School Chooser

Brantridge School

Special · ages 6-11BoysAcademy80 pupilsHaywards HeathWest Sussex
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedStrong teachingOfsted report card, May 2026
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance92.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families44%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull80 pupils, 54 places
Pupils per teacher5.3School workforce census

Brantridge School is a special academy in Haywards Heath for boys aged 6 to 11. It has 80 pupils, 26 more than it has places for. About 44 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Staplefield Place, Staplefield, Haywards Heath, RH17 6EQ01444 400228brantridge-school.co.ukMr Dafydd Roberts headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 19 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
Strong
Achievement
Strong
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Exceptional
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Strong
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
10 May 2022S5 InspectionGood

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

15 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score100.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score98.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2019 to 2025
2019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2019: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019West SussexEngland
Pupils tested1519178
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%59%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score100.087.0103.097.0105.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score98.091.095.089.0103.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score96.095.095.092.0104.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard40%0%29%25%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard20%0%6%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-4.5
Maths progressMaths progress score-9.3
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%0%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to West Sussex council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll80Census January 2026
Places54148% full
Pupils from low-income families44%44% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%80 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)42%£51,150 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls80 / 0
White British pupils86%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in West Sussex with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (40), Autistic spectrum disorder (25), language and communications needs (9), Specific learning difficulty (4), Other difficulty or disability (1), Vision impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll807769755746
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals44%42%42%45%47%35%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%3%1%0%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance92.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school25.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.4%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.5%12.3%14.1%14.8%19.2%6.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence7.2%12.0%12.9%13.1%17.8%3.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.4%0.3%1.2%1.7%1.4%2.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence25.6%27.0%34.1%43.3%54.4%17.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.02.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers15.0full-time equivalent, 16 people
Pupils per teacher5.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers75%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants22.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,024
Teachers who left in the year28%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher5.12024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£39,896England £30,720. Total £3.1m
Income per pupil£44,974England £33,526. Total £3.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£13,831England £11,966
Money in reserve15%A healthy amount put by: £510k, £6,629 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£391kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£39,896spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m112 months to June 2026, mostly other theft
Local crime rate52 per 1,000 people43% lower than the England average
Typical house price£435,000Mid Sussex
Nearest bus stop150 mThe Jolly Tanners, 4 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St. Mark's CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England470 m100Good 202435Compare
Handcross Primary SchoolCouncil1.6 miles238Good 202383Compare
Brighton College Prep HandcrossIndependent (grammar)1.7 miles443Not inspectedCompare
Balcombe Cofe Primary SchoolAcademy2.6 miles140Good 202360Compare
Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, CuckfieldAcademy3.0 miles420Good 202396Compare
Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Lower BeedingChurch of England3.2 miles80Good 202217Compare
Woodgate Primary AcademyAcademy3.3 miles169Report card 20264Compare
Warden Park Secondary AcademyAcademy3.3 miles1,541Report card 202677Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Brantridge School a good school?

Brantridge School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from May 2026 rated its teaching as strong.

What is Brantridge School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 19 May 2026 it rated teaching as strong, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as exceptional, leadership as strong.

How good are Brantridge School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Brantridge School have?

80 pupils aged 6 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 54 places, so it is 148% full. It is a boys' school.

What is attendance like at Brantridge School?

Pupils were in school 92.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 26% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Brantridge School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Staplefield Place, Staplefield, Haywards Heath, RH17 6EQ
Telephone
01444 400228
Website
www.brantridge-school.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Dafydd Roberts
Type of school
Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
Phase
Special school, ages 6-11
Gender
Boys
Multi-academy trust
Orchard Hill College Academy Trust (13 schools)
Local authority
West Sussex
Ward
Ardingly, Balcombe & Turners Hill
Constituency
Mid Sussex
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2018 (academy converter)
URN
145394 · LAESTAB 9387019 · UKPRN 10066353
Formerly
Brantridge School

Where these figures come from