Croft Infant School, Alfreton
Croft Infant School is a primary school for pupils aged 5 to 7 in Alfreton. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2020. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. It was 98% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2020)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Derbyshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Croft Infant School in detail
Croft Infant School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Croft Infant School is a busy and friendly school, with lots going on. We offer a true home-from-home family environment where all children shine! We are all very proud of our school, and on a personal level, I feel extremely privileged to be Headteacher of Croft Infants."
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Croft Infant School
For September 2026 entry, 42 families put Croft Infant School as their first choice and 81 named it as one of their preferences, for 42 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Croft Infant School are Woodbridge Junior School (0.1 miles, Good, 59% reading, 61% maths); Copthorne Community Infant School (0.4 miles, Good); Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 96% reading, 96% maths); and Leys Junior School (0.6 miles, Good, 69% reading, 73% maths).
Woodbridge Junior SchoolCopthorne Community Infant SchoolChrist the King Catholic Voluntary AcademyLeys Junior School
What parents say
25 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Croft Infant School (as of September 2025): 84% would recommend the school, 96% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that pupils behave well (96%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).
Who goes there
39.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 11.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (81%) and Mixed (5%).
In 2026, 48 pupils (28.9%) received SEN support and 12 (7.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Alfreton Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
17 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Marshall Street (s-bound), 20 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Croft Infant School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 108 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Derbyshire (50), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Croft Infant School issued 6 suspensions, 3.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Croft Infant School are David Nieper Academy (0.1 miles) and Swanwick Hall School (1.5 miles).
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from January 2020, 6 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
This is a welcoming school where pupils are happy and safe. Parents and carers value the school's nurturing ethos. Many parents comment that the school is not just a school, but like a family.
The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well, and many pupils do. They enjoy learning.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The early years provides a caring and supportive environment that nurtures children's independence well. The curriculum promotes children's curiosity and their engagement with learning. Teachers design learning activities that reinforce the important information that they want children to learn. For example, teachers use 'The Enormous Turnip' story to help children understand the concept of 'one more'. Children sustain their concentration and achieve well.
The school's curriculum is well ordered and outlines the key knowledge that pupils learn. In some subjects, the curriculum is quite new. How the curriculum is taught in these subjects does not always help pupils learn as well as they should. Pupils are sometimes unclear about the purpose of the activities they do. At times, teachers do not design learning activities that focus on the important information. Pupils sometimes struggle to secure their knowledge and deepen their understanding in these subjects.
From Ofsted's October 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its January 2020 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
39.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
25 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
27.7
Avg class size
27.7
Infant (KS1)
6
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Croft Infant School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Croft Infant School.
- Premier Holiday Club @ David NieperAt the school · Not yet graded
Term dates
Croft Infant School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Derbyshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Wednesday 22 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Thursday 6 January to Friday 7 April 2028 (half term Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February 2028)
- Summer term: Monday 24 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Croft Infant School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Croft Infant School is in Derbyshire; for families living there:
- Derbyshire's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy 2026 to 2027 - 465KB
- How to apply: Apply for home to school transport assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 23
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 23 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 21 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Croft Infant School
Will you get a place at Croft Infant School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Croft Infant School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Croft Infant School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Croft Infant School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Derbyshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Croft Infant School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Derbyshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
98%
Near capacity
170 pupils
174 places
4 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Alfreton
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Alfreton
Across Derbyshire council
Places available
9,875
Applications
7,189
Got 1st preference
94.5%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across Derbyshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
Ungraded inspection: Standards have been maintained.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
48
SEN Support
12
EHC Plans
36.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
166
Total Pupils
92
Boys
74
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
9
Teachers
18.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£55,688
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,112
Per pupil
£1223k
Total funding
£105k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.9%
Overall absence
14.7%
Persistent absence
116
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Croft Infant School
Questions parents ask about Croft Infant School
What is Croft Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Croft Infant School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2020, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Croft Infant School?
No fixed boundary. When Croft Infant School is oversubscribed, Derbyshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Croft Infant School?
Croft Infant School was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Croft Infant School?
Classes at Croft Infant School average 27.7 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Croft Infant School?
Croft Infant School has around 166 pupils on roll. 40% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Croft Infant School?
5.9% of sessions were missed at Croft Infant School in 2024/25. 14.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Croft Infant School?
Apply through Derbyshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Croft Infant School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Croft Infant School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Premier Holiday Club @ David Nieper (registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
What are Croft Infant School's term dates?
Croft Infant School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Derbyshire. In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Wednesday 22 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Thursday 6 January to Friday 7 April 2028 (half term Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February 2028); Summer term: Monday 24 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Croft Infant School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 23 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 21 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Croft Infant School?
Croft Infant School is at Marshall Street, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 7BW.
Sources: Derbyshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)