Southwater Infant Academy

Southwater Infant Academy is a small infant school operating as a single academy trust. This full Section 5 inspection found the school performing at the expected standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe. The school has strong foundations: attendance is consistently well above national averages and persistent absence is low; pupils are polite, respectful and engage well in learning; and leaders have developed an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum with particularly effective phonics and early writing practice. Leadership is reflective, trustees provide effective challenge, and staff wellbeing and parent relationships are positive. There are some areas for further refinement. Leaders' adaptive approaches are strong in core subjects such as mathematics and writing but are not yet applied consistently across the wider curriculum, which can hold back some pupils, including those with SEND. In early years, provision is generally thoughtfully designed, but adult interactions are sometimes inconsistent and the sequence of learning is not yet clear in all areas, limiting how well gaps are identified and addressed, including for disadvantaged children. Inclusion is well understood, but leaders need to evaluate more precisely the impact of the pupil premium strategy and the caterpillars provision. Leaders also recognise that extracurricular participation could be broadened.

Strengths

• Leaders have developed an ambitious, broad curriculum with carefully sequenced knowledge.
• Phonics teaching is consistently well-structured, engaging and effective.
• Targeted support in lessons helps pupils address gaps in phonics and mathematics.
• Pupils' writing has improved in quantity and quality due to a more ambitious writing curriculum.
• Attendance is consistently above the national average, with very low persistent absence.
• Pupils are polite, respectful and build positive relationships with adults and peers.
• Behaviour is well managed, and suspensions have reduced significantly.
• Early years children show high levels of independence and follow well-established routines.
• Leaders and staff have a detailed understanding of pupils' needs and provide effective adaptive support.
• The new caterpillars provision provides targeted support for pupils needing personalised help.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with honest self-evaluation and effective trustee challenge.
• Staff wellbeing and workload are well supported, and parents value leaders' visibility.
• Personal development is underpinned by kindness, respect and honesty and is well sequenced.
• Pastoral support is effective and draws on specialist expertise for pupils, families and staff.
• Pupils feel safe and have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including online.
• Pupils have a well-developed understanding of equality, diversity, democracy and tolerance.

Areas for Improvement

• Adaptive approaches seen in core subjects are not consistently applied across the wider curriculum.
• Some pupils, including those with SEND, do not always achieve as highly as they could.
• Early years adult interactions are sometimes inconsistent, including for disadvantaged children.
• The early years curriculum lacks a clear sequence across all areas of learning.
• Leaders cannot yet evaluate precisely the impact of the pupil premium strategy.
• Leaders cannot yet evaluate precisely the impact of the caterpillars provision.
• Extracurricular participation could be broadened to ensure all groups of pupils benefit fully.

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 Southwater Infant Academy attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.1% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Southwater Infant Academy 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 Southwater Infant Academy had 16.0 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, 9.1% of pupils at Southwater Infant Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 2024–25 Southwater Infant Academy received £6,437 and spent £6,780 for each of its 268 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £449,000 (£1,675 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Horsham · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is Southwater Infant Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Southwater Infant Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Southwater Infant Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Southwater Infant Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Southwater Infant Academy have?

Southwater Infant Academy has 230 pupils on roll.

What age range does Southwater Infant Academy cover?

Southwater Infant Academy for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is Southwater Infant Academy?

Southwater Infant Academy is at Worthing Road, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 9JH.