Handcross Primary School

Mid Sussex · RH17 6HB

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 238 pupils, 12.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.9% on SEN support Behaviour 4.0% absence rate Staff 16.4% turnover Financials £6,637 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Handcross Primary School

General Information

Address: London Road, Handcross, Haywards Heath, RH17 6HB – View on map
Phone: 01444400291
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Sharon Bondonno
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 34 families put it first for 29 places – 12 for every 10 places. 76% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 19 · 2024 11 · 2025 12 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

238 pupils out of 210 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 28
% eligible for free school meals: 12.1%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (similar to the Mid Sussex average)
English as an additional language: 12% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.4% a year (Mid Sussex 13.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% 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 West Sussex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 10 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 4 (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 West 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: 4.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.2%
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: 13.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 22 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 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

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 79% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 14% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Mid Sussex average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 77% against an expected 60%)
3-year average (expected standard): 77%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 90% · Writing 83% · Maths 90% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 83%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 106
Based on: 29 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 schoolMid Sussex averageEngland↗ Improving Up 9 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Mid Sussex average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 2nd of 32 junior and primary schools in the area

#1Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield82%
=2Albourne Church of England Primary School79%
=2Handcross Primary School79%
=4Blackthorns Community Primary School77%
=4St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School77%

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

#1Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield82%
=2Albourne Church of England Primary School79%
=2Handcross Primary School79%
=4Blackthorns Community Primary School77%
=4St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School77%
#6Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill76%
#7St Augustine's CofE Primary School75%
#8Southway Junior School73%
#9Bolnore Village Primary School72%
#10Halsford Park Primary School71%
#11Lindfield Primary Academy70%
=12Northlands Wood Primary Academy67%
=12St Joseph's Catholic Primary School67%
=14Baldwins Hill Primary School, East Grinstead66%
=14Sheddingdean Community Primary School66%
#16The Windmills Junior School65%
#17St Lawrence CofE Primary School64%
=18Balcombe Cofe Primary School63%
=18Copthorne CofE Junior School63%
=18St Peter's CofE Primary School63%
=18St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School63%
=22Blackwell Primary School61%
=22Estcots Primary School61%
#24Warden Park Primary Academy60%
#25St Peter's Catholic Primary School58%
#26Harlands Primary School57%
#27London Meed Community Primary School55%
#28The Meads Primary School53%
#29Woodgate Primary Academy50%
#30St. Mark's CofE Primary School47%
#31St Giles CofE Primary School33%
#32Bolney CofE Primary School20%

View full Ofsted inspection report

11th of 28 primary schools in Mid Sussex for Ofsted rating

#9Estcots Primary SchoolGood
#10Halsford Park Primary SchoolGood
#11Handcross Primary SchoolGood
#12Harlands Primary SchoolGood
#13Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, CuckfieldGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Blackthorns Community Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Lindfield Primary AcademyOutstanding
#3Balcombe Cofe Primary SchoolGood
#4Baldwins Hill Primary School, East GrinsteadGood
#5Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess HillGood
#6Blackwell Primary SchoolGood
#7Bolnore Village Primary SchoolGood
#8Crawley Down Village CofE SchoolGood
#9Estcots Primary SchoolGood
#10Halsford Park Primary SchoolGood
#11Handcross Primary SchoolGood
#12Harlands Primary SchoolGood
#13Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, CuckfieldGood
#14London Meed Community Primary SchoolGood
#15Northlands Wood Primary AcademyGood
#16St Augustine's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#17St Giles CofE Primary SchoolGood
#18St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#19St Mary's Church of England Primary School, East GrinsteadGood
#20St Peter's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#21St Peter's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#22St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#23St. Mark's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#24The Meads Primary SchoolGood
#25Turners Hill Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#26Warden Park Primary AcademyGood
#27Oak Tree Primary SchoolRequires improvement
#28West Hoathly CofE Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,637 (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 32 primary schools in Mid Sussex for spending per pupil

#6St Peter's CofE Primary School£6,767
#7St Lawrence CofE Primary School£6,654
#8Handcross Primary School£6,637
#9The Meads Primary School£6,470
#10Sheddingdean Community Primary School£6,399

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£7,967
#2Woodgate Primary Academy£7,408
#3St Augustine's CofE Primary School£7,255
#4Bolney CofE Primary School£7,187
#5St Giles CofE Primary School£7,043
#6St Peter's CofE Primary School£6,767
#7St Lawrence CofE Primary School£6,654
#8Handcross Primary School£6,637
#9The Meads Primary School£6,470
#10Sheddingdean Community Primary School£6,399
#11Blackthorns Community Primary School£6,348
#12Baldwins Hill Primary School, East Grinstead£6,240
#13Balcombe Cofe Primary School£6,220
#14Blackwell Primary School£6,191
#15Northlands Wood Primary Academy£6,155
#16Warden Park Primary Academy£6,153
#17Albourne Church of England Primary School£6,108
#18Birchwood Grove Community Primary School, Burgess Hill£5,977
#19Bolnore Village Primary School£5,944
#20St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School£5,926
#21Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield£5,854
#22St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School£5,806
#23St Peter's Catholic Primary School£5,780
#24Estcots Primary School£5,777
#25St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£5,753
#26London Meed Community Primary School£5,542
#27Harlands Primary School£5,497
#28Lindfield Primary Academy£5,335
#29Halsford Park Primary School£5,312
#30Crawley Down Village CofE School£4,328
#31Oak Tree Primary School£3,720
#32St Mary's Church of England Primary School, East Grinstead£618

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

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