Dorking Nursery School, Dorking
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 5 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Dorking Nursery School is exceptionally inclusive and caring, making a real difference to every child's development, especially those with additional needs or disadvantages. Staff build warm relationships with children and skillfully support their learning across all areas, from early reading and maths to social and emotional skills. Parents consistently praise the school as a 'life-changing' place where their children thrive with confidence and grow into kind, well-behaved learners.
Key Strengths
- All children, including those with SEND and disadvantaged children, make excellent progress across all areas of learning
- Children behave extremely well in a warm, secure environment with clear expectations and routines
- Highly inclusive approach with specialist support and individualised care that parents describe as 'life-changing'
- Strong leadership and governance that maintains high-quality training and responds effectively to the school's rapid growth
- Children develop confidence, independence and strong social skills through well-planned activities
Areas for Improvement
- Sometimes staff are unclear about what they want children to learn through specific activities, which means opportunities are missed to build children's knowledge and vocabulary consistently well
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - the school has created an open and positive culture of safeguarding where all legal requirements are met and children feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Visits to local care home
Dorking Nursery School is a highly inclusive nursery that consistently helps all children make impressive progress in their learning and development. The school maintains a nurturing, happy environment where children feel valued and behave extremely well.
At a Glance
7.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Dorking
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Dorking
Admissions Demand - Surrey
Places available
12,562
Applications
12,278
Got 1st preference
80.6%
Got preferred school
95.3%
Secondary admissions across Surrey (2025/26)
Inspection History(7)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
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