Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School

Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, now rated as good across all areas of performance. Pupils enjoy a supportive and enriching environment that fosters their love for learning and engagement in the local community. The school's curriculum is well-structured, aiming to provide pupils with gradual and comprehensive knowledge, and staff are well-equipped to deliver effective teaching, particularly in early reading and mathematics. Parents express high confidence in the school, reflecting the strong community ties and responsiveness of the leadership to feedback.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a warm and welcoming school environment.
• High expectations are maintained for all pupils.
• The curriculum is carefully sequenced and linked to the local context.
• Strong focus on early reading and phonics, with all staff trained in teaching methods.
• Community engagement through various activities, including serving soup to locals.
• Pupil participation in diverse extracurricular activities, including sports and arts.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent application of handwriting policy leads to variability in pupils' letter formation.
• Assessment methods in some wider curriculum subjects are still under 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 Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Corfe Castle Church of England 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 Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 3.4% of pupils at Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School received £8,641 and spent £7,870 for each of its 82 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £10,000 (£123 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Coastal Learning Partnership, income was £6,936 and spending £6,570 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 Wareham · Dorset local authority: places and applications

Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School is part of Coastal Learning Partnership, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers Swanage
• Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School Swanage
• Stoborough Church of England Primary School Wareham
• Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School Wareham
• Swanage Primary School Swanage
• Old Town Infant School and Nursery Poole
• Lilliput Church of England Infant School Poole
• Longfleet Church of England Primary School Poole
• Oakdale Junior School Poole
• Baden-Powell and St Peter's Church of England Junior School Poole

What is Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School have?

Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School has 87 pupils on roll.

What age range does Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School cover?

Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School?

Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School is at East Street, Corfe Castle, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 5EE.