Old Town Infant School and Nursery, Poole
Old Town Infant School and Nursery is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 7 in Poole, part of Coastal Learning Partnership. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. It was 59% 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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Old Town Infant School and Nursery in detail
Old Town Infant School and Nursery in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "May I extend a warm welcome to Old Town Infant School and Nursery. It really is a very special place. We are a small but mighty school located in central Poole, where the success of every child matters to us."
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 Old Town Infant School and Nursery
For September 2026 entry, 30 families put Old Town Infant School and Nursery as their first choice and 79 named it as one of their preferences, for 32 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Old Town Infant School and Nursery
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Old Town Infant School and Nursery are Longfleet Church of England Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 76% reading, 69% maths); Oakdale Junior School (0.9 miles, Good, 68% reading, 66% maths); Hamworthy Park Junior School (1 mile, Good, 72% reading, 65% maths); and St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Poole (1.1 miles, Good, 82% reading, 69% maths).
Longfleet Church of England Primary SchoolOakdale Junior SchoolHamworthy Park Junior SchoolSt Mary's Catholic Primary School, Poole
The trust
Old Town Infant School and Nursery is one of 20 schools run by Coastal Learning Partnership, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
What parents say
44 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Old Town Infant School and Nursery (as of September 2025): 96% would recommend the school, 98% say their child is happy there and 82% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (98%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (82%).
Who goes there
33.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 43.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (56%), Asian (15%) and Black (9%).
In 2026, 24 pupils (13.5%) received SEN support and 14 (7.9%) 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 speech, language and communication needs.
Old Town Infant School and Nursery has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs and autism: 10 places, 10 pupils on roll.
Staffing
Old Town Infant School and Nursery had 15 teachers in 2026, one for every 9 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Poole Rail Station, about 490 metres away (roughly a 6-minute walk).
28 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Nelson Court (ne-bound), 120 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Old Town Infant School and Nursery issued 12 suspensions, 6.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Old Town Infant School and Nursery are Poole High School (0.7 miles) and The Cornerstone Academy (0.9 miles).
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); 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 July 2013, 13 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school has improved significantly.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Old Town Infant School provides an ambitious, well-designed curriculum that starts in Nursery and helps all children develop a real love of learning. The school excels at teaching reading and writing to a high standard, while ensuring every child - including those with additional needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds - receives the tailored support they need to succeed. Staff create warm, supportive relationships where children feel valued and know exactly how to behave, allowing them to flourish and develop confidence.
Key Strengths
- Ambitious, carefully designed curriculum with sharp focus on vocabulary development from Nursery onwards
- Exceptional teaching of reading and writing with high-quality outcomes for all pupils
- Strong support for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, enabling accelerated progress
- Highly supportive relationships between staff and pupils creating a calm, purposeful learning atmosphere
- Exemplary wider offer including wellbeing activities, safety workshops, and confidence-building assemblies
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders creating an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Water and rail safety workshops, kindness day, rainbow breathing, time to shine assemblies, before- and after-school club, fruit and vegetable stall, skipping and ball games, school councillors
Old Town Infant School and Nursery shows evidence of significant improvement across all areas since the previous inspection. Pupils thrive in a nurturing environment with high expectations, strong relationships, and excellent behaviour.
At a Glance
33.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Speech and language, Autism
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
44 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
20.8
Avg class size
22.3
Infant (KS1)
8
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Old Town Infant School and Nursery
Weekly bulletin 16.07.26 ENGLISH
16 Jul 2026
Old Town News 10.07.26
10 Jul 2026
Weekly bulletin 05.07.26 ENGLISH
5 Jul 2026
Weekly bulletin 28.06.26 ENGLISH
28 Jun 2026
Weekly bulletin 19.06.26 ENGLISH
19 Jun 2026
Weekly bulletin 12.06.26 ENGLISH
12 Jun 2026
From Old Town Infant School and Nursery's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Old Town Infant School and Nursery
Before and after school care
Old Town Infant School and Nursery is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Old Town Infant School and Nursery.
- Old Town InfAt the school · Not yet graded
Term dates
Old Town Infant School and Nursery is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Ferry Terminals
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Old Town Infant School and Nursery from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Old Town Infant School and Nursery is in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; for families living there:
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 46
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 11
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 46 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 11 serious and 35 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is 24 (the median across 117 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 Old Town Infant School and Nursery
Will you get a place at Old Town Infant School and Nursery? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Old Town Infant School and Nursery's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Old Town Infant School and Nursery:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Old Town Infant School and Nursery.
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Old Town Infant School and Nursery that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Old Town Infant School and Nursery for 2017 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 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
59%
Available places
138 pupils
232 places
94 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Poole
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Poole
Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council
Places available
3,809
Applications
3,148
Got 1st preference
92.2%
Got preferred school
99.3%
All primary applications across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
24
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
21.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Old Town Infant School and Nursery has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs and autism: 10 places, 10 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
178
Total Pupils
92
Boys
86
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
15
Teachers
11.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,552
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,413
Per pupil
£1069k
Total funding
£79k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.3%
Overall absence
15.0%
Persistent absence
100
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
Old Town Infant School and Nursery
Questions parents ask about Old Town Infant School and Nursery
What is Old Town Infant School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?
Old Town Infant School and Nursery's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in July 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
No fixed boundary. When Old Town Infant School and Nursery is oversubscribed, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
Old Town Infant School and Nursery was not full in 2025: it ran at 59% of its 232 places.
How big are the classes at Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
Classes at Old Town Infant School and Nursery average 20.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
Old Town Infant School and Nursery has around 178 pupils on roll. 34% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Old Town Infant School and Nursery have specialist SEN provision?
Old Town Infant School and Nursery has a resourced provision for speech, language and communication needs and autism: 10 places, 10 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
5.3% of sessions were missed at Old Town Infant School and Nursery in 2024/25. 15% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
Apply through Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's coordinated admissions process, naming Old Town Infant School and Nursery 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 Old Town Infant School and Nursery have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Old Town Infant School and Nursery is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Old Town Inf (registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 46 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 11 serious and 35 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is 24 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Old Town Infant School and Nursery?
Old Town Infant School and Nursery is at Green Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1QB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)