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The Lindfield School

Special / other · Eastbourne · BN22 0BQ

Data updated

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No current grade

Ungraded inspection: no current grade

Ofsted's most recent visit was an ungraded inspection; its outcome was “Standards maintained”. Since September 2024 these outcomes no longer confirm a named grade. No graded inspection appears in Ofsted's records for this school since 2015 either, so SchoolFacts shows no grade rather than guessing. Any earlier grade is on the school's Ofsted report page.

Inspected 16 October 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

123 pupils · 129% of 95 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy special converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
53.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
2.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
0% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
100% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.thesouthfieldtrust.com
URN
142744

In figures

In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 13.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England. It had 123 pupils at the 15 January 2026 census.

GCSE results (2024/2025)

22 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
8.6
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
0%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
0%
EBacc average point score
0.5

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means National averages are not shown here. The England figures are dominated by mainstream schools, and pupils at a special school are working towards outcomes those measures were not designed to capture, so the comparison would mislead more than it tells you.

Special educational needs

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 89% (East Sussex 83%, England 66%) · Any other White background 3% (East Sussex 3%, England 4%) · Black African 2% (East Sussex 1%, England 5%) · Black Caribbean 2% (East Sussex 0%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (East Sussex 0%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (East Sussex 2%, England 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)
13.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
41.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

15.83 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, special schools: 12.32 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · East Sussex: 21.80 suspensions and 0.06 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
11.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, special schools and PRUs: 0.68% vacant, 1.02% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

75% of teachers took sickness absence, 17.9 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 £53,127; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, special schools and PRUs: £53,604, 18.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£13,925
Typical special / other school£30,084

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for special schools in brackets: Staff 84% (82%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (4%) · supplies and services 8% (8%) · educational supplies 3% (3%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 1% (2%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£957,000

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

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
96%
Continuing in education
91%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
4%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher26.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications20.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways20.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health41%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier65.6%62.3%
Social housing23%17.1%
Privately rented11.3%20.5%
Detached houses14.7%22.9%
Flats12.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms13.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van21%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020921 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£300,000448 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£255,000–£397,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (147)£430,000
Semi-detached (128)£315,000
Terraced (153)£255,000
Flat (20)£147,500

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

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
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
9an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an 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