Mountjoy School
Mountjoy School is a council special school in Beaminster for boys and girls aged 4 to 19. It has 112 pupils, 2 more than it has places for. About 40 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 2022.
Tunnel Road, Beaminster, DT8 3HB01308 861155mountjoy.dorset.sch.ukMs Gillian Howard headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 15 November 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 21 October 2021 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
12 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
5 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | 57% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | 7% | 8% |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | – | 98.0 | – | – | – | – | 103.3 | 104.6 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
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. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, other needs, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, visual impairment.
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: Autistic spectrum disorder (67), Severe learning difficulty (27), Moderate learning difficulty (9), language and communications needs (6), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 112 | 112 | 105 | 102 | 101 | 94 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 38% | 40% | 40% | 39% | 35% | 38% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 6% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.8% | 8.0% | 8.9% | 10.7% | 14.5% | 6.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.1% | 7.5% | 8.2% | 9.6% | 13.4% | 5.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 24.5% | 27.5% | 31.4% | 32.9% | 52.6% | 17.9% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 10 pupils who left in 2019/20 were a year later.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaminster School | Christian | 760 m | 673 | Good 2023 | 55 | Compare |
| Beaminster St Mary's Academy | Academy | 820 m | 140 | Good 2023 | 33 | Compare |
| Parrett and Axe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | Church of England | 1.9 miles | 132 | Good 2022 | 60 | Compare |
| Broadwindsor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | Church of England | 2.3 miles | 93 | Requires improvement 2023 | 10 | Compare |
| Salway Ash Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | Church of England | 3.1 miles | 109 | Good 2023 | 40 | Compare |
| Horizons Therapeutic Education Trust | Free schools alternative provision | 3.6 miles | 11 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Maiden Beech Academy | Academy | 4.5 miles | 102 | Report card 2026 | 10 | Compare |
| St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School | Academy | 4.5 miles | 154 | Not inspected | 46 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Mountjoy School a good school?
Mountjoy School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in November 2022.
What is Mountjoy School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Mountjoy School good at its last full inspection on 15 November 2022.
How many pupils does Mountjoy School have?
112 pupils aged 4 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 110 places, so it is 102% full.
What is attendance like at Mountjoy School?
Pupils were in school 91.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Mountjoy School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, other needs, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Mountjoy School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Tunnel Road, Beaminster, DT8 3HB
- Telephone
- 01308 861155
- Website
- www.mountjoy.dorset.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Ms Gillian Howard
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 4-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- Beaminster
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 113957 · LAESTAB 8387007 · UKPRN 10016614
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- 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.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.