Laughton Community Primary School

Laughton Community Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all key domains in this inspection. The school creates a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to engage actively in their learning. Notably, the curriculum is broad and ambitious, with a focus on essential skills and knowledge, allowing most pupils to achieve well. The effective support for SEND pupils showcases the school's commitment to inclusivity and individual progress, with positive relationships between staff and students contributing to a caring school culture. However, there are areas for improvement, particularly regarding the consistency of phonics instruction, which affects some pupils' reading fluency. Additionally, the use of assessment is not fully effective in identifying learning gaps and adapting teaching to meet all pupils' needs adequately. These concerns will need to be addressed to ensure that all students can achieve their full potential as they progress through the school.

Strengths

• Pupils display positive attitudes and strong work ethic.
• Curriculum is broad, ambitious and well-structured.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, ensuring their inclusion.
• Pupils develop a rich vocabulary and demonstrate clear progression.
• Teachers provide effective support during lessons.
• Positive relationships foster a caring and enabling school environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics instruction is inconsistent, affecting reading fluency.
• Assessment methods do not consistently identify gaps in learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Laughton Community Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.0% of pupils at Laughton Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Laughton Community Primary School had 11.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.1% of pupils at Laughton Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Laughton Community Primary School received £10,245 and spent £10,395 for each of its 69 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £22,000 (£322 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Lewes · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is Laughton Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Laughton Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Laughton Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Laughton Community Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Laughton Community Primary School have?

Laughton Community Primary School has 69 pupils on roll.

What age range does Laughton Community Primary School cover?

Laughton Community Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Laughton Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Laughton Community Primary School?

Laughton Community Primary School is at Church Lane, Laughton, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 6AH.