Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School

Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School has recently undergone its first inspection as an academy school, receiving a 'Good' overall effectiveness rating. The school has demonstrated notable strengths in creating a positive learning environment where pupils are eager to learn and exhibit good behavior. The school's leadership is effective, and there is a strong focus on personal development, with pupils engaged in a variety of enriching activities beyond the classroom. Efforts in promoting pupils' literacy skills in the early years and implementing a coherent curriculum from Nursery to Year 4 have also been highlighted as significant successes.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, well-mannered, and eager to learn.
• The school emphasizes effective communication and literacy skills in early years education.
• Children benefit from regular phonics practice that enhances their reading fluency.
• The curriculum is clear, coherent, and well-structured to foster knowledge retention.
• Staff nurture pupils' talents and interests through various extracurricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Subject leadership is underdeveloped in some areas, affecting curriculum assessment and adaptation.
• Teachers sometimes do not adequately use assessments to close knowledge gaps.

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 Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School attended 92.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.2% 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 Three Legged Cross First and Nursery 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 Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School had 28.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 40.0% 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, 32.1% of pupils at Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School received £8,316 and spent £7,667 for each of its 102 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £61,000 (£599 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of The Heath Academy Trust, income was £7,083 and spending £6,778 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

Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School is part of The Heath Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery Ferndown
• Oakhurst Community First School Ferndown
• St Ives Primary & Nursery School Ringwood
• St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt Fordingbridge
• Sixpenny Handley First School and Nursery Salisbury

What is Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in April 2023.

When was Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School was last inspected in April 2023.

How many pupils does Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School have?

Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School has 84 pupils on roll.

What age range does Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School cover?

Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School?

Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School is at Church Road, Three Legged Cross, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 6RF.