Cranborne Church of England First School

Cranborne Church of England First School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all domains except for early years provision, which is rated 'Outstanding'. The school has not been inspected prior under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 due to its exemption until November 2020, marking this as its first full inspection. The school benefits from supportive leadership, fostering a positive learning environment where pupils demonstrate good behavior and have a strong sense of community. Parents express great satisfaction with the care and support provided to their children.

Strengths

• Pupils display positive relationships with staff and each other.
• The early years curriculum is ambitious and prepares children well for Year 1.
• Teachers possess strong subject knowledge and effectively engage pupils in learning.
• Pupils have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities.
• The school has high expectations and promotes a culture of respect and understanding among students.

Areas for Improvement

• Some older pupils do not consistently meet behavior expectations, impacting their learning.
• Assessment practices in some subjects do not effectively identify 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 Cranborne Church of England First School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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 Cranborne 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 Cranborne Church of England First School had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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, 6.8% of pupils at Cranborne Church of England First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Cranborne Church of England First School received £9,704 and spent £9,544 for each of its 69 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £118,000 (£1,725 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

Cranborne 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
• St James Church of England First School Wimborne
• Broad Chalke CofE Primary School Salisbury
• Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Wilton CofE Primary School Salisbury
• Spetisbury CofE Primary School Blandford Forum
• Milldown CofE Academy Blandford Forum
• Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• St Martin's CofE Primary School Salisbury

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Cranborne Church of England First School is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

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

Cranborne Church of England First School was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Cranborne Church of England First School have?

Cranborne Church of England First School has 73 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cranborne Church of England First School cover?

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

Where is Cranborne Church of England First School?

Cranborne Church of England First School is at Water Street, Cranborne, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 5QB.