Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Places Available emoji_events #128 in East Sussex public Top 100% UK

Firle Church of England Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Rachel West

location_onLewes, BN8 6LF

language Visit Website phone 1273858260

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

school

Expected Standard

14%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Firle Church of England Primary School is a Voluntary controlled school primary school in Lewes, serving ages 4-11. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Ranks in the top 100% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Firle Church of England Primary School is a voluntary controlled school in Lewes, East Sussex, admitting pupils aged 4-11. The school has approximately 54 pupils on roll, of whom 19% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 14% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #128 of 129 primaries in East Sussex and #14,091 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Requires improvement.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 13.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 1.8 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

14%

LA 58%

Reading43% LA 72%

Writing43% LA 69%

Maths43% LA 68%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

43%

LA 56%England 61%

Reading64% LA 71% · Eng 74%

Writing43% LA 69% · Eng 72%

Maths50% LA 68% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

22%

LA 55%England 60%

Reading67% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing33% LA 68% · Eng 71%

Maths44% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.9

Read

LA -0.9

-7.0 to 1.2

-6.7

Write

LA -1.5

-10.7 to -2.8

-3.7

Maths

LA -2.0

-7.8 to 0.4

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

63%

LA 63%England 65%

Reading75% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing88% LA 78% · Eng 78%

Maths63% LA 74% · Eng 79%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA -0.4

Write

LA -0.7

Maths

LA -1.2

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 65%

Reading75% LA 77%

Writing67% LA 79%

Maths83% LA 74%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.8

Read

LA 0.5

-4.2 to 2.6

-2.5

Write

LA -0.3

-5.7 to 0.7

-0.5

Maths

LA -0.4

-3.6 to 2.6

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

08 June 2022

Inspection Report

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20 April 2017

Inspection Report

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08 May 2013

Inspection Report

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26 April 2012

Inspection Report

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03 December 2009

Inspection Report

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05 December 2006

Inspection Report

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23 April 2002

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

5 Evaluations

2025-07-08

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

2022-06-08

S5 Inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

2017-04-20

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2013-05-08

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2009-12-03

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

1.9%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.9%(1 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 54 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.9%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	54	1	1.9%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	57	1	1.8%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	69	2	2.9%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	62	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	68	1	1.5%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	75	1	1.3%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	79	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	78	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	74	1	1.4%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	74	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	74	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	62	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	65	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	67	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	70	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	70	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	69	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	69	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	68	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	69	4	5.8%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	86	1	1.2%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	88	1	1.1%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	88	1	1.1%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	93	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	90	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	92	0	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 4 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 2 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils

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Firle Church of England Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in East Sussex

Breakwater Academy

Sandown Primary School and Nursery

Ark Blacklands Primary Academy

Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School

Peacehaven Heights Academy

St Peter and St Paul CofE Primary School