Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available

St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

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

personHeadteacher Jo Hudson

corporate_fareTHE HEATH ACADEMY TRUST

location_onFordingbridge, SP6 3AJ

language Visit Website phone 1425653063

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2017

groups

Students

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Demand Ratio

1.0x

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St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt is a Academy converter primary school in Fordingbridge, serving ages 2-9. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt is an academy converter in Fordingbridge, Dorset, admitting pupils aged 2-9. It is part of THE HEATH ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 125 pupils on roll, of whom 17% are eligible for free school meals.

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

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

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 18.7:1. 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

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

14 March 2023

Inspection Report

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22 November 2017

Inspection Report

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08 December 2015

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2017-11-22

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2013-10-10

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2010-11-03

None EIF

Outstanding

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 125 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	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	125	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	115	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	113	0	0.0%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	104	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	97	0	0.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	103	0	0.0%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	97	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	96	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	104	1	1.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	102	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	94	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	100	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	93	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	94	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	109	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	109	2	1.8%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	106	4	3.8%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	73	2	2.7%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	73	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	72	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	77	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	74	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	73	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	84	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	78	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	79	3	3.8%	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.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 2 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils

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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.

98.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

95.0%Positive

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

9.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree57%

agree40%

strongly disagree2%

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

strongly agree55%

agree33%

disagree7%

strongly disagree2%

don't know2%

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

strongly agree38%

agree24%

disagree7%

not applicable31%

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.

strongly agree48%

agree33%

disagree7%

don't know12%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree64%

agree31%

strongly disagree2%

don't know2%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree43%

agree38%

disagree19%

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

strongly agree60%

agree33%

disagree2%

don't know5%

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

strongly agree60%

agree38%

don't know2%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree60%

agree36%

disagree5%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes93%

no7%

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School Summary

Academic Performance

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)

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