Fordwater School, Chichester

State-Funded School

fordwater-school-chichester-west-sussex-south-east

South EastRegion

West SussexLocal Authority

ChichesterConstituency

PO19 6PPPostcode

5.5

Academic Performance

Ofsted

About the School

Fordwater School, Chichester is a state-funded special for pupils aged 2–19, located in West Sussex, South East.

The school is rated Good by Ofsted. It currently serves 219 pupils.

Ofsted Rating

Safeguarding effective

Rating last maintained

2023

Subject Areas

Leadership &management

Good

Ethnicity

White

80%

Asian

Black

<1%

Mixed

Any other group

<1%

Unclassified

Pupils

219

Total Pupils

68%Boys

32%Girls

Pupil Characteristics

Free school meals

39%

England average

27%

First language not English

14%

England average

22%

Young carers

England average

0%25%50%75%100%

DfE school census, January 2026.

Key Information

Phase: Special
Age range: 2 – 19
Deprivation band: Average
Total pupils: 219
IDACI quintile: 3 (Average)

Inspection history

Ofsted has published one graded inspection for this school. The most recent ungraded inspection is shown below.

School remains Good (Improving)

Ungraded inspection on 4 July 2023. An ungraded inspection checks whether the existing grade still holds; it does not award a new one. Ofsted has scheduled a full graded inspection as a result.

Read the inspection letter on Ofsted

Report published					Overall
7 Feb 2013	Good	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Good

A grey dot means Ofsted did not report that judgement in the inspection of the day — the sub-judgements shown here were introduced with the 2019 framework.

Ofsted data as at 31 December 2024. A school may have been inspected since, or had an ungraded visit that does not change its grade — check Ofsted’s own record.