Poulner Infant School and Nursery, Ringwood
Poulner Infant School and Nursery is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 7 in Ringwood. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. It was 99% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- 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 Hampshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Poulner Infant School and Nursery in detail
Poulner Infant School and Nursery in its own words
Coming up: an open day on Monday 2 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Hampshire
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Poulner Infant School and Nursery
For September 2026 entry, 57 families put Poulner Infant School and Nursery as their first choice and 92 named it as one of their preferences, for 58 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 Poulner Infant School and Nursery
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Poulner Infant School and Nursery are Poulner Junior School (under 0.1 miles, Good, 83% reading, 78% maths); Ringwood Church of England Infant School (1.1 miles, Good); Ringwood Junior School (1.2 miles, Good, 70% reading, 73% maths); and St Ives Primary & Nursery School (2.7 miles, Outstanding, 97% reading, 100% maths).
Poulner Junior SchoolRingwood Church of England Infant SchoolRingwood Junior SchoolSt Ives Primary & Nursery School
What parents say
77 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Poulner Infant School and Nursery (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 50% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (50%).
Who goes there
15% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 6.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 13 pupils (6.3%) received SEN support and 13 (6.3%) 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.
Staffing
Poulner Infant School and Nursery had 12 teachers in 2026, one for every 15 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Poulner Infant School and Nursery.
3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Poulner Schools (opposite), 170 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Poulner Infant School and Nursery stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 33 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hampshire (72).
Suspensions and exclusions
Poulner Infant School and Nursery recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; 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 March 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils thrive here. At the start of each day, they hurry happily into school. Pupils state confidently that 'everyone is welcome here'. Their kind and respectful manner towards each other and to adults shows that this is truly the case.
The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. Pupils have a real thirst for knowledge. They are excited to learn new information. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), speak confidently about what they know and can do. This includes the youngest children in early years, where adults support children well to talk about their learning and develop their thinking.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has developed an ambitious curriculum which identifies the important knowledge that pupils must learn from Nursery to the end of Year 2. In many subjects, the knowledge that pupils must remember is identified precisely. This means that teachers know exactly what to teach and when to teach it. This enables pupils to build their understanding step by step and achieve well. In a few subjects, the school is refining the curriculum. For these subjects, the important knowledge that pupils must learn is still not identified in sufficient detail or set out in the most sensible order. When this is the case, pupils do not always learn the intended curriculum effectively.
Generally, teachers have strong knowledge of the subjects they teach. They present information clearly and use effective strategies to deepen pupils' understanding. This includes enabling pupils to make helpful links both within and between subjects. For instance, in Reception, children build their mathematical understanding of pattern through a wide range of practical activities which increase in complexity over time. Pupils with SEND benefit from effective identification of their needs. Bespoke interventions enable pupils with SEND to access the curriculum in a way that is right for them so that they can learn effectively.
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 March 2015 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
15.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
77 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
27.3
Avg class size
27.8
Infant (KS1)
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Poulner Infant School and Nursery
September 2026 Newsletter
11 Sep 2026
July 2026 Newsletter
21 Jul 2026
May 2026 Newsletter
22 May 2026
March 2026 Newsletter
26 Mar 2026
February 2026 Newsletter
2 Feb 2026
December 2025 Newsletter
19 Dec 2025
From Poulner Infant School and Nursery's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Poulner Infant School and Nursery
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Poulner Infant School and Nursery.
- Globe Fit Kids Clubs - PoulnerAt the school · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Poulner Infant School and Nursery from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Poulner Infant School and Nursery is in Hampshire; for families living there:
Apply to Hampshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 5 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
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 Hampshire is 9 (the median across 617 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 Poulner Infant School and Nursery
Will you get a place at Poulner Infant School and Nursery? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Poulner Infant School and Nursery's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Poulner Infant School and Nursery:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Poulner Infant School and Nursery.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Hampshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Poulner Infant School and Nursery for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Hampshire 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
99%
Near capacity
178 pupils
180 places
2 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Ringwood
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Ringwood
Across Hampshire council
Places available
15,642
Applications
12,982
Got 1st preference
93.4%
Got preferred school
98.9%
All primary applications across Hampshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
13
SEN Support
13
EHC Plans
12.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
207
Total Pupils
107
Boys
100
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
17.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£53,095
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,566
Per pupil
£1083k
Total funding
£48k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.7%
Overall absence
5.6%
Persistent absence
124
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
Poulner Infant School and Nursery
Questions parents ask about Poulner Infant School and Nursery
What is Poulner Infant School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?
Poulner Infant School and Nursery's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
No fixed boundary. When Poulner Infant School and Nursery is oversubscribed, Hampshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
Poulner Infant School and Nursery was close to full in 2025, at 99% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
Classes at Poulner Infant School and Nursery average 27.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
Poulner Infant School and Nursery has around 207 pupils on roll. 15% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
4.7% of sessions were missed at Poulner Infant School and Nursery in 2024/25. 5.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
Apply through Hampshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Poulner 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 Poulner Infant School and Nursery have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Globe Fit Kids Clubs - Poulner (registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 5 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 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 Hampshire is 9 (the median across 617 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Poulner Infant School and Nursery?
Poulner Infant School and Nursery is at North Poulner Road, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 3LA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)