Woodlands Infant and Nursery School, Lincoln
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 7 in Lincoln. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2025 did not change this grade. It was 36% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 75 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Lincolnshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 1 Nov 2026
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School in detail
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "We are a friendly and inclusive infant school at the heart of the local community. We are a warm welcoming community school and our children and families are at the heart of our school, which is seen in our nurturing environment."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include yoga, cooking, book club and cheerleading.
Coming up: an open day on Monday 2 November 2026 and an open day on Thursday 5 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Lincolnshire
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Open days on the school's site (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School
For September 2026 entry, 24 families put Woodlands Infant and Nursery School as their first choice and 43 named it as one of their preferences, for 24 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 Woodlands Infant and Nursery School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Woodlands Infant and Nursery School are Lincoln Birchwood Junior School (0.3 miles, Good, 65% reading, 67% maths); The Lancaster School (0.4 miles, Good); St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy (0.6 miles, Outstanding, 70% reading, 70% maths); and Leslie Manser Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 71% reading, 64% maths).
Lincoln Birchwood Junior SchoolThe Lancaster SchoolSt Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary AcademyLeslie Manser Primary School
Who goes there
37% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
Staffing
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School had 9 teachers in 2026, one for every 7 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Hykeham Rail Station, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line.
15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hickory Road (adjacent), 100 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Woodlands Infant and Nursery School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 113 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lincolnshire (33), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
Woodlands Infant and 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 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 May 2019, 7 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 Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Woodlands creates a warm, nurturing environment where children thrive academically and socially. The school excels at teaching language and reading skills, with pupils learning to read with confidence and expression. Staff provide excellent support for children with additional needs, ensuring all pupils feel part of a happy, cooperative school community.
Key Strengths
- Well-designed curriculum with strong focus on language development and vocabulary teaching
- Clear lesson structure consistently followed with good support for pupils with SEND
- Strong phonics programme with many pupils reading confidently and expressively
- Positive behaviour and attitudes to learning from nursery upwards
- Safe, friendly school community where pupils are kind and cooperative
Areas for Improvement
- Some pupils in mathematics are not given equal opportunities to solve problems and apply their knowledge, limiting their deep understanding
- Limited extra-curricular activities and clubs despite pupils' desire for more creative, arts and sports opportunities
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
Extracurricular Activities
Visits to Lincoln Cathedral, falconry centre, adventure centre; career visits from fire-fighters, paramedics, zoologists and scientists
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School has maintained its good standards and continues to prepare pupils to 'dream big' through a well-designed curriculum balanced with a warm, nurturing approach. The school has effective safeguarding arrangements and positive relationships between pupils and staff.
At a Glance
37.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
10.2
Avg class size
19.0
Infant (KS1)
5
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Woodlands Infant and Nursery School
Before and after school care
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School 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 Lincolnshire
Nurseries
The nearest nurseries and pre-schools to Woodlands Infant and Nursery School, with their latest published grades:
- YMCA Woodlands Nursery - Day nursery, under 0.1 milesOfsted, 26 January 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Paper Moon Day Nursery - Day nursery, 0.4 milesOfsted, 17 October 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Little Scallywags Pre-School - Pre-school, 0.9 milesOfsted, 30 September 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- The Village Pre School and Kids Club - Day nursery, 1.3 milesOfsted, 31 January 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Angels Childcare - Day nursery, 1.3 milesOfsted, 22 June 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Term dates
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Lincolnshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Thursday 3 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Wednesday 14 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Wednesday 5 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028)
- Summer term: Wednesday 19 April to Friday 21 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Woodlands Infant and Nursery School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Woodlands Infant and Nursery School is in Lincolnshire; for families living there:
- How to apply: Apply for reception to year 11 transport
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 14
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 12 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt.
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 Lincolnshire is 6 (the median across 401 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight are DfT estimates (severity adjustment). Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School
Will you get a place at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
For 2026 entry it had 24 first choices for 24 places. The report sets your home postcode against these figures.
£9.99 once (inc. VAT; £19.99 for up to three schools), or Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time. What's in the report
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
36%
Available places
64 pupils
180 places
116 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Across Lincolnshire council
Places available
8,940
Applications
6,453
Got 1st preference
96.3%
Got preferred school
99.7%
All primary applications across Lincolnshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Future places in the local planning area
DfE estimates the Birchwood Primary planning area (Lincolnshire) will have 442 spare primary places in 2027/28.
Source: Department for Education, School capacity: Academic year 2024/25 (published 19 March 2026), estimates of future school place demand by planning area. Council pupil forecasts against reported places, counting places councils and DfE plan to add or remove; rounded to whole places. Explore Education Statistics
Inspection History(7)
Ungraded inspection: Standards have been maintained.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
9
SEN Support
3
EHC Plans
14.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
81
Total Pupils
36
Boys
45
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
9
Teachers
9.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,176
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,861
Per pupil
£593k
Total funding
£41k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.3%
Overall absence
15.9%
Persistent absence
44
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
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School
Questions parents ask about Woodlands Infant and Nursery School
What is Woodlands Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, was ungraded. At its last graded inspection, in May 2019, it was rated Good.
Is it hard to get a place at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School was not full in 2025: it ran at 36% of its 180 places.
How big are the classes at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
Classes at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School average 10.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School has around 81 pupils on roll. 37% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
6.3% of sessions were missed at Woodlands Infant and Nursery School in 2024/25. 15.9% of pupils were persistently absent.
Does Woodlands Infant and Nursery School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026).
What are Woodlands Infant and Nursery School's term dates?
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Lincolnshire. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Thursday 3 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Tuesday 5 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Wednesday 14 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027). In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Wednesday 5 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028); Summer term: Wednesday 19 April to Friday 21 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 12 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt. 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 Lincolnshire is 6 (the median across 401 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Woodlands Infant and Nursery School?
Woodlands Infant and Nursery School is at Whitethorn Grove, Birchwood, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 0PF.
Sources: Lincolnshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)