Brackenbury Primary School

Brackenbury Primary School is a caring, inclusive and aspirational school where pupils feel safe, happy and valued. Inspectors found strong personal development and wellbeing provision, significant pastoral support, and an inclusive culture that helps disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities access the curriculum and school life. Behaviour and attendance are positive, with attendance improving because leaders track it closely and intervene early. Safeguarding standards are met. Across most areas, the school is meeting expected standards, including achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, attendance and behaviour, and leadership and governance. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages and make steady progress, including those with SEND, and the curriculum is well sequenced and inclusive. Phonics teaching is very effective. However, there were recent dips in reading and mathematics, progress in mathematics remains weaker, and the teaching of writing and handwriting is not yet consistently strong. Some lesson tasks do not secure intended learning, and early years staff do not always maximise vocabulary and language development during continuous provision. This was a full section 5 inspection, with no relevant changes since the previous inspection. The school has 194 pupils and above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEND or EHC plans. Leaders have appropriate priorities for improvement and are well supported by governors and staff.

Strengths

• Highly effective strategic leadership of personal development and wellbeing, with an ambitious and well-sequenced PSHE programme.
• Pastoral support is a significant strength, underpinned by the 'Brackenbury Way' and a strong sense of belonging.
• Pupils speak maturely about consent, respectful relationships, protected characteristics and fundamental British values.
• The personal development offer is inclusive, with careful tracking and removal of barriers for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and pupils with EAL.
• Anti-bullying and anti-racism work is visible, purposeful and embedded in daily practice.
• Pupils feel safe, happy and valued, and behaviour is calm and orderly around the school.
• Attendance is improving because leaders track it closely and intervene early to remove barriers.
• The curriculum is well sequenced, purposeful and fully inclusive, with very effective phonics teaching.
• Teachers explain new learning clearly, model effectively and check understanding routinely.
• Pupils with SEND access ambitious curriculum content and achieve well with targeted support.
• Leaders provide dedicated, compassionate and stable leadership, and staff value support for wellbeing and workload.
• Governors provide helpful oversight, support and challenge, meeting statutory duties diligently.
• Parents appreciate the school's caring ethos, inclusive approach and positive communication.
• Early years provides a nurturing environment with strong early reading and successful inclusion of children with SEND.
• Disadvantaged pupils participate fully in school life and benefit from the same rich opportunities as their peers.

Areas for Improvement

• Progress in mathematics remains weaker than in other areas.
• Pupils' recent outcomes in reading and mathematics dipped below national averages.
• Some lesson tasks are not designed precisely enough to help pupils secure the intended learning.
• The teaching of writing and handwriting is not consistently strong, limiting how highly pupils achieve in written work.
• Early years staff do not always maximise opportunities to extend vocabulary or develop language systematically during continuous provision.
• Some inconsistencies in teaching and learning occasionally prevent pupils from achieving the intended learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils' reading outcomes were below national averages for disadvantaged pupils in 2024/25.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Brackenbury Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.5% of pupils at Brackenbury Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Brackenbury Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 20.0% of pupils at Brackenbury Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Brackenbury Primary School received £8,675 and spent £8,367 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £80,000 (-£433 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Brackenbury Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brackenbury Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Brackenbury Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brackenbury Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Brackenbury Primary School have?

Brackenbury Primary School has 185 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brackenbury Primary School cover?

Brackenbury Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Brackenbury Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brackenbury Primary School?

Brackenbury Primary School is at Locks Hill, Portslade, Brighton, East Sussex, BN41 2LA.