St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown

St Mary’s Church of England Middle School in Puddletown has shown commendable improvement, achieving a 'Good' rating across all inspected areas after previously requiring improvement. The school fosters a positive learning environment where pupils are eager to attend and engaged with their education. School leaders set high expectations, and there is strong collaboration among staff, helping to meet the diverse needs of students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The pupils exhibit good behaviour and respect for one another, contributing to an atmosphere conducive to learning.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate a positive attitude towards learning.
• Strong leadership fosters a collaborative environment among staff.
• Effective safeguarding measures ensure pupil safety.
• The curriculum is rich and varied, with a focus on core subjects.
• Teachers are skilled at supporting students with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum organization in humanities and English needs improvement.
• Lower-ability pupils in Year 6 do not have suitable reading materials.
• Careers education and guidance are at an early stage of development.

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 St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 5.4% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 22.0% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 10 pupils.

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown received £7,265 and spent £7,021 for each of its 445 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £506,000 (£1,138 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Wessex Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,381 and spending £7,135 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Dorchester · Dorset local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is part of Wessex Multi Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Puddletown Church of England First School Dorchester
• Frome Valley CofE First School Dorchester
• Milborne St Andrew First School Blandford Forum
• Piddle Valley Church of England First School Dorchester
• Manor Park Church of England First School Dorchester
• St Osmund's Church of England Middle School Dorchester
• Dorchester Middle School Dorchester
• The Thomas Hardye School Dorchester
• Damers First School Dorchester
• Bere Regis Primary and Preschool Wareham

What is St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown have?

St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown has 441 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown cover?

St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown?

St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is at Coombe Road, Puddletown, DORCHESTER, Dorset, DT2 8SA.