Official inspection reports and grades
Inspected 17 June 2025
School workforce census, 2025/26.
Ofsted’s survey of parents at this school
92%
of parents would recommend this school to another parent
38 responses up to 1 September 2025 · 56% response rate
My child is happy at this school.
95% agreeMy child feels safe at this school.
95% agreeThe school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.
89% agreeMy child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.
55% agreeThe school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.
97% agreeSturminster Marshall First School's last overall grade from Ofsted was Requires Improvement, on 30 November 2022. Ofsted inspected it again on 17 June 2025 without giving an overall grade, as single-word grades ended in September 2024.
Apply through the council where you live by 15 January for a Reception place starting that September. Children start Reception in the September after their fourth birthday. You can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference, and offers are sent on 16 April, or the next working day.
No. Distance only counts when Sturminster Marshall First School has more applicants than places. Then its admission criteria, set by the local authority, Dorset, decide who is offered a place first. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or a catchment area. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
Sturminster Marshall First School had 68 pupils aged 4 to 9 at the latest school census. Its official capacity is 148. It is a mixed school.
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