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Somerford Primary School

Primary · Christchurch · BH23 3AS

Data updated

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Needs attention

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Needs attentionAchievement: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Needs attentionEarly years: Expected standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 28 April 2026 · report published 21 June 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

169 pupils · 80% of 210 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Community school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
46.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
9.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
35.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
6.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.somerford.dorset.sch.uk
URN
113736

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 12 families named it first for 12 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold 4 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 28 April 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 6.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

12 places offered · 12 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

29 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
41%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
100
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
99
England 105

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

This school41%
Median of its 12 closest peers54%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average63.6%
England62%

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.

SchoolOfstedResult
Jubilee Academy MossleyWalsall · 131 miles awayGood62%
Windmill Hill Primary SchoolRuncorn · 184 miles awayGood75%
Alver Valley Junior SchoolGosport · 26 miles awayGood48%
Netherton Moss Primary SchoolBootle · 197 miles awayRequires improvement53%
St Mary & St Thomas CofE Primary SchoolSt Helens · 192 miles awayOutstanding (2019)77%
Grassmoor Primary SchoolChesterfield · 171 miles awayGood40%
Carcroft Primary SchoolDoncaster · 198 miles awayGood53%
The Priory Parish CofE Primary SchoolBirkenhead · 191 miles awayGood46%
Long Mead Community Primary SchoolTonbridge · 94 miles awayRequires improvement47%
New Brancepeth Primary AcademyDurham · 278 miles awayGood73%
Queen Margaret Primary AcademyTewkesbury · 88 miles awayRequires improvement55%
Shadsworth Junior SchoolArran Avenue · 209 miles awayGood60%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
4 of 16 places taken places may be available

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 80% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 70%, England 60%) · Black African 6% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 3%, England 5%) · Any other White background 5% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 9%, England 7%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 1%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 2%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 3%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 1%, England 2%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
21.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

10.91 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: 3.47 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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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

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

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)

63.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 4 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 £53,625; 18.2% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£11,614
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 74% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 12% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (3%) · catering 7% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve -£293,237; in-year balance -£230,235

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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

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher15.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications25%18.1%
In managerial or professional work18%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways33.5%18.1%
Residents in very good health41.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier43.9%62.3%
Social housing48.8%17.1%
Privately rented7.2%20.5%
Detached houses4%22.9%
Flats18.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms8.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van22.9%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020348 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£349,500331 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£285,000–£450,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (89)£492,500
Semi-detached (69)£355,000
Terraced (119)£320,000
Flat (54)£183,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 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

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
32an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
8an urban school averages 6.1

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

Nearby schools