Carden Nursery and Primary School

Brighton and Hove · BN1 8LU

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 359 pupils, 37.9% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN SEN unit · 16.4% on SEN support Behaviour 7.4% absence rate Staff 18.1% turnover Financials £7,835 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Carden Nursery and Primary School

General Information

Address: County Oak Avenue, Brighton, BN1 8LU – View on map
Phone: 01273916606
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Laura Sibley
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 31 families put it first for 32 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 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

359 pupils out of 420 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 135
% eligible for free school meals: 37.9%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (similar to the Brighton and Hove average)
English as an additional language: 15% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 18.1% a year (Brighton and Hove 14.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 74% moved to another school, 26% 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 Brighton and Hove: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 3 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.1 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 Brighton and Hove, 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: 7.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 18.7%
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

SEN unit for Speech, language and communication 22 places · 21 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 16.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 12.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 22 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 21 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 21 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 20 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils

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 March 2026

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

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Needs attention
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected 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: 50% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 5% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 10 percentage points below the Brighton and Hove average (60%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 53% against an expected 51%)
3-year average (expected standard): 53%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 67% · Writing 64% · Maths 55% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 55%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 102
Based on: 42 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 schoolBrighton and Hove averageEngland↘ Falling Down 8 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 10 percentage points below the Brighton and Hove average (60%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 31st of 41 junior and primary schools in the area

=29Hangleton Primary School51%
=31Benfield Primary School50%
=31Carden Nursery and Primary School50%
#33Our Lady of Lourdes RC School48%
=34Coldean Primary School46%

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

#1Peter Gladwin Primary School77%
=2Bilingual Primary School - Brighton & Hove76%
=2Hove Junior School76%
=2St Paul's CofE Primary School76%
#5Carlton Hill Primary School74%
=6Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School72%
=6Patcham Junior School72%
#8Balfour Primary School71%
#9Bevendean Primary School and Nursery69%
#10St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School68%
#11St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School66%
#12St Margaret's CofE Primary School, Rottingdean65%
=13Aldrington CofE Primary School63%
=13St Mary's Catholic Primary School63%
#15St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School61%
=16Downs Junior School60%
=16Middle Street Primary School60%
=16St Luke's Primary School60%
=16St Martin's CofE Primary School60%
=20St Nicolas CofE Primary School59%
=20Westdene Primary School59%
#22Mile Oak Primary School58%
=23Brunswick Primary School57%
=23City Academy Whitehawk57%
=23Goldstone Primary School57%
#26Brackenbury Primary School55%
#27West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School53%
#28Saltdean Primary School52%
=29Fairlight Primary School51%
=29Hangleton Primary School51%
=31Benfield Primary School50%
=31Carden Nursery and Primary School50%
#33Our Lady of Lourdes RC School48%
=34Coldean Primary School46%
=34Moulsecoomb Primary School46%
=34Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery46%
#37Hertford Primary School44%
#38St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School40%
#39Elm Grove Primary School39%
#40St Mark's CofE Primary School33%
#41Queen's Park Primary School30%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,835 (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.

6th of 39 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for spending per pupil

#4Benfield Primary School£8,649
#5Middle Street Primary School£7,845
#6Carden Nursery and Primary School£7,835
#7St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School£7,707
#8Queen's Park Primary School£7,665

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

#1St Mark's CofE Primary School£10,346
#2West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School£9,389
#3Moulsecoomb Primary School£8,668
#4Benfield Primary School£8,649
#5Middle Street Primary School£7,845
#6Carden Nursery and Primary School£7,835
#7St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School£7,707
#8Queen's Park Primary School£7,665
#9City Academy Whitehawk£7,658
#10Bevendean Primary School and Nursery£7,643
#11Mile Oak Primary School£7,556
#12St Martin's CofE Primary School£7,430
#13St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School£7,384
#14Fairlight Primary School£7,308
#15Carlton Hill Primary School£7,304
#16St Paul's CofE Primary School£7,211
#17Brackenbury Primary School£7,182
#18Rudyard Kipling Primary School & Nursery£7,137
#19Brunswick Primary School£7,083
#20Peter Gladwin Primary School£7,046
#21Coldean Primary School£7,030
#22Hangleton Primary School£6,908
#23Stanford Primary School£6,767
#24Westdene Primary School£6,747
#25St Mary's Catholic Primary School£6,569
#26St Luke's Primary School£6,490
#27St Margaret's CofE Primary School, Rottingdean£6,378
#28Hertford Primary School£6,303
#29St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School£6,220
#30Bilingual Primary School - Brighton & Hove£6,050
#31Balfour Primary School£6,031
#32Elm Grove Primary School£5,998
#33Saltdean Primary School£5,975
#34Goldstone Primary School£5,916
#35Aldrington CofE Primary School£5,697
#36St Nicolas CofE Primary School£5,671
#37St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School£5,669
#38Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School£5,621
#39Our Lady of Lourdes RC School£5,525

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

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