Rowanfield Infant School

Primary · ages 4-7MixedAcademy235 pupilsCheltenham Gloucestershire

School Chooser Score

Well below
similar schools

Likely range 5 to 25, so it could be “below”

Out of 100. Better than 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.

OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, June 2026

Attendance92.6%England 94.8%

Pupils from low-income families29%About the same as most schools in England

Places35 spare235 pupils, 270 places

Pupils per teacher17.2School workforce census

Pupils on roll235Census January 2026

Rowanfield Infant School is a converter academy in Cheltenham for boys and girls aged 4 to 7. It has 235 pupils and room for 270. About 29 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 11 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in June 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Alstone Lane, Cheltenham, GL51 8HY01242 515334rowanfieldinfant.co.ukMrs Shona Riddell headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 9 June 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”

As expected

Achievement

As expected

Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”

As expected

Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”

As expected

WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”

As expected

LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”

As expected

Early years

As expected

SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?

Pupils are kept safe

Met

Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)

Date	Type	Outcome
26 January 2022	Ungraded	School remains Good

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places245 pupils for 270 places, 2024/25

91% full

About 25 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.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (69 offers for 90 places).

Entry	Places	Put it first	Applied at all	Got a place	How far the last child lived	Source
2026 Primary	90	65	119	69	– all offered	LA
2025 Primary	90	81	140	85	– all offered	LA
2024 Primary	90	63	126	68	– all offered	LA
2023 Primary	90	72	132	79	– all offered	LA
2022 Primary	90	60	123	75	– all offered	LA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll235Census January 2026

Places27087% full

Pupils from low-income families29%29% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years

Pupils learning English24%First language is not English

Pupils getting extra support26%60 pupils with SEN support

Pupils with an EHC plan6%15 pupils with a plan

Average class size26.19 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)24%£88,350 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%

Boys and girls126 / 109

White British pupils68%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (31), emotional and mental health (30), Moderate learning difficulty (11), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed

Census	2026	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021
Pupils on roll	235	246	256	248	244	238
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals	29%	26%	27%	27%	23%	25%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language	24%	28%	32%	26%	21%	18%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support	–	24%	15%	19%	23%	14%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans	–	5%	3%	2%	2%	1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.6%

England 94.8%

Official name: 100 minus overall absence

Pupils missing a lot of school17.8%

England 12.8%

Official name: Persistent absence

Suspensions per 100 pupils5.32024/25, no permanent exclusions

Missed without permission1.5%of school time, 2024/25

Attendance year by year

Measure	2024/25	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22	2020/21	2018/19	England
Sessions missedOverall absence	7.4%	8.1%	8.9%	7.6%	6.0%	5.5%	5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence	5.9%	6.5%	7.0%	6.2%	4.8%	4.1%	–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence	1.5%	1.6%	1.9%	1.5%	1.2%	1.4%	–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence	17.8%	25.4%	28.0%	24.9%	19.0%	15.1%	12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate	5.3	0.8	7.3	4.5	1.7	–	–
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions	0	0	1	2	0	–	–

Staff and money

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

Teachers13.6full-time equivalent, 15 people

Pupils per teacher17.2Pupils for every full-time teacher

Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status

Teaching assistants13.6full-time equivalent

Average teacher pay£46,293

Teachers who left in the year30%2024/25, for any reason including retirement

Vacancies0

Sick days per teacher5.42024/25

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£6,324England £7,128. Total £1.6m

Income per pupil£6,972England £7,587. Total £1.7m

Spent on teachers per pupil£3,235England £3,405

Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £189k, £765 per pupil. England 9%

Money in against money out+£160kit took in more than it spent this year

Where the money goes£6,324spent per pupil

51%28%

Teachers 51%Support staff 28%Supply staff 1%Buildings 3%Learning resources 3%Catering 4%Energy 1%Everything else 8%

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 m23112 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences

Local crime rate69 per 1,000 people25% lower than the England average

Typical house price£327,500Cheltenham

Nearest bus stop220 mBrooklyn Road, 14 stops within 500 m

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

School	Type	Distance	Pupils	Ofsted	Score
Rowanfield Junior School	Academy	120 m	345	Good 2020	44	Compare
Hesters Way Primary School	Council	780 m	171	Report card 2026	26	Compare
Gloucester Road Primary School	Council	860 m	236	Not inspected	14	Compare
Christ Church CofE Primary School	Academy	0.6 miles	213	Outstanding 2023	91	Compare
Gardners Lane Primary School	Foundation	0.7 miles	262	Good 2024	23	Compare
St Thomas More Catholic Primary School	Academy	0.7 miles	191	Good 2023	3	Compare
Springbank Primary Academy	Academy	0.9 miles	435	Good 2023	30	Compare
The Catholic School of Saint Gregory the Great	Academy	0.9 miles	412	Good 2023	36	Compare

Primary schools in Gloucestershire Primary schools in Cheltenham Best primary schools in England

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Rowanfield Infant School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats8%of schools with a similar mix of pupils

Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 11 is 41 points below the typical school in the group.

0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 51 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Rowanfield Infant School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

School	Type	Distance	Pupils	Ofsted	Score
Coney Hill Community Primary School	Council	6.0 miles	241	Good 2024	45	Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 11 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 11% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 5 to 25. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked at	How much it counts	Against schools like it	Effect on the score	Based on
Results over three years	0%	no data	–
Ofsted inspection	20%	below	-0.29	Ofsted report card, 0.3 years old
Progress pupils make	0%	no data	–
Direction of travel over five years	10%	below	-0.14	results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour	10%	below	-0.23	2024/25; 180 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils	0%	no data	–
What parents say	0%	no data	–

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Rowanfield Infant School a good school?

The figures are weak. Rowanfield Infant School scores 11 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 5 to 25, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Rowanfield Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 9 June 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

How many pupils does Rowanfield Infant School have?

235 pupils aged 4 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 270 places, so it is 87% full.

Is Rowanfield Infant School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 25 places were empty in 2024/25 (9% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Rowanfield Infant School?

Pupils were in school 92.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Rowanfield Infant School?

The average class had 26.1 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: Alstone Lane, Cheltenham, GL51 8HY
Telephone: 01242 515334
Website: www.rowanfieldinfant.co.uk
Headteacher: Mrs Shona Riddell
Type of school: Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase: Primary school, ages 4-7
Gender: Mixed
Multi-academy trust: Gloucestershire Learning Alliance (11 schools)
Local authority: Gloucestershire
Ward: St Mark's
Constituency: Cheltenham
Setting: Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened: 1 September 2017 (academy converter)
URN: 144898 · LAESTAB 9162158 · UKPRN 10064917
Formerly: Rowanfield Infant School

Official record Ofsted reports Government performance tables Download this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from

School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
Admissions outcomes: Gloucestershire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.