Dorchester Primary School

Dorchester Primary School is performing well overall. Safeguarding standards are met, and inclusion is a notable strength: leaders know pupils and families well, adapt provision carefully, and support high proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, including those in the specialist speech, language and communication unit. Pupils are happy, safe and behave well, and they achieve broadly in line with national expectations by the end of key stage 2, with disadvantaged pupils often achieving above national averages in reading and mathematics. Most areas of provision are at the expected standard. Early years is language-rich and prepares children well, teaching is typically effective, and leadership, governance, personal development and pastoral support are positive. Attendance is improving but remains above national averages for overall and persistent absence, and leaders continue to work on reducing term-time leave. The main improvement priorities are to embed precise curriculum knowledge in a few foundation subjects so pupils make secure links with prior learning, and to continue raising attendance across pupil groups.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are robust and pupils feel safe.
• Inclusion is a strong feature, with leaders identifying and meeting diverse needs effectively.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve well, often above national averages in reading and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND make strong or accelerated progress from their starting points.
• The specialist SEND unit supports spoken language development and seamless transition to mainstream provision.
• Pupils behave well, are warm and friendly, and build positive relationships with staff and peers.
• Early years provision is language-rich and helps children with gaps in speaking and social interaction.
• Leaders provide high-quality pastoral support for pupils and their families.
• Personal development and enrichment are broad, including the 'Dorchester dozen', clubs and trips.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with high staff morale and well-considered professional learning.
• Phonics and basic skills are taught securely, supporting pupils to achieve in line with national standards.
• Attendance is improving, with clear tracking and support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum mapping in a few foundation subjects is not yet fully embedded, limiting secure connections to prior learning.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages.
• The school is still working to reduce the number of term-time leave requests.
• Historical Year 4 multiplication test outcomes do not yet reflect pupils' current secure knowledge of multiplication facts.

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 Dorchester Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.4% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Dorchester 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 Dorchester Primary School had 15.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.7% 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, 18.6% of pupils at Dorchester Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 13.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 24 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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Dorchester Primary School received £9,307 and spent £8,732 for each of its 291 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £101,000 (£346 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Hull Collaborative Academy Trust, income was £7,821 and spending £7,723 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.

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All schools in Hull · Kingston upon Hull, City of local authority: places and applications

Dorchester Primary School is part of Hull Collaborative Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• Sutton Park Primary School Kingston-Upon-Hull
• Westcott Primary School Hull
• Bellfield Primary School Hull
• Longhill Primary School Kingston-Upon-Hull
• Wansbeck Primary School Hull
• Pearson Primary School Hull
• The Marvell College Hull
• Collingwood Primary School Hull
• Thoresby Primary School
• Stockwell Academy Hull

What is Dorchester Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dorchester Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Dorchester Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dorchester Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Dorchester Primary School have?

Dorchester Primary School has 280 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dorchester Primary School cover?

Dorchester Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dorchester Primary School?

Dorchester Primary School is at Dorchester Road, Bransholme, Hull, HU7 6AH.