, it is effectively full. The school does not have a nursery or sixth form, and its religious character is listed as not applicable. Headteacher Mandy Grayson leads a school where 12.6 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly below the national average for primary schools.

Academic outcomes at Padnell Infant School are not directly captured by Key Stage 2 SATs, as the school only covers infants up to Year 2. The most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in March 2023, confirmed that the school remains Good, consistent with its previous graded inspection in July 2013. In that earlier graded inspection, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness were both rated 2 (Good), while early years provision scored 3 (Requires Improvement). The 2023 ungraded inspection did not provide new graded scores for individual categories but affirmed the overall Good rating. For context, the Hampshire local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment is 61 per cent, though this metric applies to junior schools rather than infants. The school’s admissions data for 2025/26 shows it is oversubscribed: 179 applications for 84 places, with 72 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.13. This suggests strong local demand.

Padnell Infant School offers a range of facilities including an outdoor playground, music rooms, gymnasium, dining hall, forest school, playing fields, ICT suite, sports hall, and a chapel. Sports provision covers athletics, tennis, swimming, dance, cross country, and netball, while clubs include drama, eco club, gardening, choir, and book club. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and physical disability. For families considering this school, the oversubscription figures indicate that securing a place is competitive, particularly for first-preference applicants. The school suits parents seeking a Good-rated infant setting within a full local authority, with a broad range of extracurricular activities and a clear focus on early years development. Its location in Havant, within the South East region, places it within reach of several higher-ranked peers for those considering longer-term options.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Padnell Infant School

Helpful Guides for Parents