Damers First School
Primary · Dorchester · DT1 3DF
Data updated
Ungraded inspection: no current grade
Ofsted's most recent visit was an ungraded inspection; its outcome was “Standards maintained”. Since September 2024 these outcomes no longer confirm a named grade. No graded inspection appears in Ofsted's records for this school since 2015 either, so SchoolFacts shows no grade rather than guessing. Any earlier grade is on the school's Ofsted report page.
Inspected 12 February 2025
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
475 pupils · 79% of 600 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 4–9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 19.2% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 14% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 17.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 5.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 147559
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 68 families named it first for 75 Reception places, 0.91 first choices per place. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
0.91 first-choice applications per place75 places offered · 68 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
Special educational needs
Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.
- Other Difficulty/Disability
Provision type: Resourced provision.
- Resourced provision
- 10 of 10 places taken full, or over capacity
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 78% (Dorset 88%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 7% (Dorset 1%, England 4%) · Black African 3% (Dorset 1%, England 5%) · Any other White background 2% (Dorset 3%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Dorset 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Dorset 0%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Dorset 0%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Dorset 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Dorset 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)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
0.42 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)
97% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 3% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
61.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.3 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 £50,791; 17.9% 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 (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 83% (77%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 4% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 7% (5%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £763,000; in-year balance +£378,000
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: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 11 February 2025: Standards maintained
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 4/10more deprived than most of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 6/10around the middle for England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 38.4% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 12.3% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 42.1% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 16.7% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 44.9% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 64.9% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 26.1% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 9% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 9.3% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 47.8% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 21% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 22.5% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034381 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £355,000388 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £250,000–£526,000the 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 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
- 1an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 7an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 1an 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