Parkside Community Primary School

Wealden · TN21 8QQ

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 225 pupils, 8.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 19.6% on SEN support Behaviour 6.0% absence rate Staff 16.7% turnover Financials £6,072 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Parkside Community Primary School

General Information

Address: Beechwood Lane, Heathfield, TN21 8QQ – View on map
Phone: 01435864577
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Headteacher Derek Hollywood
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 43 families put it first for 30 places – 14 for every 10 places. 67% 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 11 · 2024 15 · 2025 14 · 2026 14
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

225 pupils out of 210 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 17
% eligible for free school meals: 8.7%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Wealden average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.7% a year (Wealden 16.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 63% moved to another school, 37% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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: 6.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 12.0%
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: 19.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 16 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 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 March 2026

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

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong 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 Outstanding (2023). 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: 72% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 10 percentage points above the Wealden average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 71% against an expected 64%)
3-year average (expected standard): 71%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 83% · Maths 83% · 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 schoolWealden 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 10 percentage points above the Wealden average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: 10th of 48 junior and primary schools in the area

=7Hawkes Farm Academy74%
#9Mark Cross Church of England Aided Primary School73%
#10Parkside Community Primary School72%
=11Park Mead Primary School71%
=11Punnetts Town Community Primary School and Nursery71%

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

=1Blackboys Church of England Primary School82%
=1Five Ashes CofE Primary School82%
#3High Hurstwood Church of England Primary School80%
=4Bonners CofE School & Nursery76%
=4Harlands Community Primary & Nursery School76%
=4Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School76%
=7Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School74%
=7Hawkes Farm Academy74%
#9Mark Cross Church of England Aided Primary School73%
#10Parkside Community Primary School72%
=11Park Mead Primary School71%
=11Punnetts Town Community Primary School and Nursery71%
=11Rocks Park Primary School71%
=11St Michael's Primary School71%
#15Cross-in-Hand Church of England Primary School70%
#16St Mark's Church of England Primary School69%
=17Maynards Green Community Primary School68%
=17White House Academy68%
#19Jarvis Brook Primary School67%
=20Polegate Primary School66%
=20St John's Church of England Primary School66%
=20Wadhurst CofE Primary School and Nursery66%
=23Chiddingly Primary School64%
=23Framfield Church of England Primary School64%
=23Ninfield Church of England Primary School64%
=26Manor Primary School63%
=26Willingdon Primary School63%
#28St Philip's Catholic Primary School61%
=29Ashdown Primary School60%
=29Mayfield Church of England Primary School60%
#31All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School58%
=32Danehill Church of England Primary School55%
=32Rotherfield Primary School55%
=34Alfriston School54%
=34Nutley Church of England Primary School54%
#36Stone Cross School53%
#37Hankham Primary School52%
=38East Hoathly CofE Primary School50%
=38Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery50%
=38Frant Church of England Primary School50%
=38Herstmonceux Church of England Primary School50%
=38St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School50%
#43St Marys Catholic Primary School47%
#44Buxted CofE Primary School41%
=45Laughton Community Primary School40%
=45Sir Henry Fermor Church of England Primary School40%
#47Fletching Church of England Primary School36%
#48Little Horsted Church of England Primary School35%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,072 (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.

35th of 45 primary schools in Wealden for spending per pupil

#33Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School£6,089
#34Stone Cross School£6,082
#35Parkside Community Primary School£6,072
#36Willingdon Primary School£6,059
#37Sir Henry Fermor Church of England Primary School£5,984

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

#1Fletching Church of England Primary School£11,601
#2Nutley Church of England Primary School£9,886
#3St Mark's Church of England Primary School£9,713
#4Five Ashes CofE Primary School£9,688
#5Laughton Community Primary School£9,440
#6Mark Cross Church of England Aided Primary School£8,896
#7Alfriston School£8,755
#8East Hoathly CofE Primary School£8,639
#9Jarvis Brook Primary School£8,573
#10St Michael's Primary School£8,567
#11All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School£8,498
#12Framfield Church of England Primary School£8,188
#13Danehill Church of England Primary School£7,954
#14Bonners CofE School & Nursery£7,860
#15Frant Church of England Primary School£7,720
#16Punnetts Town Community Primary School and Nursery£7,629
#17High Hurstwood Church of England Primary School£7,527
#18Ninfield Church of England Primary School£7,226
#19Hankham Primary School£7,186
#20Forest Row Church of England Primary School and Nursery£7,120
#21Wadhurst CofE Primary School and Nursery£7,066
#22Mayfield Church of England Primary School£7,040
#23Little Horsted Church of England Primary School£6,958
#24Blackboys Church of England Primary School£6,654
#25Rotherfield Primary School£6,578
#26Groombridge St Thomas' Church of England Primary School£6,555
#27Ashdown Primary School£6,431
#28Manor Primary School£6,283
#29Harlands Community Primary & Nursery School£6,228
#30Buxted CofE Primary School£6,224
#31Polegate Primary School£6,224
#32St Marys Catholic Primary School£6,110
#33Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School£6,089
#34Stone Cross School£6,082
#35Parkside Community Primary School£6,072
#36Willingdon Primary School£6,059
#37Sir Henry Fermor Church of England Primary School£5,984
#38Cross-in-Hand Church of England Primary School£5,947
#39St Philip's Catholic Primary School£5,852
#40Maynards Green Community Primary School£5,838
#41Herstmonceux Church of England Primary School£5,640
#42Rocks Park Primary School£5,559
#43St John's Church of England Primary School£5,448
#44Hawkes Farm Academy£3,887
#45White House Academy£3,702

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

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