Orchard Lea Infant School
Kennedy Avenue, Fareham, PO15 6BJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Ackerman
- Federation
- The Orchard Lea Federation
- Constituency
- Fareham and Waterlooville
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 180
- Pupils on roll
- 118
- URN
- 116224
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01329232563
About this school
Orchard Lea Infant School is a community primary school in Fareham. It teaches children aged 4 to 7 and has 118 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Trends over time
How Orchard Lea Infant School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 161 |
| 2023/24 | 158 |
| 2024/25 | 132 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Orchard Lea Infant School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 5.2% | 28% | 118 | — |
| Orchard Lea Junior School | 69% | 3.9% | 26% | 217 | 0.1 miles |
| St Columba CE Primary School | 80% | 4.8% | 49.4% | 100 | 0.5 miles |
| Uplands Primary School | 75% | 3.4% | 6.1% | 308 | 0.6 miles |
| St Jude's Catholic Primary School | 68% | 3.9% | 19.5% | 221 | 0.9 miles |
| Wallisdean Infant School | — | 4.7% | 25% | 134 | 1.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 28.03%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.23%
- Persistent absence
- 11.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Orchard Lea Junior School0.1 miles
Primary · Fareham
-
St Columba CE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Fareham
-
Uplands Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Fareham
-
St Jude's Catholic Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Fareham
-
Wallisdean Infant School1.0 miles
Primary · Fareham
Other schools in Fareham
- Castle Primary School Primary
- Cornerstone CofE (VA) Primary School Primary
- Crofton Anne Dale Infant and Pre-School Primary
- Crofton Anne Dale Junior School Primary
- Crofton Hammond Infant School Primary
- Crofton Hammond Junior School Primary
- Harrison Primary School Primary
- Newtown Soberton Infant School Primary
- Northern Infant School Primary
- Northern Junior School Primary
- Orchard Lea Junior School Primary
- Ranvilles Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Orchard Lea Infant School teach?
- Orchard Lea Infant School teaches children aged 4 to 7. It is a primary school in Fareham.
- Who is the headteacher of Orchard Lea Infant School?
- The headteacher of Orchard Lea Infant School is Mrs Sarah Ackerman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Orchard Lea Infant School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Orchard Lea Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Orchard Lea Infant School?
- Orchard Lea Infant School has 118 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 7.
- Is Orchard Lea Infant School full?
- Orchard Lea Infant School has capacity for 180 pupils and 118 on roll (66%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Orchard Lea Infant School a faith school?
- No. Orchard Lea Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Orchard Lea Infant School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Orchard Lea Infant School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Orchard Lea Infant School?
- Orchard Lea Infant School is part of the The Orchard Lea Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What is Orchard Lea Infant School's absence rate?
- Orchard Lea Infant School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Orchard Lea Infant School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Orchard Lea Infant School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.