Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Voluntary aided school·Primary school Wareham, Dorset·BH20 7BN
Composite score
40.9
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#10,655
National rank
#1083
In South West
#56
In Dorset
Top 72%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
54%
% achieving higher RWM
5%
Reading average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Early years provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
31 first choices, 34 places
First choices per place
0.91
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
72
any preference, for 34 places
Applications from another council area
8%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.02
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0020221.0020231.0020240.9320250.912026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
4–11
Pupils on roll
366
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.6%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
3.0%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.4%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
2.2%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.1%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
16.5%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
23.1
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£5,822
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

School overview

Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a primary school serving Wareham, Dorset, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Church of England religious character. It has 366 pupils aged 4 to 11 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School 'Good'. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 54% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — below the national average of 61%. That marks an improvement of 15.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 104 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 5% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 31 families who put it first were offered a place. Overall pupil absence was 6.1%. There are about 23.1 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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