St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery
Primary · Academy converter · Mixed · Dorset
Station Road, Ferndown, BH22 0JF
–
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 23/04/2025
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
95.2%
12.2% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
148
Capacity used
Has space80%
184 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
16 of 16 families who put it first got an offer
21
Places offered
52
Total applications
2.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 16 | 16 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 20 | 5 | ● 25% |
| 3rd preference | 16 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 52 | 21 | 40% |
1st preference success by year
Dorset lets families list 3 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 2–9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Laura Crossley
- Address
- Station Road, West Moors, Ferndown, BH22 0JF
- Phone
- 01202874838
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward / constituency
- West Moors & Three Legged Cross · Christchurch
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 142514
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 17% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 2% | — | — |
| SEN support | 15% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE HEATH ACADEMY TRUST
148 pupils · 184 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
23 April 2025
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessEarly years Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good - 23
19 October 2023
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 98 pupils
Attendance
95.2%
Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%
Overall absence
4.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%
Persistent absence
12.2%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%
Severe absence
0.0%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.1%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Dorset council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.