Ark Castledown Primary Academy

Hastings · TN34 3QT

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 403 pupils, 51.9% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.1% on SEN support Behaviour 6.4% absence rate Staff 25.4% turnover Financials £6,616 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Ark Castledown Primary Academy

General Information

Address: Priory Road, Hastings, TN34 3QT – View on map
Phone: 01424444046
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Rebecca Stewart
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 41 families put it first for 42 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

403 pupils out of 480 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 209
% eligible for free school meals: 51.9%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Hastings average)
English as an additional language: 22% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 25.4% a year (Hastings 14.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 47% moved to another school, 53% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across East Sussex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 7 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in East Sussex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 18.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 42 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 15 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card November 2025

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Exceptional
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Strong standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 78% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 8% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Hastings average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 76% against an expected 51%)
3-year average (expected standard): 76%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 80% · Writing 84% · Maths 82% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 71%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 104
Based on: 49 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolHastings averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Hastings average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: 3rd of 15 junior and primary schools in the area

#1Ark Blacklands Primary Academy92%
#2Sandown Primary School and Nursery81%
#3Ark Castledown Primary Academy78%
#4Ark Little Ridge Primary Academy73%
#5St Paul's Church of England Academy72%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Ark Blacklands Primary Academy92%
#2Sandown Primary School and Nursery81%
#3Ark Castledown Primary Academy78%
#4Ark Little Ridge Primary Academy73%
#5St Paul's Church of England Academy72%
#6Ore Village Primary Academy65%
=7All Saints CofE Junior Academy63%
=7St Leonards Church of England Primary Academy63%
=9Mulberry Silverdale Primary60%
=9Mulberry West St Leonards Primary60%
=9Robsack Wood Primary School60%
#12Mulberry Baird Primary56%
#13Christ Church CofE Primary and Nursery Academy50%
#14Churchwood Primary School46%
#15Hollington Primary School35%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,616 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

8th of 15 primary schools in Hastings for spending per pupil

#6Christ Church CofE Primary and Nursery Academy£7,069
#7Mulberry West St Leonards Primary£6,789
#8Ark Castledown Primary Academy£6,616
#9Robsack Wood Primary School£6,510
#10St Paul's Church of England Academy£6,411

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Mulberry Baird Primary£8,186
#2Hollington Primary School£7,997
#3Ore Village Primary Academy£7,532
#4Sandown Primary School and Nursery£7,301
#5Churchwood Primary School£7,277
#6Christ Church CofE Primary and Nursery Academy£7,069
#7Mulberry West St Leonards Primary£6,789
#8Ark Castledown Primary Academy£6,616
#9Robsack Wood Primary School£6,510
#10St Paul's Church of England Academy£6,411
#11Ark Little Ridge Primary Academy£6,346
#12St Leonards Church of England Primary Academy£6,335
#13Mulberry Silverdale Primary£5,828
#14Ark Blacklands Primary Academy£5,772
#15St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School£2,039

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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