St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School is a church primary school in Dorset and part of the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust. This was its first section 5 inspection, and under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. The school performs strongly across the inspected areas, with good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, while personal development is a particular strength. Staff know pupils and families well, and the school has a warm, community-focused ethos. Pupils are respectful, calm and kind, and they benefit from a broad, ambitious curriculum that has been significantly redesigned and is well sequenced. Reading and mathematics are taught well, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified and supported effectively, and the school offers a rich programme of enrichment, trips, clubs and music. Leaders have a clear vision, safeguarding is effective, and staff value the support they receive, including through trust collaboration. The main areas for improvement are limited to a few foundation subjects. In some of these, the key knowledge and vocabulary pupils should learn are not yet clearly refined, so teachers are not always sure what pupils need to learn and when. Assessment in some foundation subjects is also not informative enough to show how well pupils have learned and remembered the curriculum content.

Strengths

• Warm, community-focused ethos with strong care for pupils and families.
• Pupils are respectful, calm and kind, and behaviour is good.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum has been significantly redesigned and is well sequenced.
• Strong early reading and phonics provision helps pupils read and spell new words.
• Mathematics teaching systematically builds calculation and problem-solving skills.
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND, including the inclusive Bee Hive space.
• Personal development is a standout strength, with extensive enrichment, trips, clubs and music opportunities.
• Pupils contribute actively to school life, including through the eco group.
• Leaders share a clear vision and use trust collaboration to support improvement and staff workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few foundation subjects, key knowledge and vocabulary are not clearly refined or sequenced.
• Assessment in some foundation subjects does not reliably show what pupils know and remember.

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 Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.0% 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 St Nicholas and St Laurence 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 St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.1% 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, 19.7% of pupils at St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School received £6,956 and spent £6,956 for each of its 214 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £15,000 (£72 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 Weymouth · Dorset local authority: places and applications

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School is part of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, which runs 28 schools. The nearest others:

• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Weymouth
• St John's Church of England Primary School Weymouth
• Beechcroft St Paul's CofE Primary School Weymouth
• Dunbury Church of England Academy Winterborne Whitechurch
• Beaminster St Mary's Academy Beaminster
• Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Spetisbury CofE Primary School Blandford Forum
• Durweston Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Milldown CofE Academy Blandford Forum
• Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum

What is St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School have?

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School cover?

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School?

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School is at Broadwey, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 5DQ.