Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School

Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School is a larger-than-average primary in Poole, part of Hamwick Multi Academy Trust, and it also runs an onsite pre-school. This full section 5 inspection found safeguarding standards met and a school performing strongly overall. Attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing are all graded strong standard. Achievement and curriculum and teaching are graded expected standard, with no area judged to need attention or urgent improvement. The inspection highlights a warm, inclusive and relationship-centred school community. Pupils behave exceptionally well, attend well, feel safe and are well supported, including those with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who speak English as an additional language. Leadership is a clear strength, staff feel valued and supported, and the trust provides appropriate challenge and support while preserving the school’s Church of England identity. Early reading, phonics and mathematics are particular strengths, and pupils benefit from a rich personal development programme and wide range of opportunities. The main development points concern the wider curriculum and consistency of progress. Pupils do not yet develop secure, detailed knowledge and skills consistently across all wider curriculum areas, and in some subjects, such as history and geography, expectations are still being embedded and knowledge is not recalled as readily. Leaders are also asked to strengthen work so all pupils make consistently strong progress from their starting points, with outcomes across subjects continuing to rise and exceed national figures.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met with an open and positive culture.
• Attendance is a clear priority and rates are strong, with persistent absence below national averages.
• Pupils’ behaviour is highly positive, respectful and caring, with rare disruption.
• Early years provision is highly effective and strengthened by the onsite pre-school.
• Inclusion is a strength, with strong SEND identification, support and adaptation.
• Leadership and governance are a clear strength, with a positive staff culture and effective trust support.
• Personal development and wellbeing are well planned, with rich clubs, responsibilities and community links.
• Reading, writing and mathematics curriculums are well designed and taught well.
• Phonics and multiplication tables outcomes are above national figures.
• Pupils with SEND receive well-matched support and make appropriate progress.
• Disadvantaged pupils are well supported through targeted funding and pastoral care.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language settle quickly and are well supported.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not yet develop secure, detailed knowledge and skills consistently across all wider curriculum areas.
• In some subjects, such as history and geography, expectations are still being embedded and pupils cannot recall knowledge as readily.
• Some wider curriculum subjects, such as art and history, are still being strengthened.
• Outcomes across subjects do not yet consistently exceed national figures.
• Leaders need to strengthen work so all pupils make consistently strong progress from their starting points.

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 Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.5% 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 Bishop Aldhelm's 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 Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.1% 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, 15.3% of pupils at Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School received £6,294 and spent £6,438 for each of its 626 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £286,000 (£457 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Hamwic Education Trust, income was £7,058 and spending £7,015 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 Poole · Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority: places and applications

Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School is part of Hamwic Education Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Talbot Primary School Poole
• Livingstone Road Junior School Poole
• Livingstone Road Infant School Poole
• Bearwood Primary and Nursery School Bournemouth
• Hillbourne Primary School Poole
• Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First School Wimborne
• Hamworthy Park Junior School Poole
• Twin Sails Infant and Nursery School Poole
• Springdale First School Broadstone
• Upton Infant School Poole

What is Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School have?

Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School has 603 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School cover?

Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School?

Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School is at Winston Avenue, Branksome, Poole, Dorset, BH12 1PG.