Churchwood Primary School

Churchwood Primary Academy is performing well overall, maintaining a good standard of education as noted in its previous inspection. The school excels in providing a supportive and enriching environment, particularly in early years and for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff are dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of all students, and the curriculum is well-organized in many areas, actively supported by leaders from the school and the University of Brighton Academies Trust. Parents generally express satisfaction with the school's efforts, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are areas that require improvement, particularly in the consistency of phonics instruction and the long-term planning for some curriculum subjects. Leadership has been proactive in recognizing these areas, and initial steps have been taken to enhance staff training and curriculum development. Despite some minor concerns from parents through the Ofsted Parent View survey, the overall feedback remains positive about the school's commitment to fostering a safe and engaging learning environment.

Strengths

• Strong personal development and pastoral care for pupils
• High-quality education tailored to meet the needs of all pupils
• Effective support for pupils with SEND
• Well-organized curriculum in many subjects
• Strong emphasis on developing early reading skills
• Positive community involvement and engagement with parents

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of the new phonics programme by some staff
• Some curriculum subjects need further development in planning and sequencing

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 Churchwood Primary School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.4% 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, 2.9% of pupils at Churchwood 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 Churchwood Primary School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.6% 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, 30.7% of pupils at Churchwood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.0% 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 2024–25 Churchwood Primary School received £7,669 and spent £8,016 for each of its 242 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £6,000 (£23 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of The Pioneer Academy, income was £7,355 and spending £7,206 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 St Leonards-On-Sea · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

Churchwood Primary School is part of The Pioneer Academy, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Hollington Primary School St. Leonards-On-Sea
• Robsack Wood Primary School St Leonards-On-Sea
• Moulsecoomb Primary School Brighton
• Coombe Road Primary School Brighton
• Edenbridge Primary School Edenbridge
• Ightham Primary School Sevenoaks
• West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School Hove
• Holland Junior School Oxted
• Shoreham Village School Sevenoaks
• Halstead Community Primary School Sevenoaks

What is Churchwood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Churchwood Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was Churchwood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Churchwood Primary School was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does Churchwood Primary School have?

Churchwood Primary School has 241 pupils on roll.

What age range does Churchwood Primary School cover?

Churchwood Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Churchwood Primary School?

Churchwood Primary School is at Church-in-the-Wood Lane, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN38 9PB.