Toftwood Infant School
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Toftwood Infant School is a foundation school in Dereham for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 205 pupils and room for 270. About 9 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 49 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 24% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
School Lane, Toftwood, East Dereham, Dereham, NR19 1LS01362 692612toftwoodfederation.co.ukMrs Joanna Pedlow executive headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 November 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
46 places were empty (17% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 4% 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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (19), emotional and mental health (6), Moderate learning difficulty (4), Hearing impairment (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 205 | 224 | 217 | 225 | 237 | 249 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 9% | 13% | 9% | 12% | 13% | 11% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 14% | 14% | 10% | 10% | 13% | 9% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 6% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 10% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.1% 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 | 4.9% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 5.9% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.6% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 4.7% | 1.8% | 2.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 8.2% | 6.5% | 6.8% | 11.6% | 2.9% | 1.6% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dereham, Toftwood Community Junior School | Council | 140 m | 321 | Good 2020 | 23 | Compare |
| Dereham Church of England Junior Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 365 | Good 2024 | 29 | Compare |
| Grove House Infant and Nursery School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 83 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Dereham Church of England Infant and Nursery Academy | Academy | 1.2 miles | 180 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| King's Park Infant School, Dereham | Academy | 1.4 miles | 37 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Scarning Voluntary Controlled Primary School | Voluntary | 1.5 miles | 415 | Good 2024 | 34 | Compare |
| Yaxham Church of England Primary Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 67 | Good 2023 | 54 | Compare |
| Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy | Academy | 3.0 miles | 229 | Good 2020 | 93 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Toftwood Infant School with the 45 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 45 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 49 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 49% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 23 to 75. 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% | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 2.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.16 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.12 | 2024/25; 159 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 Toftwood Infant School a good school?
It is about average. Toftwood Infant School scores 49 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 24% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 23 to 75, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Toftwood Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Toftwood Infant School good at its last full inspection on 28 November 2023.
How many pupils does Toftwood Infant School have?
205 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 270 places, so it is 76% full.
Is Toftwood Infant School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 46 places were empty in 2024/25 (17% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Toftwood Infant School?
Pupils were in school 95.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Toftwood Infant School?
The average class had 23.1 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
- School Lane, Toftwood, East Dereham, Dereham, NR19 1LS
- Telephone
- 01362 692612
- Website
- toftwoodfederation.co.uk
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Joanna Pedlow
- Type of school
- Foundation school (Foundation school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Ward
- Dereham Toftwood
- Constituency
- Mid Norfolk
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 121206 · LAESTAB 9265216 · UKPRN 10078304
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.
- 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.