South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School

South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School is a good school in all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was its first routine section 5 inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the report notes that it had not previously been inspected under section 5. The school is described as caring and inclusive, with positive relationships, high expectations for behaviour and an ambitious, well-structured curriculum. Pupils, including those with SEND, are well supported and achieve well, while phonics and early reading are particular strengths. The school provides a strong personal development offer and a calm, purposeful environment. Staff are positive about leadership and workload, governors are engaged, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum enriched with cultural and community experiences, and they take pride in leadership responsibilities. The main areas for improvement are writing and attendance. Some staff are not yet confident in implementing the writing curriculum, so some pupils do not have secure grammar, punctuation and spelling knowledge. In addition, a minority of vulnerable pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, are absent too often and miss important learning and school experiences.

Strengths

• Caring and inclusive culture where everyone is valued and respected.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils and kind behaviour among pupils.
• Ambitious, broad and well-sequenced curriculum.
• Strong focus on oracy and vocabulary from the early years.
• Effective phonics and reading provision with expert teaching and early support.
• Consistent positive behaviour culture that helps pupils self-regulate.
• High ambition and effective provision for pupils with SEND.
• Strong personal development and community leadership opportunities.
• Engaged governors with a secure understanding of school strengths and priorities.
• Supportive leadership that is mindful of staff workload and well-being.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing curriculum implementation is inconsistent across the school.
• Some staff are not yet confident in teaching writing effectively and expertly.
• Some pupils have insecure grammar, punctuation and spelling knowledge.
• A minority of vulnerable pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, are absent too often.

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 South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.5% 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, 0.0% of pupils at South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery 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 South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 2.0% 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, 9.6% of pupils at South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School received £6,618 and spent £6,665 for each of its 221 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £11,000 (-£48 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).

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What is South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School have?

South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School has 230 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School cover?

South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School?

South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School is at Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2HS.