Mulberry Baird Primary

The Baird Primary Academy is currently rated as 'Requires Improvement' overall, reflecting a need for enhancement in the quality of education. The school faces challenges with low attendance, impacting students' learning opportunities. Nonetheless, there are notable strengths in personal development, behaviour, and early years provision. The inclusive environment ensures that students feel welcomed and supported in their educational journey, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities. Recent curriculum improvements show promise, but there is a pressing need to raise writing standards to better prepare pupils for secondary education.

Strengths

• The school has a warm and inclusive atmosphere.
• Pupils generally behave well and focus on their learning.
• Strong provision for personal development is in place.
• Early reading instruction is prioritized and delivered effectively.
• The nurture provision successfully supports social and emotional skills.

Areas for Improvement

• Standards in writing are too low, affecting readiness for secondary education.
• High absence rates limit students' learning opportunities.
• Inconsistent implementation of curriculum improvements across 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 Mulberry Baird Primary attended 92.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.0% 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, 2.8% of pupils at Mulberry Baird Primary 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 Mulberry Baird Primary had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.6% 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, 26.8% of pupils at Mulberry Baird Primary were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.2% 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 2024–25 Mulberry Baird Primary received £8,061 and spent £8,925 for each of its 302 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £7,000 (£23 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Mulberry Schools Trust, income was £9,786 and spending £9,651 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 Hastings · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

Mulberry Baird Primary is part of Mulberry Schools Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Mulberry Silverdale Primary St Leonards-On-Sea
• Mulberry Academy Hastings Hastings
• Mulberry West St Leonards Primary St Leonards-On-Sea
• Mulberry Academy St Leonards St Leonards-On-Sea
• Bexhill High Academy Bexhill-On-Sea
• Mulberry Wood Wharf Primary School London
• Mulberry Academy London Dock London
• Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College London
• Mulberry School for Girls London
• Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy London

What is Mulberry Baird Primary's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mulberry Baird Primary is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Mulberry Baird Primary last inspected by Ofsted?

Mulberry Baird Primary was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Mulberry Baird Primary have?

Mulberry Baird Primary has 276 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mulberry Baird Primary cover?

Mulberry Baird Primary for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Mulberry Baird Primary's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mulberry Baird Primary?

Mulberry Baird Primary is at Parker Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3TH.