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Dolphinholme Church of England Primary School

Primary · Lancaster · LA2 9AN

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 6 March 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

82 pupils · 84% of 98 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
4.9% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
5.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
http://www.dolphinholme.lancs.sch.uk
URN
119526

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 14 families named it first for 14 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 6 March 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

14 places offered · 14 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. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
85%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
15%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
112
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
111
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 school85%
Median of its 12 closest peers58.5%
Lancashire average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of 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
Staveley CofE SchoolKendal · 28 miles awayGood55%
East Allington Primary SchoolTotnes · 256 miles awayGood60%
Newbottle and Charlton Church of England Primary SchoolBanbury · 149 miles awayGood9%
Warmington SchoolPeterborough · 140 miles awayGood44%
Broad Hinton Church of England Primary SchoolSwindon · 176 miles awayGood86%
Belton Church of England Primary SchoolLoughborough · 101 miles awayGood55%
Hambledon Primary SchoolWaterlooville · 221 miles awayGood77%
Stoke Bruerne Church of England Primary SchoolTowcester · 148 miles awayGood50%
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, WithnellChorley · 21 miles awayOutstanding71%
Tedburn St Mary SchoolExeter · 227 miles awayGood82%
Offwell Church of England Primary SchoolHoniton · 221 miles awayGood57%
Preston Candover Church of England Primary SchoolBasingstoke · 205 miles awayGood79%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 82% (Lancashire 74%, England 60%) · Any other Mixed background 7% (Lancashire 2%, England 3%) · Any other White background 6% (Lancashire 3%, England 7%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Lancashire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Lancashire 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Lancashire 0%, England 1%)

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)
4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

1.28 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Lancashire: 2.62 suspensions and 0.07 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
19.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

81% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 19% 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)

20% of teachers took sickness absence, 15 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 £49,659; 20% 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£9,619
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (76%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 12% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 9% (3%) · catering 5% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £5,126; in-year balance +£56,741

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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)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher20.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications3.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work7.7%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways7%18.1%
Residents in very good health55.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier72.3%62.3%
Social housing1.2%17.1%
Privately rented26.5%20.5%
Detached houses55.4%22.9%
Flats2.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms39.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van6.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01025105 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£388,00017 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£178,000–£570,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (8)£575,000
Terraced (8)£174,000

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
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
1a 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

Nearby schools