Dinton CofE Primary School

Dinton CofE Primary School is a small Church of England primary school within the Acorn Education Trust, with a high proportion of pupils receiving special educational needs support. Inspectors found a caring, inclusive school that knows its pupils and families well. Pupils attend very well, behave sensibly and benefit from a rich personal development and enrichment offer. Personal development and wellbeing is a particular strength, with pupils showing a strong understanding of values, equality and safety, and all groups, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, taking part fully. Across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion and leadership and governance, the school is meeting expected standards. Pupils generally achieve well and are prepared for the next stage, reading has been strengthened, attendance is above national averages, and the curriculum is coherent and engaging. Leadership is effective, staff are well supported, parents are positive, and trust oversight is strong. The main areas for improvement are in assessment and task design. Assessment is not always precise enough to spot misconceptions quickly or to identify when pupils are ready for more complex work, and some activities do not help pupils secure and deepen their learning. Behaviour is generally good, though very occasionally staff do not respond quickly enough when pupils become distracted.

Strengths

• Rich, coherent personal development programme rooted in courage, hope, service and wisdom
• Pupils have a deep understanding of British values and a commitment to equality and respect
• All pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, access enrichment opportunities
• Extensive pastoral support includes safe spaces, sensory areas and therapeutic help
• Pupils achieve well and are generally prepared for the next stage of education
• Reading curriculum has been strengthened and pupils read with enjoyment, fluency and understanding
• Attendance is consistently above national averages for all groups
• School is calm and orderly, with positive attitudes to learning and rare incidents of unkind behaviour
• Curriculum is coherent, engaging and sequenced to build knowledge over time
• Staff make skilful adaptations for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Leaders put pupils at the centre, support staff wellbeing and provide high-quality professional learning
• Trust provides effective support and challenge, with thorough quality assurance

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is sometimes not precise enough to identify misconceptions promptly
• Assessment does not always recognise when pupils have secured learning quickly enough to move on
• Some activities do not help pupils secure and deepen their learning
• Very occasionally, pupils become distracted and staff do not respond quickly enough

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 Dinton CofE Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.3% 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 Dinton CofE 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 Dinton CofE Primary School had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 40.0% 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, 25.8% of pupils at Dinton CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Dinton CofE Primary School received £10,106 and spent £9,256 for each of its 68 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £71,000 (£1,038 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Acorn Education Trust, income was £8,177 and spending £8,032 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 Salisbury · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

Dinton CofE Primary School is part of Acorn Education Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Great Wishford CofE (VA) Primary School Salisbury
• Heytesbury Church of England Primary School Warminster
• St Michael's Church of England Primary School Salisbury
• Kingdown School Warminster
• St John's CofE School Warminster
• New Close Primary School Warminster
• The Avenue Primary School and Children's Centre Warminster
• Avon Valley Academy Salisbury
• Durrington All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infants' School Salisbury
• Bulford St Leonard's C of E (VA) Primary School Salisbury

What is Dinton CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dinton CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Dinton CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dinton CofE Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Dinton CofE Primary School have?

Dinton CofE Primary School has 66 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dinton CofE Primary School cover?

Dinton CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Dinton CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dinton CofE Primary School?

Dinton CofE Primary School is at Hindon Road, Dinton, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 5HW.