Eastbrook Primary Academy

Eastbrook Primary Academy is an inclusive, caring and vibrant school where pupils feel safe and supported. Children get off to a strong start in Reception, behaviour has become calmer and more orderly, personal development is a strength, and leaders, governors and trustees are committed to improvement. Attendance is improving rapidly and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is part of the Reach2 Academy Trust and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it was previously judged outstanding in 2015 and, under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. The main concern is the quality of education in the rest of the school, where teaching and curriculum implementation are not consistent. In some subjects, including mathematics, the curriculum is not implemented consistently, tasks do not always focus on the most important content, and assessment is not sufficiently developed to identify gaps and misconceptions. Phonics teaching is also inconsistent, and provision for some pupils with SEND is not precise or targeted enough to ensure they achieve as well as they should. Pupils generally behave well and benefit from a broad, inclusive personal development offer, including pupil leadership roles, clubs and trips. Reading is a priority and older pupils achieved highly in 2024 Year 6 tests, but younger pupils who fall behind are not always supported well enough to become confident, fluent readers. Leaders recognise what needs to improve and have begun taking effective steps, but there is more work to do to make learning consistently strong across the school.

Strengths

• Inclusive, caring and vibrant school community with a clear ethos.
• Strong early years provision with well-sequenced curriculum and effective language development.
• Pupils typically behave well and lessons are calmer and more orderly.
• Personal development is a strength, with broad and inclusive opportunities.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.
• Leaders, governors and trustees are well informed and supportive.
• Attendance is rapidly improving due to meticulous tracking and support.
• Reading is prioritised, with high 2024 Year 6 outcomes and a structured programme for older pupils.
• Pupils are proud of leadership roles and benefit from clubs, trips and wider experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects, including mathematics.
• Assessment in the wider curriculum and mathematics is not sufficiently developed.
• Phonics teaching is inconsistent because some staff lack expert subject knowledge.
• Provision for some pupils with SEND is not precise or targeted enough.
• Some learning tasks are not focused on the most important content.
• Checks on pupils' understanding are not consistently accurate, allowing gaps and misconceptions to persist.
• Support for pupils' learning is not consistently effective for all who need it.

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 Eastbrook Primary Academy attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.9% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Eastbrook Primary Academy 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 Eastbrook Primary Academy had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.5% 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, 23.9% of pupils at Eastbrook Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 2024–25 Eastbrook Primary Academy received £6,197 and spent £6,245 for each of its 404 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £92,000 (£228 per pupil).

Across all 65 schools of Reach2 Academy Trust, income was £7,346 and spending £7,105 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Eastbrook Primary Academy is part of Reach2 Academy Trust, which runs 65 schools. The nearest others:

• Holmbush Primary Academy Shoreham-By-Sea
• The Globe Primary Academy Lancing
• White Meadows Primary Academy Littlehampton
• Desmond Anderson Primary Academy Crawley
• Pound Hill Infant Academy Crawley
• Aerodrome Primary Academy Croydon
• Robert Fitzroy Academy Croydon
• St Mark's Church of England Primary Academy London
• Tidemill Academy London
• Brampton Primary Academy Bexleyheath

What is Eastbrook Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Eastbrook Primary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Eastbrook Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Eastbrook Primary Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Eastbrook Primary Academy have?

Eastbrook Primary Academy has 364 pupils on roll.

What age range does Eastbrook Primary Academy cover?

Eastbrook Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Eastbrook Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Eastbrook Primary Academy?

Eastbrook Primary Academy is at Manor Hall Road, Southwick, Brighton, West Sussex, BN42 4NF.