Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill

Birchwood Grove Community Primary School in Burgess Hill has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, now rated as good overall. The school is a welcoming environment where pupils feel happy and are eager to learn. Leaders have developed an ambitious and well-structured curriculum that fosters both academic knowledge and personal development, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and creativity among pupils. Parents are generally pleased with the communication and updates regarding their children's education.

Strengths

• Welcoming school atmosphere with strong relationships between staff and pupils.
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum that builds knowledge logically.
• High expectations for pupil engagement and behavior.
• Effective teaching of early reading skills and a strong focus on vocabulary development.
• Prioritization of staff well-being and manageable expectations regarding planning.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent behavior management for a small group of pupils with special educational needs.

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 Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill 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 Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill had 26.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.8% 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, 12.7% of pupils at Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill received £6,394 and spent £6,296 for each of its 403 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £58,000 (£143 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

All schools in Burgess Hill · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill last inspected by Ofsted?

Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill have?

Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill has 403 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill cover?

Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill?

Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill is at Birchwood Grove Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 0DP.