Downs View Special School
Warren Road, Woodingdean, Brighton, BN2 6BB
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Vanessa Hickey
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 223
- Pupils on roll
- 224
- URN
- 114680
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273601680
About this school
Downs View Special School is a community special school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 224 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Downs View Special School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 June 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 9 | 14 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -12.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -11.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -12.90 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 20 | 14 | 17 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Downs View Special School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Brighton and Hove average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 55.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 55.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 203 |
| 2023/24 | 216 |
| 2024/25 | 223 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 62.98%
- English as an additional language
- 14.3%
- Overall absence
- 10.24%
- Persistent absence
- 34.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oxford International College, Brighton1.2 miles
Independent schools · Brighton
-
Roedean School1.6 miles
Independent schools · Brighton
-
University of Brighton1.8 miles
Universities · Brighton
-
St. John's College (Brighton)1.9 miles
Other types · Brighton
-
Hamilton Lodge School and College for Deaf Children2.0 miles
Special schools · Brighton
Other schools in Brighton
- Central Hub Brighton Local authority maintained schools
- Downs View Life Skills College Other types
- Hamilton Lodge School and College for Deaf Children Special schools
- Hill Park School Special schools
- St. John's College (Brighton) Other types
- Team Domenica Other types
- Royal Spa Nursery School Nursery
- Tarnerland Nursery School Nursery
- Balfour Primary School Primary
- Benfield Primary School Primary
- Bevendean Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brackenbury Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Downs View Special School teach?
- Downs View Special School teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of Downs View Special School?
- The headteacher of Downs View Special School is Ms Vanessa Hickey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Downs View Special School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downs View Special School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Downs View Special School?
- Downs View Special School has 224 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is Downs View Special School full?
- Downs View Special School has capacity for 223 pupils and 224 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Downs View Special School a faith school?
- No. Downs View Special School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Downs View Special School have?
- The schools register lists Downs View Special School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Downs View Special School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Downs View Special School's absence rate?
- Downs View Special School's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Downs View Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downs View Special School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.