Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School
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Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School is a converter academy in St. Albans for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 243 pupils, 3 more than it has places for. About 8 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 84 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 42% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Downes Road, St. Albans, AL4 9NT01727 859978wheatfieldsinfants.herts.sch.ukMiss Clare Cockburn headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 21 January 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have fallen by 12% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
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 (40 offers for 60 places).
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 60 | 108 | 40 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Primary | 60 | 166 | 60 | 0.9 miles | LA |
| 2024 Primary | 90 | 146 | 62 | – all offered | LA |
What a home within 0.9 miles of the school costs
Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
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: Autistic spectrum disorder (6), language and communications needs (4), emotional and mental health (3), Specific learning difficulty (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 243 | 282 | 320 | 328 | 318 | 330 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 7% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 22% | 26% | 26% | 20% | 16% | 15% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 4% | 4% | 17% | 11% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.8% 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 | 4.2% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 6.0% | 4.2% | 3.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.7% | 4.1% | 4.4% | 5.0% | 4.0% | 3.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.5% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.2% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 8.5% | 8.9% | 10.0% | 15.7% | 12.8% | 5.4% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School, the school this one replaced in September 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatfields Junior Mixed School | Academy | 0 m | 358 | Good 2023 | 93 | Compare |
| Skyswood Primary & Nursery School | Academy | 700 m | 230 | No overall grade 2025 | 100 | Compare |
| St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | Academy | 780 m | 134 | Not inspected | 75 | Compare |
| Bernards Heath Junior School | Council | 0.8 miles | 353 | Good 2023 | 91 | Compare |
| Bernards Heath Infant and Nursery School | Council | 0.9 miles | 279 | Report card 2026 | 37 | Compare |
| Sandridge School | Council | 1.0 miles | 130 | Not inspected | 63 | Compare |
| Oakwood Primary School | Council | 1.1 miles | 317 | Good 2024 | 82 | Compare |
| Garden Fields Junior Mixed and Infant School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 430 | Not inspected | 77 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery 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.
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 Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hadley Wood Primary School | Council | 9.2 miles | 206 | Good 2022 | 91 | Compare |
| Bushey Heath Primary School | Council | 9.3 miles | 242 | Outstanding 2024 | 97 | Compare |
| Elangeni School | Council | 13.7 miles | 240 | Good 2024 | 97 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 84 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 84% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 64 to 93. 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% | above | +0.20 | Ofsted grade, 1.6 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | above | +0.13 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.17 | 2024/25; 188 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 Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School scores 84 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 42% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 64 to 93, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School not judged at its last full inspection on 21 January 2025.
How many pupils does Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School have?
243 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 240 places, so it is 101% full.
Is Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School?
Pupils were in school 95.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 9% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School?
The average class had 17.8 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
- Downes Road, St. Albans, AL4 9NT
- Telephone
- 01727 859978
- Website
- www.wheatfieldsinfants.herts.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Miss Clare Cockburn
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Ambition Education Trust (11 schools)
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward
- Marshalswick West
- Constituency
- St Albans
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2020 (academy converter)
- URN
- 146893 · LAESTAB 9192311 · UKPRN 10085842
- Formerly
- Wheatfields Infants' and Nursery School
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: Hertfordshire council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024, 2025, 2026.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- 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.