Highbury Infant School and Nursery
General Information
- Address: Standhill Road, Hitchin, SG4 9AG – View on map
- Phone: 01462630500
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Nancy Adshead
- Age range: 3-7 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 43 families put it first for 47 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 9 · 2025 8 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 17
- % eligible for free school meals: 9.3%
- Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the North Hertfordshire average)
- English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 18.9% a year (North Hertfordshire 16.9%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 38% moved to another school, 62% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Hertfordshire: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 33 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 13 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (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 Hertfordshire (the council area this school is in), 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: 3.9%
- Persistently absent pupils: 6.6%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 11.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.0%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
View full Ofsted inspection report
1st of 5 infant schools in North Hertfordshire for Ofsted rating
- #1Highbury Infant School and NurseryGood
- #2Hillshott Infant School and NurseryGood
- #3St Mary's Infants' SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,340 (2024-25)
6th of 6 infant schools in North Hertfordshire for spending per pupil
- #4Hillshott Infant School and Nursery£7,222
- #5Icknield Infant and Nursery School£6,917
- #6Highbury Infant School and Nursery£6,340
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)