Burley Primary School

Burley Primary School is a small, friendly federation school where pupils are happy, proud and kind. Inspectors found high expectations across the school, a broad and ambitious curriculum, and particularly exceptional early years provision. Reading is a high priority, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported, and behaviour and pastoral care are positive. Leadership is focused on sustained improvement, and safeguarding is effective. The school was previously rated Requires Improvement and has improved across the main areas inspected. The main area to improve is curriculum design in some subjects beyond early years. In these subjects, new knowledge is not consistently connected to earlier learning or revisited, so pupils can develop gaps in understanding. The report asks the school to structure these curriculums so pupils build secure knowledge and remember it over time. The school operates within The Federation of Burley and Sopley Primary Schools and has mixed-age classes.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, proud and kind within a close, friendly community.
• The school has high expectations for all pupils and promotes them well.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious, with clearly identified knowledge, skills and vocabulary.
• Early years provision is exceptional, with highly skilled staff and precise curriculum steps.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and teach mixed-age classes skilfully.
• Reading is a high priority, with targeted support for pupils who struggle.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and make good progress.
• Behaviour is positive, and pastoral support is highly effective.
• Pupils’ character and independence are developed well through wider opportunities.
• Leadership drives sustained improvement, and governance provides effective challenge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects beyond early years, curriculum design does not connect new knowledge to earlier learning or deliberately revisit key knowledge.
• Pupils’ understanding in those subjects is hindered by gaps in their knowledge.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Burley Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 2.2% of pupils at Burley Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Burley Primary School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 38.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 19.8% of pupils at Burley Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Burley Primary School received £9,929 and spent £9,826 for each of its 81 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £9,000 (£115 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Ringwood · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Burley Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Burley Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Burley Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Burley Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Burley Primary School have?

Burley Primary School has 81 pupils on roll.

What age range does Burley Primary School cover?

Burley Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Burley Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Burley Primary School?

Burley Primary School is at Church Lane, Burley, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 4AP.