Harbour Vale School
Harbour Vale School is an academy alternative provision sponsor led in Sherborne for boys and girls aged 5 to 16. It has 23 pupils and room for 38. About 70 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Simons Road, Sherborne, DT9 4DN01935 814582harbourvale.dorset.sch.ukMrs Kelly Knight headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 30 April 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Dorset council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 34 pupils, for autism, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Dorset with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (10), Specific learning difficulty (4), language and communications needs (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 23 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 17 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 70% | 61% | 75% | 33% | 58% | 65% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 44% | 50% | 67% | 42% | 77% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 6% | 0% | 33% | 58% | 24% |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 8 pupils who left in 2021/22 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers |
|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 50% | 71% |
| Education | 50% | 43% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 14% |
| Work | 0% | 14% |
| Not in education, work or training | 38% | 29% |
Staff
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherborne Primary School | Academy | 130 m | 304 | Report card 2026 | 9 | Compare |
| The Gryphon School | Academy | 530 m | 1,569 | Good 2023 | 47 | Compare |
| Sherborne School | Independent (grammar) | 810 m | 538 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Sherborne Preparatory School | Independent | 850 m | 204 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Sherborne School for Girls | Independent (grammar) | 0.7 miles | 456 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 336 | Report card 2026 | 19 | Compare |
| Milborne Port Primary School | Academy | 2.6 miles | 169 | Good 2024 | – | Compare |
| Trent Young's CofE Primary School | Academy | 3.1 miles | 143 | Not inspected | 90 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Harbour Vale School a good school?
Harbour Vale School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in April 2024.
What is Harbour Vale School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Harbour Vale School good at its last full inspection on 30 April 2024.
How many pupils does Harbour Vale School have?
23 pupils aged 5 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 38 places, so it is 61% full.
Does Harbour Vale School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for autism, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Harbour Vale School have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Simons Road, Sherborne, DT9 4DN
- Telephone
- 01935 814582
- Website
- harbourvale.dorset.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kelly Knight
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Academy alternative provision sponsor led (Academy alternative provision sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 5-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Sherborne Area Schools' Trust (18 schools)
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- Sherborne East
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 November 2019 (new provision)
- URN
- 146958 · LAESTAB 8381107 · UKPRN 10083919
- Formerly
- Sherborne Learning Centre
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.