Durweston Church of England Primary School

Durweston Church of England Primary School is performing at a strong standard overall, with pupils achieving well in reading, mathematics, and behaviour. The school is known for its supportive and welcoming environment, where leaders actively promote attendance and ensure that pupils feel safe and happy. The school's innovative and ambitious curriculum, combined with effective safeguarding measures, underlines its effectiveness in fostering a positive educational experience for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, there are areas identified for improvement, particularly in enhancing teachers' subject-specific pedagogical knowledge to further deepen pupils' understanding across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well above national averages in reading and mathematics.
• The school fosters a very positive and calm atmosphere, enhancing pupil enjoyment and engagement.
• Strong relationships between staff, pupils, and the community support a sense of belonging.
• The curriculum is rich and ambitious, tailored to meet the needs of all learners, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Staff effectively use personalised learning plans to support individual pupil needs.
• Pupils exhibit mature behavior and very few incidents of bullying, handled promptly by staff.
• Leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to continuous improvement and staff well-being.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes for writing do not reflect the high-quality written work of current pupils.
• Some pupils occasionally struggle to apply their knowledge when working independently.

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 Durweston Church of England Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.2% 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 Durweston 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 Durweston Church of England Primary School had 19.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.4% 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, 11.1% of pupils at Durweston Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Durweston Church of England Primary School received £7,019 and spent £6,901 for each of its 139 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £41,000 (£297 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 Blandford Forum · Dorset local authority: places and applications

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

• Milldown CofE Academy Blandford Forum
• Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Spetisbury CofE Primary School Blandford Forum
• Dunbury Church of England Academy Winterborne Whitechurch
• St James Church of England First School Wimborne
• Wimborne St Giles Church of England First School and Nursery Wimborne
• Cranborne Church of England First School Wimborne
• Trinity Church of England First School Verwood
• Whitesheet Church of England Primary Academy Warminster

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Durweston Church of England Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was Durweston Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Durweston Church of England Primary School was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does Durweston Church of England Primary School have?

Durweston Church of England Primary School has 144 pupils on roll.

What age range does Durweston Church of England Primary School cover?

Durweston Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Durweston Church of England Primary School?

Durweston Church of England Primary School is at Durweston, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 0QA.