St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is a small Church of England primary in the Sherborne Area Schools Trust. The school has had significant leadership changes since its last inspection; an interim leadership team is in place and the trust has provided additional support, particularly around inclusion and SEND. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils say they feel safe and well cared for. The school performs at expected standard in attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Attendance is above national and persistent absence has fallen. Behaviour has improved through simplified expectations, and support for pupils with SEND and those at risk of suspension is stronger. Personal development and enrichment are thoughtful, and staff feel well supported. However, achievement and curriculum and teaching need attention. Pupils' national assessment results fluctuate and are sometimes below national, especially in combined reading, writing and mathematics and in writing. Too many pupils do not gain secure foundational knowledge. Inspectors found the curriculum is ambitious but not consistently implemented. Leaders have not precisely identified the foundational knowledge pupils need, including in early years and for pupils with SEND, and checks on progress do not focus sharply enough on basic reading, writing, vocabulary and mathematics. This means gaps are not identified quickly enough. Next steps focus on clarifying essential knowledge and ensuring teaching systematically addresses gaps so all pupils are ready for the next stage.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils feeling safe.
• Attendance is above national figures and persistent absence has reduced.
• Pupils behave well in and around school and understand the 'ready, safe and respectful' rules.
• Support for pupils with SEND is increasingly effective, with early identification and additional help.
• Leaders have significantly improved support for pupils at risk of suspension, reducing exclusion likelihood.
• Disadvantaged pupils are well supported and additional funding is carefully monitored.
• Trustees and governors provide effective oversight and challenge.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders and value training and consideration for wellbeing and workload.
• Personal development is thoughtful, with values, British values, enrichment and pastoral support.
• Early years children are safe, happy, and benefit from warm relationships and language support.
• Leaders prioritise phonics and reading from the start of Reception.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully sequenced in some subjects, helping pupils recall and apply knowledge.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of trips, clubs, performances and responsibilities.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because national assessment results fluctuate and are sometimes below national.
• Too many pupils do not gain secure knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, particularly for foundational knowledge.
• Teaching of reading, writing, vocabulary and mathematics does not ensure all pupils learn essential knowledge well.
• Leaders have not identified exactly what foundational knowledge pupils need by the end of each year.
• Progress checks are not focused sharply enough on foundational knowledge, so gaps are not identified quickly enough.
• Early years and pupils with SEND are not consistently supported to secure the knowledge they need for the next stage.
• Some leaders' plans are too broad for staff to know exactly what needs to change.
• Pupils with gaps in basic reading, writing and mathematics are not identified quickly enough to prevent falling behind.
• The school has more to do to ensure all pupils are ready for the next stage of education.

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 St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.2% 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, 2.2% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas 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 St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.1% 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, 26.7% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 2021–22 St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas received £5,732 and spent £6,162 for each of its 103 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £24,000 (£228 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Sherborne Area Schools' Trust, income was £6,237 and spending £6,314 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 Sherborne · Dorset local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is part of Sherborne Area Schools' Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Thornford CofE Primary School Sherborne
• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Sherborne
• Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary School Sherborne
• Sherborne Primary School Sherborne
• The Gryphon School Sherborne
• Charlton Horethorne Church of England Primary School Sherborne
• Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School Dorchester
• King Arthur's School Wincanton
• Sturminster Newton High School Sturminster Newton
• Shillingstone Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum

What is St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas have?

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas has 90 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas cover?

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas?

St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas is at Mill Lane, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 6RH.