The Giles Infant and Nursery School

About The Giles Infant and Nursery School

For a primary school in Hertfordshire, the most telling headline metric is the local authority’s average Key Stage 2 score of 64, which serves as a benchmark for schools across the county. The Giles Infant and Nursery School, however, only caters for children from age 3 to 7, so it does not produce its own KS2 results — its pupils move on to junior schools before that assessment point. This makes direct comparison with the LA average tricky, but it also highlights the school’s specific focus: early years and infant education. What stands out instead is the school’s consistent Ofsted record. In its most recent inspection in 2023, it received a Good rating across every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That’s a clean sweep of Good, and it matches the Good rating it held in its previous inspection back in 2011, suggesting stable leadership and steady quality over time.

Academically, the school’s performance is best understood through its Ofsted breakdown rather than raw exam scores. The 2023 inspection found the quality of education to be Good, with inspectors noting that pupils achieve well across the curriculum. Behaviour and attitudes were also rated Good, and personal development — which covers how well the school prepares children for life beyond the classroom — was similarly strong. The early years provision, which is particularly relevant given the nursery intake, was also judged Good. With 11.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a slightly above-average proportion of disadvantaged children for a state primary, yet it maintains solid outcomes. The school has a SEN unit and provisions for a wide range of needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and social and emotional mental health challenges, which suggests a genuinely inclusive approach to learning.

On the practical side, the school is clearly popular with local families. For the 2025/26 intake, it offered 86 total places but received 174 applications, making it oversubscribed by a ratio of 2.02 to one. Of those, 74 were first-preference applications, and all 74 received offers — meaning every family that put it first got a place. The facilities are generous for an infant school: an ICT suite, sports hall, art studios, a sensory room, playing fields, and a forest school, plus a chapel. There’s a strong extracurricular offer too, with clubs for gardening, science, and coding, and sports including football, swimming, netball, and dance. For families in Stevenage looking for a solid, well-run infant school with nursery provision and a clear track record of Good practice, The Giles is a strong local option — especially if you can secure that first-preference spot.

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