Downlands Community School
Primary · Blandford Forum · DT11 8BG
Data updated
Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)
The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.
Inspected 13 January 2026 · report published 1 March 2026
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
201 pupils · 48% of 420 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Community school
- Age range
- 3–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 4.7% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 31.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 28.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 4.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Nursery
- Yes
- Website
- www.downlandsschool.org
- URN
- 113659
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 21 families named it first for 22 Reception places, 0.95 first choices per place. At its report-card inspection on 13 January 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Needs attention. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
0.95 first-choice applications per place22 places offered · 21 first-choice applications · roughly balanced
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Compare admissions across the area: Dorset school admissions
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
26 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Schools with a similar intake
Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025
On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.
They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.
It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 59% (Dorset 88%, England 60%) · Any other Asian background 32% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Dorset 1%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 2% (Dorset 1%, England 4%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Dorset 0%, England 1%) · Any other Black background 1% (Dorset 0%, England 1%) · Black African 1% (Dorset 1%, England 5%) · other groups together 1%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
1.40 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Dorset: 2.92 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
77% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school · 15% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
61.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.9 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £49,968; 18.2% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (8%) · supplies and services 8% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (3%) · catering 2% (5%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £78,743; in-year balance +£54,588
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 13 January 2026: Needs attention
- 7 June 2023: Requires improvement
- 3 October 2017: Yes - improving (good)
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 7/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 32.3% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 8.3% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 37.4% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 6.5% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 61.2% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 45.4% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 9.7% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 44.9% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 32% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 6.1% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 29.3% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 5.4% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034378 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £395,00051 sales within 2 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £309,000–£440,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 2 km across every state school.
Fewer than ten homes sold within 1 km, so the figures use 2 km.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 2 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
No collision was reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025.
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 0a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 0a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 0a rural school averages 0.9
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted