SCHOOL PROFILE

Balfour Primary School

Primary Community school URN 114382
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 718 Published school capacity
Capacity used 96.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

6 December 2023
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Brighton and Hove
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 695 695 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 343 49.4% of pupils
Male pupils 352 50.6% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

10.6%
14.2 pts below England
School 10.6%
Brighton and Hove 23.4%
South East 19.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

8.6%
11.7 pts below England
School 8.6%
Brighton and Hove 14.8%
South East 15.6%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.1%
0.9 pts below England
School 0.1%
Brighton and Hove 1.1%
South East 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
75.0%
521
Any other White background
8.6%
60
White and Asian
4.6%
32
Any other Mixed background
3.3%
23
African
1.6%
11
White and Black African
1.4%
10
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 12.4% 86 of 695 pupils
8.5 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 12.4%
Brighton and Hove 25.6%
South East 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 10.9% 76 pupils
England 14.8% 3.8 pts below
EHC plans 1.4% 10 pupils
England 6.0% 4.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder 26
Speech, language & communication 24
Social, emotional & mental health 19
Specific learning difficulty 11
Moderate learning difficulty 3
Hearing impairment 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

71.0% 10.6 pts above England
School 71.0%
Brighton and Hove 55.1%
South East 60.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

87.0%

13.2 pts above England

School 87.0%
Brighton and Hove 71.6%
South East 74.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

78.0%

7.7 pts above England

School 78.0%
Brighton and Hove 67.2%
South East 70.5%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

84.0%

12.0 pts above England

School 84.0%
Brighton and Hove 66.1%
South East 70.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.73%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.48 pts lower than England
School 4.73%
Brighton and Hove 7.09%
South East 6.30%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

8.28%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

7.54 pts lower than England
School 8.28%
Brighton and Hove 18.77%
South East 15.75%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.66%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.14 pts lower than England
School 0.66%
Brighton and Hove 2.28%
South East 1.93%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

96.8% 8.6 pts above England
Balfour Primary School
96.8%
Brighton and Hove
84.2%
South East
89.5%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information