St Mark's Church of England Primary School

St Mark’s Church of England Primary School is a small, nurturing village primary where pupils are well known, well cared for and feel safe and happy. Inspectors found the school to be good across all key judgements, including early years, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has worked quickly since its previous inspection to strengthen the curriculum, and pupils typically achieve well and are prepared for the next stage of their education. Pupils behave well, attend well and develop a strong sense of responsibility and community. Reading and phonics are particularly secure, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively, and the personal development offer is broad and inclusive. Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school, staff morale is high, and parents are highly supportive. The main area for improvement is the wider curriculum. The school checks pupils’ knowledge securely in English and mathematics, but this is not yet consistent across other subjects, so gaps and misconceptions can go unchecked. Subject leaders should evaluate how well the revised curriculum helps pupils know and remember more over time.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for in a nurturing small school
• The revised curriculum is broad, ambitious and logically ordered from Reception to Year 6
• Pupils typically achieve well and are prepared for the next stage of education
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and pupils enjoy learning
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively
• Phonics and early reading are taught well, and pupils become fluent, confident readers
• Pupils behave well, attendance is good and the school is calm and settled
• The personal development offer is wide, well considered and open to all pupils
• Pupils learn to respect difference and value people, places and cultures beyond their village
• Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school and fulfil their responsibilities effectively
• Staff are well supported, morale is high and workload is considered

Areas for Improvement

• Checking of pupils’ knowledge and understanding is not consistently strong across the wider curriculum
• Gaps in pupils’ knowledge and misconceptions in some foundation subjects can go unchecked
• Subject leaders need to evaluate the impact of the revised curriculum over time

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 St Mark's Church of England Primary School attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Mark's 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 St Mark's Church of England Primary School had 14.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.0% 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, 32.8% of pupils at St Mark's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 St Mark's Church of England Primary School received £10,971 and spent £10,402 for each of its 58 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £174,000 (£3,001 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 St Mark's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mark's Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was St Mark's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does St Mark's Church of England Primary School have?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School has 58 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mark's Church of England Primary School cover?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mark's Church of England Primary School?

St Mark's Church of England Primary School is at School Lane, Hadlow Down, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 4HY.