Oakhurst Community First School
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Oakhurst Community First School is a converter academy in Ferndown for boys and girls aged 5 to 9. It has 173 pupils and room for 209. About 21 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 26 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 16% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Shaftesbury Road, West Moors, Ferndown, BH22 0DY01202 871577oakhurstfirst.comMrs Ann Clark headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 14 April 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2021 | S5 Inspection | Good |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
About 10 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
The last child to get a place lived 1.2 miles away in 2026. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 1.2 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 30 | 31 | 59 | 30 | 1.2 miles | LA |
What a home within 1.2 miles of the school costs
Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.5 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (24), emotional and mental health (12), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3), Specific learning difficulty (2), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Moderate learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 173 | 175 | 168 | 179 | 173 | 159 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 21% | 21% | 24% | 25% | 23% | 25% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 5% | 5% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 16% | 13% | 16% | 14% | 18% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.8% 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 | 5.2% | 5.0% | 7.6% | 7.8% | 3.2% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.5% | 3.7% | 5.3% | 6.2% | 2.1% | 3.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.7% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 14.7% | 13.9% | 19.0% | 22.2% | 8.2% | 14.9% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 4.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.3 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary 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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Moors Middle School | Council | 380 m | 240 | Report card 2026 | 49 | Compare |
| St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery | Academy | 0.6 miles | 148 | No overall grade 2025 | 54 | Compare |
| Ferndown Middle School | Academy | 1.7 miles | 600 | Good 2023 | 56 | Compare |
| Ferndown First School | Academy | 1.7 miles | 348 | Good 2023 | 26 | Compare |
| Parley First School | Academy | 2.2 miles | 313 | Good 2023 | 39 | Compare |
| Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School | Academy | 2.2 miles | 84 | Good 2023 | 21 | Compare |
| St Ives Primary & Nursery School | Academy | 2.6 miles | 245 | Outstanding 2023 | 99 | Compare |
| Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First School | Academy | 3.0 miles | 134 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Oakhurst Community First School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 26 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 26% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 11 to 53. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | below | -0.29 | Ofsted report card, 0.4 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.01 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.01 | 2024/25; 116 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Oakhurst Community First School a good school?
The figures are weak. Oakhurst Community First School scores 26 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 16% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 11 to 53, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Oakhurst Community First School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 14 April 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.
How many pupils does Oakhurst Community First School have?
173 pupils aged 5 to 9 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 209 places, so it is 83% full.
Is Oakhurst Community First School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 1.2 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Oakhurst Community First School?
Pupils were in school 94.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 15% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Oakhurst Community First School?
The average class had 28.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 17% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Shaftesbury Road, West Moors, Ferndown, BH22 0DY
- Telephone
- 01202 871577
- Website
- www.oakhurstfirst.com
- Headteacher
- Mrs Ann Clark
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 5-9, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Heath Academy Trust (6 schools)
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- West Moors & Three Legged Cross
- Constituency
- Christchurch
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 December 2015 (academy converter)
- URN
- 142500 · LAESTAB 8382053 · UKPRN 10054998
- Formerly
- Oakhurst Community First School
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.
- 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.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Dorset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- 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.