Mayfield Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Mayfield Church of England Primary School Fletching Street, Mayfield, East Sussex TN20 6TA

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 11 and 12 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The core values of perseverance, compassion, respect and responsibility underpin the ethos of this welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils take care of one another. They talk confidently with visitors to explain what makes their school special. Parents echo these sentiments, with one describing it as a ‘beacon’ in the local community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to live up to the high expectations that staff have for what they can achieve. They engage in lessons readily and are excited to get going on their learning. As a result, most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave especially well. They are polite and courteous and treat one another and staff with respect. Pupils are keen to take on responsibilities such as being play leaders, members of the school council and library monitors. They know that they play a key role in making their school a place where all can thrive. Members of the school council are proud to hold this status, not least because of the distinct contributions they make to making their school better. For example, the council established a ‘calm zone’ on the playground where pupils can engage in peaceful activities, such as drawing, and board games. ‘Worry monsters’ now appear in each classroom to support pupils to voice any concerns they may have.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has worked across its federation to develop a curriculum that maps the key knowledge and skills that pupils need to develop. It has carefully considered this curriculum to reflect the mixed-age classes, and ensure that pupils accrue knowledge at age-appropriate stages. Right from the start in early years, children engage with activities that make them think hard. As they progress through the school, most pupils develop an increasing body of knowledge that helps them achieve well.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is prioritised across the school. Pupils regularly visit the redeveloped library, and books feature prominently around the school site. In the early years, children engage readily together in much-loved stories. Opportunities to share interesting texts are taken regularly throughout the school to expose pupils to the wider world and different perspectives. Staff deliver phonics lessons effectively. The books pupils read now fully match the sounds they are working on. If they need more support, the school provides well-placed interventions to develop pupils’ confidence and fluency.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff understand the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They receive training that supports them to adapt their lessons so pupils with SEND can access their learning as well as their peers.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff subject knowledge is strong across most subjects. Clear explanations support pupils to think deeply about their learning. In many lessons, teachers make checks to gauge what pupils have understood. However, these checks are not as consistently sharp as they could be. In some areas of the curriculum, staff do not pick up on misconceptions as 11 and 12 March 2025

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promptly as they could. This means that sometimes misunderstandings persist, or pupils do not make the gains from some activities that they might.

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Pupils conduct themselves very well around school. Clear routines are well established right from the start in early years. These continue as pupils move through the school. Across all ages, pupils are engaged in their learning and keen to show what they know.

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The work to develop pupils’ wider character is exceptional. Pupils are taught to be reflective, and work out ways to ‘make friends again’ if they disagree. This starts right from Reception, where children learn the importance of turn-taking and being kind to one another. Pupils take a lead role in this work. For example, ‘play leaders’ not only plan activities to engage younger children at social times, but also to support their friendships and help them to talk things out where needed.

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Pupils readily embody the school’s core values, instilled in them and modelled by staff to create a warm and supportive culture. Pupils are proud to earn the stickers, issued by staff and by prefects, when they demonstrate these traits around school. Pupils have a mature understanding of the roles these values play in creating not just a kind community here, but also for independence in their future lives. For example, one pupil explained that perseverance was an essential trait for them to develop now as ‘when we grow up, we won’t have our teachers there to guide us.’

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Some significant organisational changes have taken place in the school through its developing work as part of a federation. The school benefits from the opportunities that come from this collaboration, such as its renewed work in some areas of the curriculum. Many of these are showing positive impact to address the areas coming from the last inspection. However, some of this work is still new and continues to embed. As this work unfolds, leaders need to ensure they check carefully that the steps they take are having the impact they intend. Governors know the school especially well and hold leaders to account effectively through a range of developed systems.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The checks made on pupils’ understanding in some lessons are not consistently as precise as they could be. This means that staff sometimes do not pick up on subject specific misconceptions quickly enough or lesson activities are not adapted in some subjects to have the intended impact on what pupils know and understand. The school 11 and 12 March 2025

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needs to develop its assessment practices, so that staff can identify what pupils know and where they need to adapt their input accordingly, to support pupils in doing well.  While leaders are identifying and taking appropriate steps to continue to improve their school, the oversight of the impact of some of this work is not as sharp as it could be. As a result, leaders do not have a consistently clear picture of how effectively some of their more recent initiatives are impacting on their school. The school should ensure that careful, timely checks are made, so they can be assured that their actions are having the impact they intend.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 11 and 12 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Joanne Warren (Executive Headteacher) Emily Ramsay (Head of School) Website www.mayfieldcep.e-sussex.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 24 and 25 September 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Diocese of Chichester. The most recent section 48 inspection, for schools of a religious character, took place in February 2025.  The school is part of The Weald Federation, which comprises four primary schools. These schools share a governing body. Each school within the federation has a head of school, and is overseen by one of two executive headteachers.  There have been a number of changes to the leadership team of the school since the last inspection, including the head of school and executive headteacher.  The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 11 and 12 March 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspection team held meetings with the executive headteacher, head of school, teachers and pupils. Inspectors also met with the other executive headteacher and other heads of school within the federation due to the shared leadership of subjects that exist across the federation. The lead inspector met with the members of the governing body, including the chair. The lead inspector also held telephone meetings with a representative from the local authority, and another with a representative from the Diocese.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, geography and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about

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their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first .  The inspection team took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and governing body minutes.  The team spoke with pupils about their experience of the school. They took account of parent and carer and staff views through conversations and responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Marian Feeley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Owen McColgan Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 March 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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