Sprowston Infant School
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Sprowston Infant School is a council school in Norwich for boys and girls aged 4 to 7. It has 111 pupils and room for 206. About 26 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 31 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 64% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2020.
Recreation Ground Road, Sprowston, Recreation Ground Rd, Norwich, NR7 8EW01603 429001sprowstoninfant.norfolk.sch.ukMr Rob Edwards headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 12 February 2020, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 13 May 2025 said: “Standards maintained”.
This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2025 | Ungraded | Standards maintained |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
32 places were empty (20% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 6% 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 Norfolk 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.
Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 26 pupils, for autism.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Norfolk with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (26), language and communications needs (7), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (5), Hearing impairment (2), emotional and mental health (2), Physical disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 111 | 130 | 134 | 150 | 134 | 138 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 26% | 25% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 24% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 18% | 11% | 16% | 15% | 20% | 17% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 11% | 17% | 18% | 22% | 17% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 23% | 13% | 12% | 14% | 12% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 6.4% | 5.8% | 8.1% | 7.9% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.4% | 4.0% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 3.6% | 3.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.0% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 17.0% | 14.6% | 29.7% | 24.5% | 11.5% | 9.7% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprowston Junior School | Council | 0 m | 175 | Good 2023 | 9 | Compare |
| Sparhawk Infant School & Nursery | Council | 790 m | 188 | Outstanding 2019 | 97 | Compare |
| Cecil Gowing Infant School | Council | 830 m | 173 | Good 2023 | 30 | Compare |
| Falcon Junior School | Council | 950 m | 417 | Good 2022 | 15 | Compare |
| White Woman Lane Junior School | Council | 0.7 miles | 352 | Outstanding 2024 | 86 | Compare |
| Old Catton CofE VC Junior School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 187 | Good 2023 | 27 | Compare |
| St. Clements Hill Primary Academy | Free school | 0.8 miles | 298 | No overall grade 2025 | 12 | Compare |
| Garrick Green Infant School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 116 | No overall grade 2024 | 31 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Sprowston Infant School with the 44 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 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 31 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 31% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 13 to 61. 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 | 11% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 6.6 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.06 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | below | -0.19 | 2024/25; 94 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 Sprowston Infant School a good school?
The figures are weak. Sprowston Infant School scores 31 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 64% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 13 to 61, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Sprowston Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Sprowston Infant School good at its last full inspection on 12 February 2020. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does Sprowston Infant School have?
111 pupils aged 4 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 206 places, so it is 54% full.
Is Sprowston Infant School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 32 places were empty in 2024/25 (20% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Sprowston Infant School?
Pupils were in school 93.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Sprowston Infant School?
The average class had 15.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does Sprowston Infant School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has sen unit for autism. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Recreation Ground Road, Sprowston, Recreation Ground Rd, Norwich, NR7 8EW
- Telephone
- 01603 429001
- Website
- www.sprowstoninfant.norfolk.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Rob Edwards
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Ward
- Sprowston Central
- Constituency
- Norwich North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 120853 · LAESTAB 9262147 · UKPRN 10080428
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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.