Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery

Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery continues to deliver good education, fostering a positive and inclusive environment where pupils thrive. The school is dedicated to building strong relationships with students, ensuring they feel safe and valued. The curriculum is ambitious and effectively developed, enabling pupils to acquire knowledge gradually. Despite some strengths in teaching practices and a strong focus on early reading, there are areas where staff need additional training to fully grasp updated subject content. This inspection marks the school’s first routine evaluation since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Pupils have good attitudes to learning and work hard.
• Strong leadership prioritizes building trusting relationships.
• The curriculum is ambitious and engaging.
• Special educational needs are effectively addressed.
• Reading is prioritized with strong early reading programs.
• Pupils experience a wide range of enriching educational trips.
• The school promotes personal development alongside academic success.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers lack familiarity with the sequencing of knowledge in updated subjects.

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 Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.1% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery 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 Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery had 29.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 45.7% 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, 22.8% of pupils at Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery received £7,740 and spent £7,615 for each of its 312 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £262,000 (-£838 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery is Good, from an inspection in June 2022.

When was Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery was last inspected in June 2022.

How many pupils does Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery have?

Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery has 312 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery cover?

Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery?

Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery is at Chalkland Rise, Woodingdean, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 6RH.