Dorchester St Birinus Church of England School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
68
AGES
4 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Voluntary controlled school
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
01865 815175

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(11/06/2019)
Full Report - All Reports
57%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
Queen Street
Dorchester
Wallingford
OX10 7HR
01865340081

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. As headteacher, you provide clear-sighted and purposeful leadership to drive forward improvements. You, your staff and governors are very ambitious for the pupils in your care. You have an accurate understanding of the school’s overall performance and the standards achieved by pupils. This is because you have a range of well-understood processes for checking what is happening in school. All staff and governors are working hard to live up to the school’s vision, ‘inspiring one another to be the best we can be as a learning community’. Staff morale is high and there is a strong sense of teamwork that permeates the school. All members of staff who responded to the staff questionnaire agreed that the school is well led and managed. You and your staff at all levels share a passion for successfully providing a curriculum that develops pupils’ life experiences. You have developed a school culture which is positive, calm and aspirational for all pupils. Throughout my visit, pupils were welcoming, polite and well mannered. Pupils collaborate well in lessons and show respect for all the adults that work with them. Pupils are proud of their school, describing it as ‘fun’, ‘friendly’ and ‘homely’. There are high levels of pastoral care that enable pupils to learn together and thrive. One pupil told me: ‘Our teachers are lovely and really helpful. We all work hard together.’ At the time of the last inspection inspectors highlighted good teaching, strong and supportive challenge from governors and effective systems to check on pupils’ progress. These aspects remain strengths. Inspectors asked you to improve pupils’ achievement in reading by emphasising the importance of regular reading at home and encouraging parents to listen to their children reading at home. Your work in this area has been effective, and pupils talked enthusiastically about reading. You and your staff have created a reading strategy which promotes a love of reading and sets challenges for all children to aspire to. Pupils told me how they are encouraged to read widely, exploring a range of genres and authors. As a consequence, you are ensuring that more pupils are making better progress, and achieving higher standards, in reading. You and your staff are proficient in identifying how to improve pupils’ progress. Pupils make good progress overall in reading, writing and mathematics, but there are inconsistencies in the quality of challenge in some classes, particularly for the most able. You have correctly identified that teaching needs to be more challenging in order for pupils to make more progress. Safeguarding is effective. You, together with governors and the wider community, share a strong and effective culture of safeguarding in the school. Working together, you have made it a priority to create a safe and secure environment in which for pupils to learn and play. For example, the pupils told me that the new school gates help protect them from harm and keep them safe. Record-keeping is detailed, and all actions are followed up meticulously. Precise and detailed procedures ensure that school staff are properly vetted before they work at the school. All school staff receive timely and good-quality training to ensure that they are confident in applying the school’s policies and guidance in relation to child protection. There are effective relationships with other agencies to ensure that pupils are safe and well looked after. You encourage your pupils, and know them well. They are proud to be part of the ‘Dorchester St Birinus community’. As a result, the vast majority of parents who completed the online questionnaire agree that their children are well cared for and feel safe. One parent commented: ‘A very special school, where each child seems to be well known to staff, and where everyone is encouraged to grow in confidence.’ Inspection findings At the start of the inspection we agreed to look at the effectiveness of safeguarding, how effectively you have improved the progress of most-able pupils in mathematics, the teaching of reading, and the progress pupils make in writing at key stage 2. My first line of enquiry focused on the progress of most-able pupils in mathematics. In 2016 and 2017 the proportion of pupils that achieved the higher scores in mathematics at key stage 1 was below the national average, and pupils’ progress in key stage 2 had declined. Leaders reorganised the mathematics curriculum and raised expectations among the staff. Teachers have devised a greater range of tasks that focus on developing pupils’ reasoning and problemsolving skills. These activities are encouraging pupils to develop their mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding. For example, in a mixed Year 1 and 2 class pupils were using their knowledge of multiplication and fractions to work out written problems. In 2018, the proportion of pupils that achieved the higher scores at key stage 1 and key stage 2 was above the national average. Current pupils’ books illustrate that regular problem-solving activities now form a part of the mathematics work to help pupils apply their understanding to real-life contexts. You and your team have identified that further work is needed to challenge the most able pupils in mathematics, and to enable them to have a deep understanding and reach high standards. We examined ways in which you had developed writing. In 2017, pupils’ progress in writing had decreased from previous years. Leaders subsequently reorganised the writing curriculum and raised expectations among staff. Your staff have selected a range of topics that enthuse pupils, inspiring them to want to write, and pupils told me that they love their ‘big writing’ sessions. Pupils are now making stronger progress because teachers have put these higher expectations into practice. You are working to improve further the attendance of pupils, including meeting with parents when their children’s attendance has been poor. Records show that, because of your actions, the proportions of pupils who are persistently absent has fallen. Despite this, progress to improve overall attendance is slow, and you are far from satisfied that overall attendance is below the national average. You are continuing to work sensitively with families so that pupils can attend more regularly and maximise their time at school. At the time of the last inspection reading was identified as an area for improvement, and you have worked hard to increase the progress pupils make. You use a range of strategies to develop pupils’ reading skills for meaning and comprehension, for example the ‘Dorchester St Birinus kung fu’ reading programme is resulting in a greater number of pupils achieving the expected standards at key stage 1 and key stage 2. The teaching of phonics is effective and is leading to pupils becoming confident, fluent and expressive readers. You have given thoughtful consideration to planning the curriculum so that pupils acquire skills and knowledge across a range of subjects. Staff provide pupils with the chance to explore the world around them. These experiences help to improve their reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils told me they enjoy the range of topics that they study, for example the history of the local community, the forest school, and countries around the world. The curriculum is enhanced by extracurricular clubs, including drama, choir and hockey. These contribute to pupils’ well-rounded education.

Dorchester St Birinus Church of England School Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>68, "agree"=>24, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>84, "agree"=>11, "disagree"=>0, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>59, "agree"=>30, "disagree"=>5, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>5} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>59, "agree"=>30, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>3, "dont_know"=>5} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>54, "agree"=>38, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>41, "agree"=>38, "disagree"=>19, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>24, "agree"=>57, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>5} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>22, "agree"=>43, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>27} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>51, "agree"=>32, "disagree"=>5, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>5} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>46, "agree"=>43, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>8, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>51, "agree"=>43, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>3} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019
Yes No {"yes"=>89, "no"=>11} UNLOCK Figures based on 37 responses up to 12-06-2019

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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