St John's Meads Church of England Primary School

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School is currently underperforming, indicated by an overall effectiveness rating of 'Requires Improvement'. While the school has a strong early years provision and offers good opportunities for personal development, the quality of education and leadership are areas that need attention. The variation in teaching and inconsistent support for pupils, particularly those with special educational needs, hinder the achievement of the school's ambitions. Despite some notable successes in early years and excellent behavior among pupils, the school has yet to fully realize its potential across all areas of the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and cared for.
• Strong early years provision supports children to achieve well.
• Personal development is a significant strength.
• Pupils demonstrate positive behavior and respectful attitudes.
• The school broadens pupils' understanding of the world through diverse opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent teaching leads to variable pupil recall of learning.
• Support for pupils with SEND is inconsistent.
• Reading provision lacks consistency in key stage 1.
• Governance has not provided sufficient oversight and challenge.

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 St John's Meads Church of England Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St John's Meads Church of England 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 St John's Meads Church of England Primary School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 44.9% 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, 19.1% of pupils at St John's Meads Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.2% 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 St John's Meads Church of England Primary School received £6,543 and spent £7,886 for each of its 182 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £428,000 (-£2,354 per pupil).

Across all 28 schools of Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust, income was £7,049 and spending £7,093 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 Eastbourne · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School is part of Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust, which runs 28 schools. The nearest others:

• St Andrew's Church of England Infants School Eastbourne
• Tollgate Community Junior School Eastbourne
• The Haven Church of England Methodist Primary School Eastbourne
• St Catherine's College Eastbourne
• Little Common School Bexhill-On-Sea
• Chantry Community Primary School Bexhill-On-Sea
• Ninfield Church of England Primary School Battle
• St Leonards Church of England Primary Academy St Leonards-On-Sea
• Christ Church CofE Primary and Nursery Academy Hastings
• St Paul's Church of England Academy St Leonards-On-Sea

What is St John's Meads Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Meads Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was St John's Meads Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does St John's Meads Church of England Primary School have?

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School has 162 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John's Meads Church of England Primary School cover?

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St John's Meads Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Meads Church of England Primary School?

St John's Meads Church of England Primary School is at Rowsley Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN20 7XS.