Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #27 in Dorset public Top 42% UK

Symondsbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Emma Roberts

location_onBridport, DT6 6HD

language Visit Website phone 1308423502

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

104

school

Expected Standard

67%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Symondsbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Bridport, serving ages 4-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 42% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Symondsbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Bridport, Dorset, admitting pupils aged 4-11. The school has approximately 105 pupils on roll, of whom 12% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 67% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 17% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #27 of 78 primaries in Dorset and #8,403 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Outstanding, personal development Outstanding, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 19.1:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 54%

Reading83% LA 71%

Writing67% LA 67%

Maths75% LA 68%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

38%

LA 53%England 61%

Reading75% LA 72% · Eng 74%

Writing50% LA 66% · Eng 72%

Maths56% LA 65% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 53%England 60%

Reading93% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing73% LA 67% · Eng 71%

Maths80% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.2

Read

LA 0.0

0.0 to 6.4

0.3

Write

LA -0.8

-2.8 to 3.3

-0.6

Maths

LA -1.3

-3.6 to 2.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 60%England 65%

Reading69% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Writing77% LA 75% · Eng 78%

Maths69% LA 74% · Eng 79%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.2

Read

LA -0.3

-3.5 to 3.2

-0.8

Write

LA -0.5

-3.9 to 2.3

-2.2

Maths

LA -1.1

-5.1 to 0.7

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 58%

Reading67% LA 73%

Writing72% LA 73%

Maths72% LA 69%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.1

Read

LA -0.3

-4 to 1.8

-0.7

Write

LA -0.5

-3.4 to 2

-1

Maths

LA -1.2

-3.7 to 1.7

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 May 2025

Inspection Report

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10 March 2020

Inspection Report

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31 October 2017

Inspection Report

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16 July 2013

Inspection Report

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09 December 2009

Inspection Report

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19 September 2006

Inspection Report

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05 February 2001

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-05-07

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Outstanding

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

2020-03-10

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

2017-10-31

S5 Inspection Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2013-07-16

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 105 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	105	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	105	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	103	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	104	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	105	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	103	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	104	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	105	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	107	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	108	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	110	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	105	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	106	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	105	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	105	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	105	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	105	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	108	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	108	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	106	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	111	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	108	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	109	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	103	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	102	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	103	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 12 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 3 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 2 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1 pupils

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Symondsbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Dorset

Bovington Academy

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School

Conifers Primary School

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage

Trent Young's CofE Primary School

St Ives Primary & Nursery School