The Pioneer Federation Achievement for All, Learning Together, Learning for Life

East Hoathly | Chiddingly | St Mary’s | Park Mead | Groombridge St Thomas | Nutley | Stonegate | Framfield

F R A M F I E L D C E SCHOOL

Pioneer Weald Cluster – September 2025 INSET

E A S T H O A T H L Y C.E. SCHOOL
S T M A R Y T H E V I R G I N H A R T F I E L D S C H O O L

Pioneer Ashdown Cluster – September 2025 INSET

The Pioneer Federation consists of 8 Primary Schools. (East Hoathly Church of England Primary School, Chiddingly Primary School, St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School, Park Mead Primary School, Nutley Church of England Primary School & Groombridge St. Thomas Church of England Primary School). From September 2025 we will be going into partnerships with Stonegate CE Primary and Framfield CE Primary and hope to federate with them by July 2026. See our Federation Development Timeline and read about our Pioneer Leadership & Governance Structures from September 2025. Whilst preserving each school’s unique characters, we all work closely together to drive the development of provision and wellbeing across the eight schools and hopefully plan to extend to involve other schools in the future.

Hover over any school image for further information and to visit their website and click to read our Welcome Message from the Executive Headteacher.

East Hoathly
Church of England Primary School

East Hoathly Church of England Primary School and Nursery is a small rural school set in extensive grounds in East Sussex. We are a half-form entry school made up of 4 classes, totalling 130 pupils - The Woodland with Rabbits (Nursery ages 3-4) Hedgehogs (Reception); Squirrels (Year 1 and 2); Foxes (Year 3 and 4) and Owls (Year 5 and 6). Our school values of Love, Strength, Wisdom and Truth form the basis of our ethos, education and environment and we look forward to welcoming you.
Visit East Hoathly

Chiddingly
Primary School

Chiddingly Primary School is a community school in the stunning East Sussex village of Chiddingly, surrounded by beautiful countryside and a rich history. With 4 classes in total, we are a half-form entry school with 15 children per year group, totalling 105 pupils. Reception is a class on its own (Oak Class) with the other three classes being made up of Year 1 & 2 (Beech Class), Year 3 & 4 (Willow Class) and Year 5 & 6 (Sycamore Class). Visit our site to find out more about our small school with a big heart and we look forward to meeting you soon.
Visit Chiddingly

St Mary the Virgin
Church of England Primary School

St Mary the Virgin CE Primary School is a Voluntary Aided school set in the beautiful village of Hartfield, surrounded by The Ashdown Forest. We are a half-form entry school with 15 children per year group, totalling 105 pupils. Reception is a class on its own (Maple Class) with the other three classes being made up of Year 1+2 (Cherry Class), Year 3+4 (Willow Class) and Year 5+6 (Lilac Class). Visit our site to find out more about our fantastic school and we look forward to meeting you soon.
Visit St Mary's

Park Mead
Primary School

Park Mead Primary School is a community school located in the small, rural, East Sussex village of Upper Dicker near Hailsham. We have 4 classes totalling 106 pupils. We are a half-form entry school with 15 children per year group. Reception is a class on its own with the other three classes being made up of Year 1 & 2 (Chestnuts) Year 3 & 4 (Maples) and Year 5 & 6 (Oaks). Visit our site to find out more about our wonderful school. We look forward to meeting you soon!
Visit Park Mead

Nutley
Church of England Primary School

Nutley Church of England Primary School is a small, rural half-form entry school nestled in the beautiful village of Nutley, situated between Crowborough and Uckfield and bordered by the scenic Ashdown Forest. With a capacity for 105 pupils and 15 children per year group, the school is organized into four classes: Reception (Rabbits), Years 1 & 2 (Hedgehogs), Years 3 & 4 (Foxes), and Years 5 & 6 (Badgers). The school's vision is to provide every child with a foundation for lifelong learning so they can reach their full potential, a goal achieved in partnership with families through their Golden Values of respect, compassion, perseverance, friendship, forgiveness, and trust. You are warmly invited to visit the school to witness this vibrant community in action.
Visit Nutley

Groombridge St. Thomas
Church of England
Primary School

Groombridge St Thomas is a small rural Voluntary Aided School set within the beautiful village of Groombridge. The village is in the unique position of sitting on the Kent/East Sussex border although the school itself is in East Sussex. We are between a one and a half form entry school with 132 pupils on roll. Reception (Robins) and four other classes being made up of Year 1 and 2 (Owls), Year 3 (Woodpeckers), Year 4 (Kingfishers), Year 5 and 6 (Kestrels). Our vision is for every child to flourish and our values of excellence, compassion and enthusiasm pervade through everything that we do. Please visit our site to find out more and we look forward to welcoming you to our lovely school.
Visit Groombridge

