SchoolFacts

Puddletown Church of England First School

Primary · Dorchester · DT2 8FZ

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 29 November 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

134 pupils · 89% of 150 capacity

School type
Academy converter
Age range
4–9
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
9% of pupils
English as additional language
4.4% of pupils
SEN support
20.7% of pupils
EHC plan
3% of pupils
Website
http://www.puddletownfirst.dorset.sch.uk/
URN
141806

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

29 places offered · 29 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)
4.1%
England 6.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
11.4%
England 18.1%

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

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
20.9
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

84% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 16% 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£5,919
Typical primary school£6,960

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, academy 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

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

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