Ferndown First School

Primary · state · ages 4–9 · 348 pupils · BH22 9FB · SOUTHERN EDUCATION TRUST

GoodOfstedInspected Nov 2023

0.8Applications per placeFirst choices, Reception 2026

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18.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Ofsted: School remains Good at an ungraded inspection

No published 2024/25 results for this school.

How hard is it to get in?

For Reception in September 2026, 76 families put it first for 89 places (0.8 first choices per place). 100% of the families who put it first got a place.

Entry	Places	First choices	Per place	First choices offered a place
Reception, 2024	76	58	0.8	100%
Reception, 2025	69	60	0.9	100%
Reception, 2026	89	76	0.8	100%

Money

£6,497spent per pupil (typical primary £7,238)

83%of spending on staff, 51% on teachers

£48krevenue reserve (2.2% of a year's income)

−£140kdeficit in the year

Income £2.2m, spending £2.3m (September 2024 to August 2025, 360 pupils).

Run by Castleman Academy Trust, a trust of 5 academies and 2,186 pupils. The trust holds reserves of £926k, 6% of its income. Its accounts at Companies House.

Living near Ferndown First School

The school is in Ferndown West & Canford Bottom. Would you like living there? · What homes cost · Best roads in Dorset

Homes and sales at BH22 9FB · Ferndown West & Canford Bottom: prices, crime and schools · Other schools within 5 km

Where to live near this school → every neighbourhood within 5 km, ranked on closeness, safety, safer roads and value

About these figures

Applications per place are first choices. They are national offer day figures; places can change later through waiting lists and appeals.
Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place. Admissions are set by the council or the school, and rules such as catchment, siblings and faith decide who gets in: check its admissions policy and how far away the last places went in recent years.
Spending per pupil mostly follows funding for deprivation, special needs and London weighting, so higher isn't the same as better. Small schools and sixth forms cost more per pupil.

Department for Education performance data 2024/25 and register of schools; Ofsted inspections to August 2026. Open Government Licence. Applications: DfE applications and offers. Money: Department for Education academies accounts return, 2024-25; Open Government Licence.

Loading school…

Entry

Places

First choices

Per place

First choices offered a place

Reception, 2024

0.8

100%

Reception, 2025

0.9

100%

Reception, 2026

0.8

100%

Money

£6,497spent per pupil (typical primary £7,238)

83%of spending on staff, 51% on teachers

£48krevenue reserve (2.2% of a year's income)

−£140kdeficit in the year

Income £2.2m, spending £2.3m (September 2024 to August 2025, 360 pupils).

Run by Castleman Academy Trust, a trust of 5 academies and 2,186 pupils. The trust holds reserves of £926k, 6% of its income. Its accounts at Companies House.