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River Beach Primary School

Primary · Littlehampton · BN17 6EW

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 25 February 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

665 pupils · 95% of 700 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
27% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
18% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
15.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.riverbeach.w-sussex.sch.uk/
URN
140089

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 65 families named it first for 68 Reception places, 0.96 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2024 entry went to 1797.86 m (≈1.12 mi); distance decided places in 3 of the 6 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2021 to 2026. At its inspection on 25 February 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.96 first-choice applications per place

68 places offered · 65 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2024 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1797.86 m (≈1.12 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

84 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
58%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
6%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
103
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
103
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school58%
Median of its 12 closest peers60%
West Sussex average59.1%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Hilltop Primary SchoolCrawley · 25 miles awayGood79%
Woodside Primary SchoolOswestry · 178 miles awayNo current grade56%
Hampton Primary SchoolHerne Bay · 81 miles awayGood50%
Athelstan Primary SchoolSheffield · 180 miles awayGood73%
Leominster Primary SchoolLeominster · 136 miles awayGood55%
Manor Primary SchoolBilston · 137 miles awayStrong standard73%
St Mary's, Prittlewell, CofE Primary SchoolSouthend-on-Sea · 74 miles awayGood53%
Sir Francis Hill Community Primary SchoolLincoln · 166 miles awayRequires improvement47%
Riverside Primary SchoolHereford · 127 miles awayOutstanding58%
Telscombe Cliffs AcademyPeacehaven · 23 miles awayGood62%
Perry Hall Primary SchoolWolverhampton · 140 miles awayGood67%
John Ray Junior SchoolBraintree · 87 miles awayGood62%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
3 of 3 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 75% (West Sussex 73%, England 60%) · Any other White background 9% (West Sussex 6%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 3% (West Sussex 3%, England 4%) · Any other Asian background 2% (West Sussex 2%, England 2%) · Black African 2% (West Sussex 2%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (West Sussex 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (West Sussex 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (West Sussex 0%, England 0%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (West Sussex 2%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
16.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

3.40 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · West Sussex: 2.81 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 3% moved to another state school · 12% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

66.7% of teachers took sickness absence, 6.9 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,139; 18.8% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,137
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (8%) · supplies and services 7% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £599,000; in-year balance +£354,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher22.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications22.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work21.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways29.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health38.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier37.2%62.3%
Social housing12.3%17.1%
Privately rented50.3%20.5%
Detached houses3.8%22.9%
Flats54.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms10.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van33.4%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01031454 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£250,000510 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£170,000–£310,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (30)£404,000
Semi-detached (115)£318,000
Terraced (181)£270,000
Flat (184)£153,500

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (1.80 km, 2024 entry): 1,092 sales, median £285,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
5an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
11an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
57an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
16an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools