Merley First School

Merley First School is performing well overall, achieving good ratings in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management, while demonstrating outstanding performance in personal development and early years provision. The recent inspection marks the school's first evaluation as an academy, having not been previously assessed since its conversion in 2020. The school's curriculum is well-sequenced, allowing pupils to establish strong foundational skills, particularly in early years education where children thrive through carefully structured learning experiences.

Strengths

• Strong focus on personal development fostering respectful and responsible citizens.
• Effective early years provision that nurtures resilience and independence.
• Supportive staff who prioritize mental health and well-being.
• Enthusiastic pupil engagement and leadership in school activities.
• Successful implementation of phonics and reading strategies.
• Positive behaviour management leading to a calm and orderly environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Wider subject curriculums for pupils in Years 1 to 4 are not as well developed.
• Assessment not effectively used in some subjects, affecting knowledge retention.

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 Merley First School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.9% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Merley First 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 Merley First School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.9% 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, 11.6% of pupils at Merley First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% 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 Merley First School received £5,592 and spent £5,544 for each of its 287 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£205 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Initio Learning Trust, income was £7,286 and spending £7,320 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 Wimborne · Dorset local authority: places and applications

Merley First School is part of Initio Learning Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• St John's Church of England First School, Wimborne Wimborne
• Allenbourn Middle School Wimborne
• St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill Wimborne
• Hayeswood First School Wimborne
• Corfe Hills School Broadstone
• Colehill First School Wimborne
• Queen Elizabeth's School Wimborne
• Lockyer's Middle School Wimborne
• Pamphill Church of England First School Wimborne
• Witchampton Church of England First School Wimborne

What is Merley First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Merley First School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Merley First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Merley First School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Merley First School have?

Merley First School has 292 pupils on roll.

What age range does Merley First School cover?

Merley First School for pupils aged 5 to 9.

Where is Merley First School?

Merley First School is at Oakley Straight, Merley, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 1SD.