SCHOOL PROFILE

Waterfield Primary School

Primary Academy converter URN 145544
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 472 Published school capacity
Capacity used 85.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

6 May 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Needs attention
Personal development Expected standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

15 June 2022
Ungraded inspection School remains Good
Published 21 September 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

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

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 404 394 full-time · 10 part-time
Female pupils 202 50.0% of pupils
Male pupils 202 50.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

29.0%
4.2 pts above England
School 29.0%
Crawley 21.9%
South East 19.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

34.4%
14.1 pts above England
School 34.4%
Crawley 31.2%
South East 15.6%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Crawley 1.0%
South East 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
55.4%
224
Any other White background
9.9%
40
Any other Asian background
5.2%
21
African
4.5%
18
Pakistani
4.2%
17
White and Black African
4.2%
17
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 24.8% 100 of 404 pupils
3.9 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 24.8%
Crawley 21.9%
South East 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 21.5% 87 pupils
England 14.8% 6.7 pts above
EHC plans 3.2% 13 pupils
England 6.0% 2.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 40
Autistic spectrum disorder 21
Social, emotional & mental health 14
Moderate learning difficulty 8
Other difficulty or disability 7
No specialist assessment yet 6

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

63.0% 2.6 pts above England
School 63.0%
Crawley 60.6%
South East 60.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

70.0%

3.8 pts below England

School 70.0%
Crawley 73.2%
South East 74.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

68.0%

2.3 pts below England

School 68.0%
Crawley 70.3%
South East 70.5%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

72.0%

In line with England

School 72.0%
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

6.64%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.43 pts higher than England
School 6.64%
Crawley 6.24%
South East 6.30%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

17.93%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.12 pts higher than England
School 17.93%
Crawley 16.15%
South East 15.75%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.30%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.50 pts lower than England
School 0.30%
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

85.6% 2.6 pts below England
Waterfield Primary School
85.6%
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