Sheddingdean Community Primary School

Sheddingdean Community Primary School is a welcoming, caring school where safeguarding standards are met and pupils say they feel safe. Early years provision and personal development are relative strengths: leaders have built a well-sequenced early years curriculum focused on early reading, writing and number, staff build warm relationships and develop children's language, and pupils learn about healthy relationships, safety and British values. Pupils generally behave well around school, take on leadership roles, and benefit from pastoral support and a range of clubs and visits. However, several core areas need attention. Achievement is uneven across subjects and year groups, with writing weaker than reading and mathematics and disadvantaged pupils achieving less well, especially in writing and mathematics. Attendance is not high enough, persistent absence among disadvantaged pupils is too high, and behaviour systems are not consistently applied, leading to low-level disruption in some lessons. Teaching and inclusion are also inconsistent: pupils do not always remember key knowledge, some SEND pupils do not receive needed adaptations and rely on adult support, and staff do not always apply adaptive strategies well. Leaders and governors understand the school's priorities and have begun work on reading, handwriting, attendance and staff development, but improvements are not yet embedded or sustained. Checks on the impact of training and support are not sharp enough, governors do not always challenge leaders on pace and consistency, and some stakeholders have raised concerns. The school has 208 pupils, a below-average proportion eligible for free school meals, and is located in an area of well-below-average deprivation; it also uses two alternative providers, including one unregistered.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Pupils are welcomed into a caring school with positive relationships and clear routines.
• Early years curriculum is well sequenced and prioritises early reading, writing and number.
• Warm staff relationships help children feel safe and ready to learn.
• Staff develop children's language through conversation and modelling vocabulary.
• Structured phonics teaching helps children begin to read.
• Indoor and outdoor environments promote independence, exploration and physical skills.
• Children with additional needs engage in activities alongside their peers.
• Personal development programme builds knowledge of healthy relationships, safety and British values.
• Pupils show respect, understand healthy lifestyles and learn to regulate emotions.
• Pupil leadership roles and learning council give pupils responsibility and voice.
• Pastoral support and positive relationships help pupils feel safe and included.
• Clubs, trips and visits broaden pupils' experiences.
• Pupils usually behave well around school and suspensions have reduced.
• Pupils with SEND feel supported, especially in the specialist Lighthouse provision.
• Leaders are committed to inclusion and work with external agencies to support pupils.
• Governors understand the school context and ensure statutory duties are met.
• Parents value the caring environment and staff appreciate support from leaders.
• Early reading shows improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is variable across subjects and year groups.
• Writing outcomes are weaker than reading and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve less well, especially in writing and mathematics.
• Key stage 1 early writing skills are not secure, including pencil grip.
• Task design and expectations for writing vary between classes.
• Pupils lack enough extended writing opportunities to apply handwriting and grammar.
• Knowledge gaps in the wider curriculum are not identified or addressed promptly.
• Pupils do not consistently remember key content over time.
• Attendance is too low, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.
• Persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils is too high.
• Leaders do not analyse attendance information precisely enough.
• Behaviour recording and review systems are applied inconsistently.
• Low-level disruption in lessons slows learning.
• Teaching is not consistent across the school.
• SEND support varies and some pupils lack needed adaptations.
• Some pupils rely on adult support to access learning.
• Inclusion approaches are not effective enough across the school.
• Adaptive strategies are not applied consistently, especially for behavioural and emotional needs.
• Support arrangements are not precise or used consistently to guide teaching.
• Leaders have not focused sharply enough on the most important improvements.
• Improvements are not yet sustained in practice.
• Checks on the impact of training are not sharp enough.
• Governors do not consistently challenge leaders on pace and consistency.
• Some stakeholders have concerns about provision.
• Enrichment participation tracking is only recently started.

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 Sheddingdean Community Primary School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.0% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Sheddingdean Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Sheddingdean Community Primary School had 22.1 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, 16.1% of pupils at Sheddingdean Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 Sheddingdean Community Primary School received £7,293 and spent £7,308 for each of its 199 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £33,000 (£167 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 Burgess Hill · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is Sheddingdean Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sheddingdean Community Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Sheddingdean Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sheddingdean Community Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Sheddingdean Community Primary School have?

Sheddingdean Community Primary School has 199 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sheddingdean Community Primary School cover?

Sheddingdean Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sheddingdean Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sheddingdean Community Primary School?

Sheddingdean Community Primary School is at Petworth Drive, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8JT.