West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School

West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School is a highly inclusive and caring school where pupils, including those with significant special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well supported to thrive. Early years provision is a notable strength, with children settling quickly and making rapid gains in communication and language. Inclusion is embedded across the school, and the specialist autism provision, The Perch, is calm, purposeful and effective. Personal development and wellbeing are also strong, with a wide range of enrichment, leadership and community opportunities that help pupils feel a strong sense of belonging. Pupils generally achieve well and most areas of provision meet expected standards, but published attainment remains slightly below national averages and disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes lag behind. Writing is less well developed, particularly handwriting and spelling, and some pupils have not secured essential foundational skills. Teaching is generally purposeful, but there is some inconsistency across the curriculum, and some teacher explanations are too lengthy, reducing time for pupils to practise and embed learning independently. Attendance has improved significantly, though overall and persistent absence remain above national averages. Leaders, governors and trustees have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities, and safeguarding standards are met. The school is part of The Pioneer Academy and serves a community with high levels of disadvantage, including well-above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with education, health and care plans. Leaders are taking appropriate action to address the identified weaknesses in writing and curriculum consistency.

Strengths

• Early years provision is highly effective, with children making rapid gains in communication and language.
• Inclusion is a notable strength, with early identification and effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• The Perch specialist autism provision is calm, purposeful and helps pupils develop independence.
• Personal development and wellbeing are exceptionally well provided for through enrichment, leadership roles and community projects.
• Attendance has improved significantly through a strategic and consistent whole-school approach.
• Behaviour is positive across classrooms and the playground, and pupils feel safe and respected.
• Science is a particular curriculum strength, with pupils demonstrating secure knowledge over time.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with leaders accurately identifying priorities and trustees providing support and challenge.
• Staff benefit from high-quality professional development, and leaders manage workload and wellbeing well.
• Parents speak highly of the school’s caring, accessible and inclusive community.

Areas for Improvement

• Published attainment remains slightly below national averages overall.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is below national averages and the disadvantage gap remains wide.
• Pupils need more support with foundational writing skills, particularly handwriting and spelling.
• Some pupils have not secured essential foundational skills securely enough.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects.
• Some teacher explanations are too lengthy, reducing opportunities for pupils to practise and embed learning independently.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages, despite recent improvements.

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 West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.5% 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, 3.1% of pupils at West Blatchington Primary and Nursery 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 West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 19.4% of pupils at West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 13.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 18 pupils.

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 West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School received £10,021 and spent £9,546 for each of its 223 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £89,000 (£401 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of The Pioneer Academy, income was £7,355 and spending £7,206 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 Hove · Brighton and Hove local authority: places and applications

West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School is part of The Pioneer Academy, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Coombe Road Primary School Brighton
• Moulsecoomb Primary School Brighton
• Edenbridge Primary School Edenbridge
• Holland Junior School Oxted
• Robsack Wood Primary School St Leonards-On-Sea
• Churchwood Primary School St Leonards-On-Sea
• Hollington Primary School St. Leonards-On-Sea
• Woodcote Primary School Coulsdon
• Downe Primary School Orpington
• Halstead Community Primary School Sevenoaks

What is West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School have?

West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School has 216 pupils on roll.

What age range does West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School cover?

West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School?

West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School is at Hangleton Way, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 8BN.