Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School

Primary · Dorchester · DT2 9LW

Expected standard

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: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Expected standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 27 January 2026 · report published 19 April 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

60 pupils · 67% of 90 capacity

School type: Voluntary aided school
Age range: 3–9
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Free school meals: 13.3% of pupils
English as additional language: 3.1% of pupils
SEN support: 9.2% of pupils
EHC plan: 1.5% of pupils
Nursery: Yes
Website: http://www.winterbournevalley.dorset.sch.uk/
URN: 113820

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.92 first-choice applications per place

12 places offered · 11 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

Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE. A ratio above 1.00 means more families named this school first choice than there were places.

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)

5.3%

England 6.5%

Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)

13.5%

England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher

12.7

England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

75% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 25% left the state-funded sector

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£8,861

Typical primary school£6,960

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, council-maintained school finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history since 2015

27 January 2026: Expected standard (report card inspection)

Ofsted management information. Ungraded and monitoring visits do not award a new grade. How the two inspection systems work.

Nearby schools

Portesham Church of England Primary SchoolNot yet graded · Primary · 3.1 mi
Damers First SchoolNo current grade · Primary · 3.4 mi
The Prince of Wales SchoolGood · Primary · 3.8 mi
The Thomas Hardye SchoolNot yet graded · Secondary · 3.8 mi
St Mary's Church of England First School, CharminsterNot yet graded · Primary · 3.9 mi
Dorchester Learning CentreGood · Special / other · 4.0 mi
Maiden Newton, Greenford Church of England Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 4.9 mi
St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary SchoolNot yet graded · Primary · 5.6 mi

See all primary schools in Dorchester →