Carden Nursery and Primary School, Brighton
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 6 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
This school excels at making every child feel valued and supported. The strong focus on reading, combined with excellent pastoral care and enrichment activities, creates a happy, inclusive environment where pupils from all backgrounds thrive. Staff and leaders genuinely know families well and work hard to remove barriers to learning, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.
Key Strengths
- Strong culture of respect, diversity and inclusion where all pupils feel valued and safe
- Excellent pastoral care with enrichment activities like gardening, outdoor learning, swimming and music
- Highly effective phonics teaching with pupils becoming fluent readers
- Inclusive approach with careful identification of needs and targeted support for disadvantaged pupils
- Dedicated leadership focused on pupil wellbeing and continuous improvement
Areas for Improvement
- Mathematics teaching needs to be more consistent - outcomes are below national averages
- Adaptive teaching not yet consistent across all lessons
- Staff training on inclusive strategies not yet fully embedded in practice
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - the school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding where all legal requirements are met and pupils feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Gardening, outdoor learning, swimming, music, sport
Carden Nursery and Primary School is a well-led school with exceptional strengths in personal development, wellbeing, and inclusion. Pupils are safe, happy and make strong progress in reading and writing, though mathematics outcomes need improvement.
At a Glance
37.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 67%. Maths has declined from 60% to 55%. Writing has remained stable at around 64%.
Class Sizes
22.9
Avg class size
24.2
Infant (KS1)
23.4
KS2
16
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
85%
Available places
359 pupils
420 capacity
61 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Brighton
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Brighton
Admissions Demand - Brighton and Hove
Places available
2,430
Applications
1,965
Got 1st preference
91.2%
Got preferred school
99.1%
Primary admissions across Brighton and Hove (2025/26)
Inspection History(8)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.4118%
Overall absence
18.68852%
Persistent absence
305
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Carden Nursery and Primary School
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