East Preston Infant School

East Preston Infant School is a welcoming, nurturing infant school where pupils are enthusiastic about learning and feel safe. Inspectors judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision to be good, with safeguarding arrangements effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and it remains a good school. The curriculum is well designed and sequenced, and pupils with SEND are identified and supported well so they can access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Reading is taught early and effectively, the early years provision is strong in developing language and communication, and pupils’ behaviour and attendance are good. Pupils also develop impressive independence and resilience, and governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge. The main areas for improvement are assessment and writing. Checks on what pupils know are not always precise enough, and learning activities are sometimes not adapted well enough to meet pupils’ needs. In addition, errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not consistently addressed, so some pupils do not get enough regular practice in writing accurately across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Warm and positive relationships create a welcoming learning community
• Pupils feel safe and staff know them well
• The curriculum is well designed and carefully sequenced
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and supported to access the ambitious curriculum
• Phonics is delivered with precision and pupils receive strong early reading support
• The early years curriculum is well crafted to develop language and communication
• Pupils’ behaviour and attendance are strong
• Pupils develop independence and resilience through the ‘learning crew’ approach
• Pupils take on leadership responsibilities and learn about citizenship
• Governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge
• Staff well-being and training are high priorities

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment checks on pupils’ knowledge are not always precise enough
• Learning activities are not consistently adapted to meet pupils’ needs
• Errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar are not always effectively addressed
• Pupils do not have regular enough opportunities to practise writing accurately across the curriculum

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 East Preston Infant School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.3% 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 East Preston Infant 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 East Preston Infant School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.9% 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, 13.0% of pupils at East Preston Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 East Preston Infant School received £6,966 and spent £6,870 for each of its 223 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £67,000 (-£302 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 Littlehampton · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is East Preston Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for East Preston Infant School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was East Preston Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

East Preston Infant School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does East Preston Infant School have?

East Preston Infant School has 223 pupils on roll.

What age range does East Preston Infant School cover?

East Preston Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is East Preston Infant School?

East Preston Infant School is at Lashmar Road, East Preston, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN16 1EZ.