OFSTED
28 January 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour & attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership & management
Outstanding
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools special
Phase
Not applicable
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
East Sussex
Trust
THE SOUTHFIELD TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
174
174 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
53
30.5% of pupils
Male pupils
121
69.5% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
9.7 pts
above England
School
34.5%
Eastbourne
26.9%
South East
19.0%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
14.6 pts
below England
School
5.7%
Eastbourne
13.8%
South East
15.6%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
1.0 pts
below England
School
0.0%
Eastbourne
0.9%
South East
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
75.3%
131
Any other Mixed background
6.3%
11
Any other White background
4.0%
7
Unclassified
4.0%
7
African
2.9%
5
White and Asian
1.7%
3
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
100.0%
174 of
174 pupils
79.2 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
14.8 pts
below
England
6.0%
94.0 pts
above
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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
2024/25
Key stage 2 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
EXPECTED STANDARD
Reading, writing & maths
0.0%
60.4 pts
below England
EXPECTED STANDARD
0.0%
Reading
73.8 pts below England
School
0.0%
Eastbourne
62.0%
South East
74.0%
England
73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD
0.0%
Writing
70.3 pts below England
School
0.0%
Eastbourne
63.2%
South East
70.5%
England
70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD
0.0%
Maths
72.0 pts below England
School
0.0%
Eastbourne
61.2%
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
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
12.43%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
6.21 pts
higher than
England
School
12.43%
Eastbourne
7.59%
South East
6.30%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
32.19%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
16.38 pts
higher than
England
School
32.19%
Eastbourne
20.67%
South East
15.75%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
7.53%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
5.73 pts
higher than
England
School
7.53%
Eastbourne
2.41%
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 not applicable schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
112.3%
32.5 pts
above England
Summerdown School
112.3%
Eastbourne
84.8%
South East
79.9%
England
79.8%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.