Framfield Church of England Primary School

Framfield Church of England Primary School is a small village primary where pupils are happy, feel safe and are keen to learn. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is strong, and personal development is a clear strength: pupils learn about leadership, online safety and diversity, and benefit from a rich programme of visits and wider opportunities. The school also provides high-quality mental health and wellbeing support, and early years provision is strong, with children learning the key skills and knowledge they need. However, the school’s core education is not yet good enough. The curriculum is not well designed or sequenced in several subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge and explanations are inconsistent, and checks on pupils’ understanding do not always identify or address misconceptions. Reading and phonics are not taught consistently enough, so too many pupils do not become fluent, confident readers and those who fall behind do not always get timely help. Behaviour is not consistently managed under the school’s new policy, which sometimes disrupts learning. Leadership has been unstable since the last inspection. Governors have now secured stable leadership and staff are positive, but new systems have not had time to embed. Subject leadership and curriculum oversight are not robust enough in some areas, and pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could because of the curriculum design. This is the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and are keen to learn.
• High-quality mental health and wellbeing support helps pupils manage emotions and learn.
• Early years provision is strong, with clear modelling and careful checks on children’s next steps.
• Pupils with SEND are identified clearly and teaching is adapted effectively.
• Pupils are polite and courteous, and older pupils act as role models.
• Attendance is frequent and punctual because systems track and address barriers quickly.
• Personal development is prioritised through leadership roles, online safety, diversity education and enrichment.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils learn and apply key content in the wider curriculum, such as physical education.
• Governors have secured stable leadership, and staff are positive about an ambitious vision for improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• The behaviour policy is not applied consistently, so learning is sometimes disrupted.
• The curriculum is not well designed or sequenced in several subjects, including for mixed-age classes.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is not secure in some subjects, weakening explanations and task selection.
• Checks on pupils’ understanding are not precise enough, and misconceptions are not always addressed.
• Phonics teaching and assessment are inconsistent, and reading books are not always matched to pupils’ sounds.
• Pupils who fall behind in reading do not always receive timely help to catch up.
• Too many pupils do not become fluent and confident readers.
• Curriculum oversight and subject leadership are not robust enough in some subjects.
• Pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could because of curriculum design.
• Pupils do not write consistently well or always have age-appropriate understanding of key mathematical concepts.
• New systems have not had time to embed, and support for staff has not been effective.

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 Framfield Church of England Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.1% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Framfield Church of England 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 Framfield Church of England Primary School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 100.0% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Framfield Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.2% 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 Framfield Church of England Primary School received £8,458 and spent £8,322 for each of its 85 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £106,000 (£1,242 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 Uckfield · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is Framfield Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Framfield Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Framfield Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Framfield Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Framfield Church of England Primary School have?

Framfield Church of England Primary School has 85 pupils on roll.

What age range does Framfield Church of England Primary School cover?

Framfield Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Framfield Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Framfield Church of England Primary School?

Framfield Church of England Primary School is at The Street, Framfield, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 5NR.