School Chooser

Grove House Infant and Nursery School

Primary · ages 3-7MixedAcademy83 pupilsNurseryDerehamNorfolk
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
Attendance95.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families32%A bit more than most schools
Places7 spare83 pupils, 90 places
Pupils per teacher15.6School workforce census
Pupils on roll83Census January 2026

Grove House Infant and Nursery School is a converter academy in Dereham for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 83 pupils and room for 90. About 32 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools.

Gilpins Ride, Littlefields, Dereham, NR19 1BJ01362 694379grovehouseinfant.orgMrs Samantha Barnard headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places79 pupils for 90 places, 2024/25
88% full

About 11 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Norfolk council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll83Census January 2026
Places9092% full
Pupils from low-income families30%32% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English8%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support15%12 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size20.84 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)38%£38,750 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls43 / 40
White British pupils83%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Physical disability (2), emotional and mental health (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll838599929495
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals30%33%26%22%22%30%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language8%4%5%5%6%11%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%9%12%6%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%5%1%0%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school7.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.3%5.9%6.4%7.0%3.3%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.3%4.7%5.2%6.0%2.4%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.2%1.2%1.1%0.8%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence7.0%15.0%15.4%28.9%6.6%5.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.03.21.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers5.2full-time equivalent, 7 people
Pupils per teacher15.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers86%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants2.3full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£45,857
Teachers who left in the year56%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.02024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,361England £7,128. Total £611k
Income per pupil£8,145England £7,587. Total £676k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,386England £3,405
Money in reserve17%A healthy amount put by: £116k, £1,398 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£65kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,361spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m30312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate102 per 1,000 people12% higher than the England average
Typical house price£270,000Breckland

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Dereham Church of England Junior AcademyAcademy300 m365Good 202429Compare
Dereham Church of England Infant and Nursery AcademyAcademy510 m180Not inspectedCompare
King's Park Infant School, DerehamAcademy920 m37Not inspectedCompare
Dereham, Toftwood Community Junior SchoolCouncil0.9 miles321Good 202023Compare
Scarning Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolVoluntary0.9 miles415Good 202434Compare
Toftwood Infant SchoolFoundation0.9 miles205Good 202349Compare
Yaxham Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy2.4 miles67Good 202354Compare
St Mary's Community Primary School, BeetleyCouncil3.0 miles156Requires improvement 20234Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Grove House Infant and Nursery School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Grove House Infant and Nursery School yet.

How many pupils does Grove House Infant and Nursery School have?

83 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 90 places, so it is 92% full.

Is Grove House Infant and Nursery School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 11 places were empty in 2024/25 (12% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Grove House Infant and Nursery School?

Pupils were in school 95.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 7% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Grove House Infant and Nursery School?

The average class had 20.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Gilpins Ride, Littlefields, Dereham, NR19 1BJ
Telephone
01362 694379
Website
www.grovehouseinfant.org
Headteacher
Mrs Samantha Barnard
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Unity Education Trust (15 schools)
Local authority
Norfolk
Ward
Dereham Withburga
Constituency
Mid Norfolk
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2017 (academy converter)
URN
144314 · LAESTAB 9262051 · UKPRN 10062861
Formerly
Grove House Nursery and Infant Community School

Where these figures come from