Stannington Infant School

About Stannington Infant School

Stannington Infant School sits within the Sheffield local authority, where only 14 of 131 primary schools currently hold an Outstanding rating from Ofsted. The school is one of those 14, placing it among a small minority of top-rated infant provision in the city. Its closest Outstanding neighbour is Loxley Primary School, 1.6 kilometres away, while the highest-ranked peers in the local area include Dobcroft Junior School, Totley Primary School and Angram Bank Primary School. Stannington caters specifically for children aged 5 to 7, with a capacity of 180 pupils and a current roll of 177, so it is running very close to full. The headteacher, Sarah Binns, leads a school where 12.4 per cent of pupils qualify for free school meals, which is a little below the national average for primary schools. The school does not have a religious character and is a mixed-gender state primary.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in December 2023, Stannington Infant School received the highest possible grade of Outstanding across every single category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a clean sweep of top marks. The previous inspection, back in 2009, had also rated the school Outstanding overall, so the school has maintained an excellent standard over a long period. Because Stannington is an infant school, it does not have Key Stage 2 SATs results or a Progress 8 score — pupils move on to junior school at age 7. However, the local authority average for Key Stage 2 attainment sits at 57 per cent, and parents considering Stannington can be confident that their children are entering a school with a proven track record of strong early years and infant education. The school’s early years provision was specifically rated Outstanding in both inspections.

The school offers a range of facilities including an art studio, dining hall, sensory room, ICT suite, forest school and a chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, swimming, cross country and athletics, while clubs cover coding, choir, gardening and science club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school provides support for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admission for the 2025/26 intake shows the school is oversubscribed: there were 100 total applications for 61 places, with 66 first-preference applications and 61 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.64. This means the school is popular locally and families should definitely list it as a first preference. It suits families who want a small, focused infant school with strong early years provision and a clear track record of Outstanding teaching and behaviour.

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