St Philip's Catholic Primary School

St Philip’s Catholic Primary School is a small, welcoming school where pupils flourish and feel safe. The school has high ambitions for all pupils, a broad curriculum and a rich programme of clubs, trips and sporting events. Pupils achieve well, behaviour is positive from Nursery onwards, and personal development is exceptional, with strong emphasis on mental health, well-being, pupil leadership and British values. Reading and phonics are well embedded, pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported effectively, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leadership has been stable enough to maintain focus during a period of leadership uncertainty, with governors providing strong support and staff proud to work at the school. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school remains focused on improving behaviour and professional development. The acting headteacher took up post in November 2023, and the school is a Catholic voluntary aided primary within the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The main area for improvement is in a couple of foundation subjects, where curriculum design and assessment are less refined. In these subjects, key knowledge and skills are not yet clearly identified, pupils are not routinely supported to build on prior understanding, and checks on learning do not always identify gaps accurately enough to inform future teaching.

Strengths

• Pupils flourish in a small, welcoming school and feel safe.
• The school has high ambitions and a broad curriculum enriched by clubs, trips and sporting events.
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively in their learning and personal development.
• Reading and phonics are well embedded, with effective catch-up support for weaker readers.
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Behaviour and attitudes are positive from Nursery onwards, with high expectations and calm conduct.
• Personal development is exceptional, including mental health, well-being and pupil leadership opportunities.
• Pupils develop a deep understanding of British values, equality and healthy relationships.
• Governors provide strong support during a period of leadership uncertainty.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and professional development is prioritised.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Early years provision lays strong foundations for learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum design and assessment are not as refined in a couple of foundation subjects.
• Key knowledge and skills are not clearly identified in those foundation subjects.
• Pupils are not routinely supported to build on their prior understanding in those subjects.
• Checks on learning are less well developed, so gaps in pupils’ understanding are not identified accurately.
• Teaching does not always address gaps in understanding in subjects with weaker assessment.

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 Philip's Catholic Primary School attended 94.9% 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, 1.8% of pupils at St Philip's Catholic 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 Philip's Catholic Primary School had 22.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.4% 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, 19.2% of pupils at St Philip's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% 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 Philip's Catholic Primary School received £6,465 and spent £6,163 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £158,000 (£756 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 Philip's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Philip's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was St Philip's Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Philip's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does St Philip's Catholic Primary School have?

St Philip's Catholic Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Philip's Catholic Primary School cover?

St Philip's Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Philip's Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Philip's Catholic Primary School?

St Philip's Catholic Primary School is at High Street, New Town, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 5DJ.