St James Church of England First School

St James Church of England First School is a friendly, community-minded first school where pupils are described as flourishing in a supportive atmosphere. This was its first routine section 5 inspection since becoming an academy within the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust in 2021, and inspectors judged the school good across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years; safeguarding is effective. There is no overall effectiveness grade because of the post-September 2024 framework. Strengths include a strong reading and phonics culture, an ambitious curriculum, early identification of SEND with effective pastoral support, and particularly strong personal development. Pupils behave well, take on responsibilities, and benefit from clubs, performances and community activities. Leaders are determined and staff feel supported by the trust and governance. However, inspectors found two areas to improve. Staff do not consistently correct misconceptions in written work, so some pupils repeat errors in punctuation and letter formation. In a minority of subjects that have been recently revised, implementation is at an earlier stage and pupils' recall and depth of knowledge are less secure.

Strengths

• Strong reading and phonics provision, with pupils leaving as confident readers
• Ambitious curriculum that sets out knowledge and vocabulary for mixed-age classes
• Early identification of SEND and effective, well-targeted pastoral support
• Personal development is a strength, with a wide range of clubs and pupil responsibilities
• Pupils behave well and learning typically flows without disruption
• Supportive, values-led community where pupils show love, truth and hope
• Determined leadership with a strong teamwork culture and effective trust and governance support

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not consistently correct misconceptions in pupils' written work
• Some pupils repeat errors in basic punctuation and letter formation, affecting writing quality
• A minority of recently revised subjects are at an earlier stage of implementation
• In those subjects, pupils' recall and depth of knowledge are less secure

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 James Church of England First School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St James Church of England 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 St James Church of England First School had 22.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 4.5% of pupils at St James Church of England First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 St James Church of England First School received £8,496 and spent £7,783 for each of its 125 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £126,000 (£1,012 per pupil).

Across all 28 schools of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, income was £7,549 and spending £7,556 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

St James Church of England First School is part of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, which runs 28 schools. The nearest others:

• Wimborne St Giles Church of England First School and Nursery Wimborne
• Trinity Church of England First School Verwood
• Cranborne Church of England First School Wimborne
• Spetisbury CofE Primary School Blandford Forum
• Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Milldown CofE Academy Blandford Forum
• Durweston Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Dunbury Church of England Academy Winterborne Whitechurch
• Broad Chalke CofE Primary School Salisbury

What is St James Church of England First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James Church of England First School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St James Church of England First School last inspected by Ofsted?

St James Church of England First School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St James Church of England First School have?

St James Church of England First School has 134 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James Church of England First School cover?

St James Church of England First School for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is St James Church of England First School?

St James Church of England First School is at Gaunts Common, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 4JN.