Ad Astra Infant School

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · BH17 8AP

General information Infant School · 4-7 years Who goes here 257 pupils, 16.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.7% on SEN support Behaviour 4.8% absence rate Staff 18.9% turnover Financials £7,700 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Ad Astra Infant School

General Information

Address: Sherborn Crescent, Canford Heath, Poole, BH17 8AP – View on map
Phone: 01202602113
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Emma Walters
Age range: 4-7 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 68 families put it first for 76 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 4 of the 76 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

257 pupils out of 270 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 43
% eligible for free school meals: 16.7%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (less mixed than the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 18.9% a year (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 15.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 60% moved to another school, 40% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 8.8%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 18.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 25 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Hearing impairment: 3 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card April 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2023). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,700 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

3rd of 13 infant schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for spending per pupil

#1Old Town Infant School and Nursery£10,890
#2St Clement's and St John's Church of England Infant School£7,735
#3Ad Astra Infant School£7,700
#4Queen's Park Infant Academy£7,461
#5Stanley Green Infant Academy£6,626

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Old Town Infant School and Nursery£10,890
#2St Clement's and St John's Church of England Infant School£7,735
#3Ad Astra Infant School£7,700
#4Queen's Park Infant Academy£7,461
#5Stanley Green Infant Academy£6,626
#6Mudeford Community Infants' School£6,591
#7Livingstone Road Infant School£6,528
#8Stourfield Infant School£6,471
#9Courthill Infant School£6,219
#10Twin Sails Infant and Nursery School£6,205
#11Christchurch Infant School£6,026
#12Lilliput Church of England Infant School£5,916
#13Canford Heath Infant School£5,723

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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