Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School, Market Drayton
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 7 in Market Drayton, part of Empower Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in September 2022 did not change this grade. It was 91% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Shropshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School in detail
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "On behalf of all the children, staff and Governors, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Market Drayton Infants and Nursery School. I feel incredibly proud to be the Headteacher of our wonderful school and consider it a privilege to lead such a vibrant, caring and nurturing community."
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care, from £4.50 per session.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
For September 2026 entry, 53 families put Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School as their first choice and 79 named it as one of their preferences, for 53 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School are Market Drayton Junior School (0.3 miles, Good, 73% reading, 63% maths); Longlands Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 81% reading, 61% maths); Buntingsdale Primary School and Nursery (1.9 miles, Good, 75% reading, 58% maths); and Moreton Say CofE Primary School (2.6 miles, Good, 93% reading, 87% maths).
Market Drayton Junior SchoolLonglands Primary SchoolBuntingsdale Primary School and NurseryMoreton Say CofE Primary School
The trust
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is one of 8 schools run by Empower Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
7.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School.
5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cemetery Road Jct (opposite), 390 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 65 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Shropshire (10), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; 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 · 4 years agoThis judgement is from November 2013, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its November 2013 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
19.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
25.7
Avg class size
28.3
Infant (KS1)
11
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
From Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
Term dates
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Shropshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is in Shropshire; for families living there:
Apply to Shropshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 15
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 15 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 10 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 Shropshire is 1 (the median across 187 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 Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
Will you get a place at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Shropshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School for 2019 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Shropshire 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
91%
Near capacity
245 pupils
270 places
25 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Market Drayton
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Market Drayton
Across Shropshire council
Places available
3,420
Applications
2,582
Got 1st preference
97.4%
Got preferred school
99.8%
All primary applications across Shropshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
46
SEN Support
17
EHC Plans
18.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
346
Total Pupils
176
Boys
170
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
14
Teachers
24.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£46,973
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,477
Per pupil
£1568k
Total funding
£102k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.9%
Overall absence
9.1%
Persistent absence
164
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
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
Questions parents ask about Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School
What is Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
No fixed boundary. When Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is oversubscribed, Shropshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School was not full in 2025: it ran at 91% of its 270 places.
How big are the classes at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
Classes at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School average 25.7 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School has around 346 pupils on roll. 20% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
4.9% of sessions were missed at Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School in 2024/25. 9.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
Apply through Shropshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Market Drayton Infant & Nursery 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.
How many road collisions happen near Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 15 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 10 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 Shropshire is 1 (the median across 187 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School?
Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School is at Longslow Road, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 3BA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)