School Chooser

South End Infant School

Primary · ages 4-7MixedCouncil195 pupilsRushdenNorth Northamptonshire
School Chooser Score
37
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 17 to 65
Out of 100. Better than 34% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
#10,045 of 16,041 in England#51 in North NorthamptonshireHow it is worked out
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, November 2023
Attendance95.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families15%Far fewer than most schools
Places75 spare195 pupils, 270 places
Pupils per teacher23.5School workforce census
Pupils on roll195Census January 2026

South End Infant School is a council school in Rushden for boys and girls aged 4 to 7. It has 195 pupils and room for 270. About 15 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 37 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Wymington Road, Rushden, NN10 9JU01933 356571southendinfant.comMrs Elaine Ashcroft headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 8 November 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places231 pupils for 270 places, 2024/25
86% full

About 39 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 11% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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 North Northamptonshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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 roll195Census January 2026
Places27072% full
Pupils from low-income families15%15% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English14%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support21%41 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.97 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)16%£46,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls114 / 81
White British pupils71%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (21), Moderate learning difficulty (11), Specific learning difficulty (5), emotional and mental health (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll195231246265263258
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals15%18%15%14%13%10%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language14%12%11%13%12%12%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support–13%13%15%15%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans–2%2%2%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school12.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.22024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.9%4.4%5.1%4.4%2.5%3.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.0%3.6%4.2%3.4%2.0%3.0%–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%0.9%0.9%1.0%0.5%0.6%–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence12.5%6.1%9.3%6.7%3.4%7.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.20.40.81.10.4––
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000––

Staff and money

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

Teachers8.3full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher23.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,047
Teachers who left in the year16%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher6.42024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,426England £7,738. Total £1.5m
Income per pupil£6,462England £7,697. Total £1.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,671England £3,480
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £108k, £467 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£8,382it took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,426spent 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 m16912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate75 per 1,000 people17% lower than the England average
Typical house price£265,000North Northamptonshire
Nearest bus stop50 mSouth End Infant School, 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
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
South End Junior SchoolCouncil260 m338Good 202371Compare
Whitefriars Primary SchoolAcademy750 m397Good 202277Compare
Rushden Primary AcademyAcademy940 m388Good 202438Compare
Alfred Lord Tennyson SchoolCouncil940 m147No overall grade 202415Compare
Newton Road SchoolAcademy980 m196No overall grade 20252Compare
Denfield Park Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles444Good 202334Compare
St Lawrence Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England0.9 miles123Report card 202631Compare
Higham Ferrers Junior SchoolAcademy1.7 miles322Requires improvement 20231Compare
Primary schools in North NorthamptonshirePrimary schools in RushdenBest primary schools in England

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares South End Infant School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats34%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 37 is 18 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 10 · middle 55 · highest 96100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than South End 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.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Little Harrowden Community Primary SchoolAcademy6.5 miles170Good 202355Compare
Brickhill Primary SchoolCouncil10.6 miles209Good 202444Compare
Middlefield Primary AcademyAcademy14.9 miles200No overall grade 202566Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 37 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 37% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 17 to 65. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
–
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.03
Ofsted grade, 2.8 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
–
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.22
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.04
2024/25; 168 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
–
What parents say0%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 South End Infant School a good school?

It is about average. South End Infant School scores 37 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 34% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 17 to 65, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is South End Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated South End Infant School good at its last full inspection on 8 November 2023.

How many pupils does South End Infant School have?

195 pupils aged 4 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 270 places, so it is 72% full.

Is South End Infant School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 39 places were empty in 2024/25 (14% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at South End Infant School?

Pupils were in school 95.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 13% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at South End Infant School?

The average class had 27.9 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
Wymington Road, Rushden, NN10 9JU
Telephone
01933 356571
Website
www.southendinfant.com
Headteacher
Mrs Elaine Ashcroft
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-7
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
North Northamptonshire
Ward
Rushden South
Constituency
Wellingborough and Rushden
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
121861 · LAESTAB 9402086 · UKPRN 10072819
Official recordOfsted reportsGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from