Stonegate
Church of England Primary School

Stonegate Church of England Primary School and Pre-School is a small rural Church of England. The school, established in the mid-nineteenth century, is situated in the village of Stonegate in the heart of the beautiful High Weald of Sussex. We are a half-form entry school made up of five classes, totalling 125 pupils comprising of – Little Acorns (Nursery ages 2-4); Acorn (Reception); Seedling (Year 1 and 2); Sapling (Year 3 and 4) and Oak (Year 5 and 6). Visit our website or get in contact to come and visit our friendly, happy school with a ‘Love of Learning for Life’.
Click to read more

Framfield
Church of England Primary School

Framfield Church of England Primary School is a small rural Voluntary Aided School set within the beautiful village of Framfield. The village is situated in the Wealden district and is surrounded by the hamlets of Blackboys, Palehouse and Halland and is near to Uckfield in East Sussex. We are a half-form entry school with 15 children per year group. We have four classes and the capacity for 105 pupils on roll. Reception is a class on its own (Peacocks), with the other three classes being made up of Year 1 & 2 (Kingfishers), Year 3 & 4 (Puffins), Year 5 & 6 (Eagles). Our vision is for every child to flourish and share our values of: Perseverance, Thankfulness, Fellowship, Respect, Courage, Understanding . Please visit our site to find out more and we look forward to welcoming you to our lovely school.
Visit Framfield

James Procter, Pioneer Executive Headteacher | office@pioneerfederation.co.uk

Alan Brundle, Pioneer Chair of Governors | abrundle@pioneerfederation.co.uk

Annette Funnell, Clerk to the Governors | clerk@pioneerfederation.co.uk

Sian Leahy, Pioneer Inclusion Manager | senco@pioneerfederation.co.uk

Alice Briley is the
Head teacher
at East Hoathly
and can be contacted at
office@easthoathly.e-sussex.sch.uk

Kayleigh Vile is the
Head teacher
at Chiddingly
and can be contacted at
office@chiddingly.e-sussex.sch.uk

Naomi Fry is the
Head of School
at St Mary’s
and can be contacted at
office@st-maryhartfield.e-sussex.sch.uk

Heidi West is the
Head of School
at Park Mead
and can be contacted at
office@parkmead.e-sussex.sch.uk

Helen Denton is the
Head of School
at Nutley
and can be contacted at
office@nutleyce.e-sussex.sch.uk

Elizabeth Derham is the
Head teacher
at Groombridge
and can be contacted at
office@groombridgest-thomas.e-sussex.sch.uk

At the Pioneer Federation, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our children and we expect all staff, volunteers, parents and carers to share this commitment. If you have any concerns about the welfare of a child, please email the Designated Safeguarding Lead for East Hoathly (dsl@easthoathly.e-sussex.sch.uk),  Chiddingly (dsl@chiddingly.e-sussex.sch.uk), St Mary’s (dsl‑smv@pioneerfederation.co.uk) or Park Mead (dsl@parkmead.e-sussex.sch.uk), Nutley or Groombrige.

Pioneer Federation Facts

We are a growing federation of schools. To date we are:

Schools
0
Pupils
0
Staff
0
Sports Played
0

(more info)

Forest School Sessions
0

Yearly per School
(more info)

Skills Builder
0

Certificates Yearly
(more info)

Pioneer KS2 Average 2025 Outcomes at 'Expected Standard'

(A Pioneer school had KS2 cohort (8) with 50% SEND)

Reading 77% (National 75%)
Writing 70% (National 72%)
Maths 70% (National 74%)
Pioneer Combined R,W&M 61% (National 62%)

Click here to see 2025 Pioneer Outcome Chart.

Pioneer KS2 Average 2024 Outcomes at 'Expected Standard'

Writing 77% (National 72%)
Reading 84% (National 74%)
Maths 73% (National 73%)
Pioneer Combined R,W&M 65% (National 61%)

Click here to see 2024 Pioneer Outcome Chart.

Pioneer KS2 Average 2023 Outcomes at 'Expected Standard'

Writing 87% (National 71%) Pioneer Progress Score +1.4 (East Sussex Schools -1.16)
Reading 84% (National 73%) Pioneer Progress Score +0.8 (East Sussex Schools -0.82)
Maths 80% (National 73%) Pioneer Progress Score -1.3 (East Sussex Schools -1.65)
Pioneer Combined R,W&M 71% (National 59% and East Sussex 56%)

Click here to see 2023 Pioneer Outcome Chart.

Pioneer KS2 Average 2022 Outcomes at 'Expected Standard'

Writing 82% (National 69%) Pioneer Progress Score +1.5 (East Sussex Schools -0.91)
Reading 78% (National 74%) Pioneer Progress Score +1.14 (East Sussex Schools -0.92)
Maths 79% (National 71%) Pioneer Progress Score +0.01 (East Sussex Schools -1.34)

Click here to see 2022 Pioneer Outcome Chart.