Ofsted: Good

St Mary's School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personPrincipal Paul Murphy

corporate_fareTHE SABDEN MULTI ACADEMY TRUST

location_onHeathfield, TN21 0BT

language Visit Website phone 1323691000

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2018

groups

Students

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Attainment 8

6.8

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GCSE Rank

#44 in East Sussex

#4,157 of 4,663 nationally

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St Mary's School is a Academy special converter school in Heathfield, serving ages 9-16. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

St Mary's School is an academy special converter in Heathfield, East Sussex, admitting pupils aged 9-16. It is part of THE SABDEN MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 84 pupils on roll, of whom 63% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 6.8, placing the school #44 in East Sussex and #4,157 of 4,663 nationally. 0.00% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2018. The school's current overall rating is Good.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 6.4:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 57.9 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

6.8

Grade 5+ E&M

0.00%

Entering EBacc0.00%

EBacc APS0.22

2024

Progress 8 Score

-1.12

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

10.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0.00%

EBacc APS0.28

2023

Progress 8 Score

-1.40

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

10.7

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.73

2022

Progress 8 Score

-1.35

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

12.1

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.91

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

-2.09

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.35

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.96

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

17.1

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS1.04

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

31%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)31%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment0%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)46%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

60%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)60%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment0%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)40%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

79%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)71%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)21%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

65%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)60%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment5%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)30%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

47%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)40%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)53%

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Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 58%

Reading0% LA 72%

Writing0% LA 69%

Maths0% LA 68%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 56%England 61%

Reading-% LA 71% · Eng 74%

Writing-% LA 69% · Eng 72%

Maths-% LA 68% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 55%England 60%

Reading0% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing11% LA 68% · Eng 71%

Maths0% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-13.5

Read

LA -0.9

-17.9 to -9.2

-9.2

Write

LA -1.5

-13.4 to -5.0

-12.4

Maths

LA -2.0

-16.5 to -8.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 63%England 65%

Reading-% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing-% LA 78% · Eng 78%

Maths-% LA 74% · Eng 79%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA -0.4

Write

LA -0.7

Maths

LA -1.2

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 65%

Reading-% LA 77%

Writing-% LA 79%

Maths-% LA 74%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA 0.5

Write

LA -0.3

Maths

LA -0.4

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

27 September 2023

Inspection Report

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23 May 2018

Inspection Report

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31 August 2015

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2018-05-23

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2015-01-27

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2011-10-18

None EIF

Outstanding

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

50.0%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

28.6%(24 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 84 pupils. During this period, there were 42 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 50.0%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	84	42	50.0%	7.3%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	85	56	65.9%	7.8%
2023/24 (Summer term)	90	50	55.6%	7.4%
2023/24 (Spring term)	88	68	77.3%	7.1%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	87	55	63.2%	8.2%
2022/23 (Summer term)	85	25	29.4%	6.6%
2022/23 (Spring term)	82	22	26.8%	6.4%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	81	22	27.2%	5.9%
2021/22 (Summer term)	86	19	22.1%	4.7%
2021/22 (Spring term)	85	14	16.5%	4.9%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	83	22	26.5%	4.4%
2020/21 (Summer term)	91	27	29.7%	3.6%
2020/21 (Spring term)	85	10	11.8%	1.0%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	75	29	38.7%	3.9%
2019/20 (Summer term)	87	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	87	36	41.4%	3.2%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	82	64	78.0%	4.2%
2018/19 (Summer term)	85	17	20.0%	3.1%
2018/19 (Spring term)	82	16	19.5%	3.8%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	79	16	20.3%	3.8%
2017/18 (Summer term)	87	7	8.0%	3.4%
2017/18 (Spring term)	75	3	4.0%	3.0%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	73	5	6.8%	3.7%
2016/17 (Summer term)	82	3	3.7%	3.0%
2016/17 (Spring term)	78	7	9.0%	3.3%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	74	8	10.8%	3.1%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 47 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 25 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 6 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 2 pupils

St Mary's School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

Staffing

Teacher Turnover