Rustington Community Primary School

Arun · BN16 3PW

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 554 pupils, 8.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 11.4% on SEN support Behaviour 4.8% absence rate Staff 20.3% turnover Financials £5,337 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Rustington Community Primary School

General Information

Address: North Lane, Rustington, Littlehampton, BN16 3PW – View on map
Phone: 01903785271
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Marie Smailes
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 39 families put it first for 42 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

554 pupils out of 630 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 45
% eligible for free school meals: 8.1%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Arun average)
English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 20.3% a year (Arun 11.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 42% moved to another school, 58% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across West Sussex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 10 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 4 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in West Sussex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 8.8%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 19 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 16 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2019 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 56% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: in line with the Arun average (57%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 59% against an expected 67%)
3-year average (expected standard): 59%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 74% · Writing 75% · Maths 70% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 65%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 103
Based on: 84 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolArun averageEngland↘ Falling Down 5 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Arun average (57%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 15th of 28 junior and primary schools in the area

=15Bartons Primary School, Bognor Regis56%
=15Georgian Gardens Community Primary School56%
=15Rustington Community Primary School56%
#18East Preston Junior School53%
#19Southway Primary School52%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Arundel CofE Primary School90%
#2South Bersted CofE Primary School78%
#3Barnham Primary School74%
#4Ferring C of E Primary School70%
=5Rose Green Junior School69%
=5St Mary's CofE Primary School69%
#7St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School65%
#8White Meadows Primary Academy64%
=9Aldingbourne Primary School63%
=9Nyewood CofE Junior School63%
#11St Margaret's CofE Primary School61%
#12Walberton and Binsted CofE Primary School60%
#13Edward Bryant School59%
#14River Beach Primary School58%
=15Bartons Primary School, Bognor Regis56%
=15Georgian Gardens Community Primary School56%
=15Rustington Community Primary School56%
#18East Preston Junior School53%
#19Southway Primary School52%
#20Lyminster Primary School50%
=21Eastergate CofE Primary School46%
=21St John the Baptist CofE Primary School46%
#23Yapton CE Primary School45%
#24Downview Primary School44%
#25Bishop Tufnell CofE Primary School, Felpham41%
#26Slindon CofE Primary School38%
#27Bersted Green Primary School, Bognor Regis30%
#28Clapham and Patching CofE Primary School11%

View full Ofsted inspection report

13th of 25 primary schools in Arun for Ofsted rating

#11Lyminster Primary SchoolGood
#12River Beach Primary SchoolGood
#13Rustington Community Primary SchoolGood
#14South Bersted CofE Primary SchoolGood
#15Southway Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Aldingbourne Primary SchoolGood
#2Arundel CofE Primary SchoolGood
#3Barnham Primary SchoolGood
#4Bartons Primary School, Bognor RegisGood
#5Bishop Tufnell CofE Primary School, FelphamGood
#6Downview Primary SchoolGood
#7Eastergate CofE Primary SchoolGood
#8Edward Bryant SchoolGood
#9Ferring C of E Primary SchoolGood
#10Georgian Gardens Community Primary SchoolGood
#11Lyminster Primary SchoolGood
#12River Beach Primary SchoolGood
#13Rustington Community Primary SchoolGood
#14South Bersted CofE Primary SchoolGood
#15Southway Primary SchoolGood
#16St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, LittlehamptonGood
#17St John the Baptist CofE Primary SchoolGood
#18St Margaret's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#19St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#20St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#21St Philip's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#22Walberton and Binsted CofE Primary SchoolGood
#23White Meadows Primary AcademyGood
#24Yapton CE Primary SchoolGood
#25Summerlea Community Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £5,337 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

24th of 27 primary schools in Arun for spending per pupil

#22Downview Primary School£5,710
#23Edward Bryant School£5,576
#24Rustington Community Primary School£5,337
#25Aldingbourne Primary School£5,182
#26Summerlea Community Primary School£4,486

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Clapham and Patching CofE Primary School£9,190
#2Slindon CofE Primary School£8,536
#3St John the Baptist CofE Primary School£7,897
#4St Mary's CofE Primary School£7,474
#5Bersted Green Primary School, Bognor Regis£6,779
#6St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School£6,728
#7Lyminster Primary School£6,552
#8Bartons Primary School, Bognor Regis£6,534
#9White Meadows Primary Academy£6,483
#10Walberton and Binsted CofE Primary School£6,403
#11Eastergate CofE Primary School£6,401
#12South Bersted CofE Primary School£6,395
#13Ferring C of E Primary School£6,238
#14Southway Primary School£6,217
#15Georgian Gardens Community Primary School£6,210
#16River Beach Primary School£6,137
#17Barnham Primary School£6,079
#18Arundel CofE Primary School£6,008
#19Bishop Tufnell CofE Primary School, Felpham£5,934
#20Yapton CE Primary School£5,767
#21St Margaret's CofE Primary School£5,736
#22Downview Primary School£5,710
#23Edward Bryant School£5,576
#24Rustington Community Primary School£5,337
#25Aldingbourne Primary School£5,182
#26Summerlea Community Primary School£4,486
#27St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Littlehampton£4,042

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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