Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular

St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester

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

personMrs Paula Fearn

corporate_farePLYMOUTH CAST

location_onDorchester, DT1 2DD

language Visit Website phone 1305262258

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2017

groups

Students

190

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.5x

summarize

St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester is a Academy converter primary school in Dorchester, serving ages 2-9. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.5×) — apply through your local authority on time.

article

School Summary

St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester is an academy converter in Dorchester, Dorset, admitting pupils aged 2-9. It is part of PLYMOUTH CAST. The school has approximately 174 pupils on roll, of whom 9% are eligible for free school meals.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2017. The school's current overall rating is Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.5× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 22.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.3 per 1,000 pupils per term.

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

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

10 January 2023

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

25 January 2017

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

03 April 2014

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2017-01-25

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2010-07-13

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2007-06-20

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

0.6%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.6%(1 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 174 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.6%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	174	1	0.6%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	173	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	183	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	182	1	0.5%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	178	1	0.6%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	192	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	190	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	183	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	189	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	186	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	174	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	187	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	187	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	173	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	180	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	180	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	179	1	0.6%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	150	3	2.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	150	3	2.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	147	1	0.7%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	151	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	150	1	0.7%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	153	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	156	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	155	1	0.6%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	154	3	1.9%	0.5%

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

accessibility_new

psychology_alt

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.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 8 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 6 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

100.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

100.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

6.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree80%

agree20%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree83%

agree17%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree56%

agree8%

disagree3%

not applicable32%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes19%

no81%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree73%

agree18%

disagree9%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree64%

agree31%

disagree2%

strongly disagree2%

don't know2%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree75%

agree24%

disagree2%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree54%

agree37%

disagree7%

don't know2%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree69%

agree27%

disagree2%

don't know2%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree75%

agree20%

disagree2%

strongly disagree2%

don't know2%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree80%

agree19%

don't know2%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes100%

Top Primary Schools in Dorset

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Bovington Academy

Good

location_on Wareham, BH20 6LE

emoji_events #1 in LA

St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Weymouth, DT3 5DQ

emoji_events #2 in LA

Conifers Primary School

Good

location_on Weymouth, DT4 0QF

emoji_events #3 in LA

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage

Good

location_on Swanage, BH19 1QE

emoji_events #4 in LA

Trent Young's CofE Primary School

Good

location_on Sherborne, DT9 4SW

emoji_events #5 in LA

St Ives Primary & Nursery School

Outstanding

location_on Ringwood, BH24 2LE

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Dorset arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Roman Catholic)

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)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

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