Hassocks Infant School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 April 2026

Pupils develop confidence, resilience and enthusiasm for learning in this school’s welcoming and purposeful environment. Pupils independently start each morning with activities which are designed by staff who understand pupils’ individual needs. Staff empower pupils by listening to their opinions and valuing their ideas. For example, pupils vote daily for which story will be read to the class. Pupils thrive in this school. They have a powerful sense of belonging and rightly trust adults to help with any concerns. Pupils come to school happily and their attendance is high. Leaders work closely with families. Leaders’ positive relationships with families helps pupils to overcome their barriers to attendance. Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Staff explicitly teach the school values and encourage pupils to live up to them. Pupils enjoy the well-embedded daily routines, taking part in them enthusiastically. During lessons, pupils concentrate well. Bullying is not tolerated and hardly ever happens. If there are any behaviour concerns, staff address them swiftly. Classrooms buzz with excitement as pupils focus intently on their learning. Leaders and staff have honed, over time, a coherently sequenced curriculum and highly successful approaches to teaching. Staff use their expertise to identify any barriers to pupils’ learning or gaps in their understanding. Staff have expert subject knowledge and teach the curriculum consistently well. Pupils build a secure understanding of reading, writing and mathematics. This means that all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, achieve highly from their starting points. By the end of Year 2, pupils are very well prepared to transition to the key stage 2 curriculum.

What the school should improve

• Leaders and those responsible for governance should continue to drive the ongoing refinement of the curriculum implementation, to achieve and sustain exceptional standards of teaching, which has a transformational impact on the achievement of all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)