Dashwood Banbury Academy

Dashwood Banbury Academy remains a good school with a strong community focus and positive learning environment. Pupils express enjoyment in attending school and feel safe, supported by both staff and a range of extracurricular activities that enhance their educational experience. The school emphasizes diversity and instills values of respect and safety, which contribute to the calm behavior observed among the students. Additionally, there is a commitment to integrating special educational needs support throughout the school, benefiting all pupils from nursery onwards.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and are confident in expressing their individuality.
• The school's values of 'ready, respectful, safe' are well understood by students.
• There is a strong emphasis on fostering community involvement and extracurricular activities.
• The phonics curriculum is effective, enabling rapid progress in reading.
• Leaders prioritize getting to know children and their families to support learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers' subject knowledge in some foundation subjects is not yet consistent.
• Checking of pupils' understanding is less developed in certain subjects.

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 Dashwood Banbury Academy attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.1% 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, 3.6% of pupils at Dashwood Banbury Academy 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 Dashwood Banbury Academy had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.5% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Dashwood Banbury Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 2024–25 Dashwood Banbury Academy received £6,704 and spent £7,134 for each of its 441 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £22,000 (-£50 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Aspirations Academies Trust, income was £8,111 and spending £8,266 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 Banbury · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Dashwood Banbury Academy is part of Aspirations Academies Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• Harriers Banbury Academy Banbury
• Futures Institute Banbury Banbury
• Wykham Park Banbury
• Park Academy West London Hillingdon
• Rivers Academy West London Feltham
• Space Studio West London Hounslow
• Oak Hill Academy West London Feltham
• Oriel Academy West London Feltham
• Jewell Academy Bournemouth Bournemouth
• Magna Academy Poole

What is Dashwood Banbury Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dashwood Banbury Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Dashwood Banbury Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Dashwood Banbury Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Dashwood Banbury Academy have?

Dashwood Banbury Academy has 456 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dashwood Banbury Academy cover?

Dashwood Banbury Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Dashwood Banbury Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dashwood Banbury Academy?

Dashwood Banbury Academy is at Merton Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 4RX.