Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School
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Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School is a Church of England school (voluntary aided) in Dorchester for boys and girls aged 3 to 9. It has 60 pupils and room for 90. About 13 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 19 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 29% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in January 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Winterbourne Abbas, Dorchester, DT2 9LW01305 889297winterbournevalley.dorset.sch.ukMrs Emma Sleightholme executive headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 27 January 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 July 2023 | S5 Inspection | Requires improvement |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
22 places were empty (25% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 6% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
The last child to get a place lived 3.5 miles away in 2020. 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 2020. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 3.5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Primary | 15 | 15 | 26 | 15 | 3.5 miles | LA |
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 38 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for primary schools with enough answers to publish.
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 15.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (7), language and communications needs (7), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Physical disability (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 60 | 65 | 57 | 69 | 70 | 74 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 13% | 5% | 9% | 12% | 16% | 14% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 8% | 3% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 9% | 19% | 20% | 19% | 22% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.7% 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 | 4.3% | 4.6% | 5.9% | 3.9% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.0% | 3.3% | 4.3% | 3.4% | 2.5% | 2.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 12.3% | 7.3% | 13.3% | 6.5% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.5 | 5.3 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 1.4 | – | – |
| 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 council school accounts, year to March 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portesham Church of England Primary School | Academy | 3.1 miles | 46 | No overall grade 2025 | 10 | Compare |
| Damers First School | Academy | 3.4 miles | 475 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| The Prince of Wales School | Council | 3.8 miles | 156 | No overall grade 2025 | 55 | Compare |
| St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster | Academy | 3.9 miles | 148 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Dorchester Middle School | Academy | 4.0 miles | 527 | Report card 2026 | 20 | Compare |
| Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney | Church of England | 4.3 miles | 115 | No overall grade 2024 | 78 | Compare |
| St Osmund's Church of England Middle School | Academy | 4.8 miles | 714 | Good 2022 | 55 | Compare |
| St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester | Academy | 4.8 miles | 177 | Good 2023 | 42 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School with the 48 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 48 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 19 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 19% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 8 to 42. 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 | -0.43 | Ofsted report card, 0.6 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.15 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | +0.07 | 2024/25; 57 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 5% | above | +0.08 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 38 responses |
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 Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School a good school?
The figures are weak. Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School scores 19 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 29% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 8 to 42, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 27 January 2026 it rated teaching as needs attention, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.
How many pupils does Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School have?
60 pupils aged 3 to 9 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 90 places, so it is 67% full.
Is Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2020 the last place went to a child living 3.5 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 Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School?
Pupils were in school 95.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 12% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School?
97% of the 38 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 95% say their child is happy there. Across England, 87% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School?
The average class had 20.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
- Winterbourne Abbas, Dorchester, DT2 9LW
- Telephone
- 01305 889297
- Website
- www.winterbournevalley.dorset.sch.uk
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Emma Sleightholme
- Type of school
- Church of England school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-9, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Salisbury
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- Winterborne & Broadmayne
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 113820 · LAESTAB 8383377 · UKPRN 10080158
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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Dorset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2020.
- 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.