SCHOOL PROFILE

Desmond Anderson Primary Academy

Primary Academy converter URN 143973
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 440 Published school capacity
Capacity used 98.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 2 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

25 June 2025
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

15 October 2019
Graded inspection Good
Published 17 November 2019
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority West Sussex
Trust REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 434 434 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 234 53.9% of pupils
Male pupils 200 46.1% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

23.5%
1.3 pts below England
School 23.5%
Crawley 21.9%
South East 19.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

25.3%
5.0 pts above England
School 25.3%
Crawley 31.2%
South East 15.6%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.2%
0.2 pts above England
School 1.2%
Crawley 1.0%
South East 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
60.1%
261
Any other White background
9.4%
41
Any other ethnic group
5.3%
23
Any other Asian background
4.4%
19
White and Asian
3.9%
17
African
3.0%
13
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 23.5% 102 of 434 pupils
2.7 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 23.5%
Crawley 21.9%
South East 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.1% 74 pupils
England 14.8% 2.3 pts above
EHC plans 6.5% 28 pupils
England 6.0% 0.4 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 33
Autistic spectrum disorder 24
No specialist assessment yet 21
Other difficulty or disability 6
Social, emotional & mental health 6
Specific learning difficulty 5

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

51.0% 9.4 pts below England
School 51.0%
Crawley 60.6%
South East 60.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

72.0%

1.8 pts below England

School 72.0%
Crawley 73.2%
South East 74.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

71.0%

0.7 pts above England

School 71.0%
Crawley 70.3%
South East 70.5%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

68.0%

4.0 pts below England

School 68.0%
Crawley 71.4%
South East 70.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.46%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.76 pts lower than England
School 5.46%
Crawley 6.24%
South East 6.30%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

13.41%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.41 pts lower than England
School 13.41%
Crawley 16.15%
South East 15.75%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Crawley 1.47%
South East 1.93%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

98.6% 10.5 pts above England
Desmond Anderson Primary Academy
98.6%
Crawley
90.0%
South East
89.5%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information