St John's Meads Church of England Primary School

Eastbourne · BN20 7XS

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 162 pupils, 13.6% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Requires improvement

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 19.1% on SEN support Behaviour 4.8% absence rate Staff 30.5% turnover Financials £7,473 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St John's Meads Church of England Primary School

General Information

Address: Rowsley Road, Eastbourne, BN20 7XS – View on map
Phone: 01323730255
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Beruk Berhane
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 8 families put it first for 9 places – 9 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 7 · 2025 8 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

162 pupils out of 218 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 22
% eligible for free school meals: 13.6%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Eastbourne average)
English as an additional language: 14% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 30.5% a year (Eastbourne 14.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 21% moved to another school, 79% 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: 4.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 13.7%
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

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: 19.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 12 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Hearing impairment: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 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

Requires improvement 2024 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: 71% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 3% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 14 percentage points above the Eastbourne average (57%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 63% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 63%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 81% · Writing 81% · Maths 84% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 68%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 105
Based on: 31 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 schoolEastbourne 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 14 percentage points above the Eastbourne average (57%).

Year 6 SATs: 2nd of 13 junior and primary schools in the area

#1The Cavendish School82%
#2St John's Meads Church of England Primary School71%
#3Parkland Junior School68%
#4Stafford Junior School66%

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

#1The Cavendish School82%
#2St John's Meads Church of England Primary School71%
#3Parkland Junior School68%
#4Stafford Junior School66%
#5Gildredge House60%
=6Oakwood Primary Academy57%
=6Tollgate Community Junior School57%
#8The Haven Church of England Methodist Primary School55%
=9Langney Primary Academy53%
=9Shinewater Primary School53%
#11Ocklynge Junior School52%
#12Heron Park Primary Academy41%
#13Bourne Primary School33%

View full Ofsted inspection report

7th of 7 primary schools in Eastbourne for Ofsted rating

#5West Rise Primary School and NurseryGood
#6Bourne Primary SchoolRequires improvement
#7St John's Meads Church of England Primary SchoolRequires improvement

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

#1Heron Park Primary AcademyGood
#2Langney Primary AcademyGood
#3Oakwood Primary AcademyGood
#4St Thomas A Becket Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#5West Rise Primary School and NurseryGood
#6Bourne Primary SchoolRequires improvement
#7St John's Meads Church of England Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,473 (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.

2nd of 9 primary schools in Eastbourne for spending per pupil

#1West Rise Primary School and Nursery£7,586
#2St John's Meads Church of England Primary School£7,473
#3Oakwood Primary Academy£7,287
#4Bourne Primary School£7,109

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

#1West Rise Primary School and Nursery£7,586
#2St John's Meads Church of England Primary School£7,473
#3Oakwood Primary Academy£7,287
#4Bourne Primary School£7,109
#5Shinewater Primary School£6,808
#6Heron Park Primary Academy£6,589
#7The Haven Church of England Methodist Primary School£6,152
#8Langney Primary Academy£6,092
#9St Thomas A Becket Catholic Primary School£2,581

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

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