All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School

All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School is a small, inclusive school within The Sussex Spires Federation. Inspectors found a caring, welcoming community where pupils feel safe, behave well and are supported to learn. The early years provision and the school's inclusive culture are particular strengths, and safeguarding standards are met. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEND, small year groups and many pupils joining at different points in the year, and it has had a new head of school since September 2024. Leadership, governance and personal development are also strong features. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, rich extra-curricular opportunities and a clear sense of community. Most pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages in English and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are well supported. However, published outcomes have been uneven over recent years, with some gaps for disadvantaged pupils, especially in mathematics and combined reading, writing and mathematics. The main areas for improvement are attendance, teaching consistency and the embedding of the new PSHE curriculum. Attendance has improved but remains variable for a small number of pupils, including some with SEND, and overall and persistent absence are above national averages. Teaching is generally effective, but it does not always follow planned content or agreed strategies closely enough, which can limit how deeply pupils learn. Leaders have already identified these priorities and are working to secure more consistent standards across the school.

Strengths

• Early years provision gives children a very positive start, with a well-sequenced curriculum and high-quality adult interaction.
• An inclusive culture is central to the school's ethos, with swift identification and effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils feel safe, happy and valued, and behaviour is calm and positive across the school.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively to improve attendance, behaviour, wellbeing and academic outcomes.
• Leadership and governance are purposeful, with strong staff development and meaningful engagement with parents and carers.
• Personal development is rich, including community links, outdoor learning, clubs, PSHE and British values.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, with clear intent and appropriate subject knowledge beyond English and mathematics.
• Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages in English and mathematics, including many disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching does not always follow planned content or agreed strategies closely enough, so pupils sometimes miss chances to deepen learning.
• Attendance remains variable for a small number of pupils, including some with SEND, and overall and persistent absence are above national averages.
• Achievement is not consistently strong across all areas, with disadvantaged pupils showing gaps in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The new PSHE curriculum is not yet fully embedded, so pupils' knowledge of its content and themes is not yet secure.
• Leaders need to secure more consistent teaching quality and highly effective standards across the school.
• Some published outcomes in combined reading, writing and mathematics have been below national averages in recent years.

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 All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.3% 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 All Saints' and St Richard'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 All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School had 13.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 33.7% of pupils at All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School received £8,903 and spent £8,444 for each of its 86 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £160,000 (£1,863 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 Heathfield · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School have?

All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School has 86 pupils on roll.

What age range does All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School cover?

All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School?

All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School is at School Hill, Old Heathfield, Heathfield, East Sussex, TN21 9AE.