St Stephen's Infant School

About St Stephen's Infant School

St Stephen's Infant School is a state primary in South Gloucestershire that serves children from age five to seven, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 judged it Good overall — a rating it has held across both its graded inspections. The school sits within a local authority where the average Key Stage 2 attainment score is 61, though because St Stephen's is an infant school, its pupils leave at the end of Year 2 before taking KS2 SATs, so direct comparison against that LA average isn't possible. What stands out instead is the school's strong local demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 122 applications for 70 places, with 62 of those coming as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.74. That level of competition suggests parents in the area see it as a solid option, even without published KS2 outcomes. The school's early years provision was also rated Good in its most recent inspection, and leadership and management have been consistently rated Good since at least 2011.

Because St Stephen's is an infant school, its academic story is told through Ofsted's lens rather than exam data. The 2022 ungraded inspection confirmed the school remains Good, with early years provision, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness all rated Good. The previous graded inspection in 2016 also gave Good across the board, and the 2011 inspection rated early years provision as Requires Improvement — so there has been clear improvement in that area over time. With 191 pupils on roll against a capacity of 270, the school is not full, which may reflect its narrow age range rather than any lack of appeal. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 12%, which is modest and suggests a broadly mixed catchment. Without Progress 8 or KS2 scores, parents will need to rely on the consistent Ofsted record and the school's popularity at intake to gauge academic strength.

The school offers a practical, well-resourced environment for its young pupils. Facilities include a sports hall, gymnasium, outdoor playground, and a forest school, which supports outdoor learning. Sports on offer are gymnastics, athletics, football, and cricket, while clubs extend to gardening, drama, science club, and art club. SEND provision is notably broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder — which makes it a potentially good fit for families whose children need additional support in a mainstream infant setting. The school has a chapel on site, despite having no religious character. It is oversubscribed, so families should apply early and list it as a first preference to maximise their chance of a place. For parents seeking a short, focused infant school with strong local reputation and solid SEND support, St Stephen's is worth serious consideration.

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