West Moors Middle School, Ferndown
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Overall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
West Moors Middle School excels at supporting all pupils to belong and thrive, particularly those with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils. Staff are highly ambitious for every child and use their knowledge of individual pupils to meet their needs effectively. The school provides extensive opportunities for personal development, leadership, and enrichment activities that help pupils build confidence and develop important life skills.
Key Strengths
- Excellent support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities - staff are well-trained and pupils make good progress
- Strong personal development programme that builds character, confidence and leadership skills through meaningful responsibilities
- Highly effective safeguarding culture where all pupils feel safe and staff actively manage concerns
- Very effective careers education tailored to local context and pupils' aspirations
- Strong focus on inclusion ensuring disadvantaged pupils access the same enrichment opportunities as their peers
Areas for Improvement
- Pupil attendance remains below the national average, though it is improving - leaders should continue efforts to reduce absence further
- Some teaching does not focus sharply enough on the most important knowledge in certain subjects, meaning pupils do not deepen understanding as well as they could
- Achievement comparisons with national averages do not fully reflect the school's progress due to high proportion of pupils with SEND
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and all concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed, resulting in pupils feeling safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports, musical instruments, drama performances, forest school, yoga club, model making club, visits to places of historical interest, work with professional artists, leadership roles (school councillor, learning ambassador), charity events
West Moors Middle School is rated as meeting expected standards overall, with particular strengths in inclusion, personal development, and safeguarding. The school effectively supports pupils with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils to thrive and progress well.
At a Glance
37.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 78% to 60%. Maths has remained stable at around 54%. Writing has declined from 71% to 61%.
Class Sizes
21.5
Avg class size
11
Total classes
3 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
94%
Near capacity
240 pupils
256 capacity
16 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Ferndown
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Ferndown
Admissions Demand - Dorset
Places available
2,822
Applications
2,234
Got 1st preference
96.1%
Got preferred school
98.4%
Secondary admissions across Dorset (2025/26)
Inspection History(109)
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.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.32087%
Overall absence
27.80083%
Persistent absence
241
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
West Moors Middle School
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