West Moors

Summary

West Moors (E02004248) is part of Dorset local authority (view on map). West Moors has an approximate population of 7,300 people, of which 10% are children 15 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

West Moors neighbours West Verwood, St Leonards, Sturminster Marshall & Crichel, Ferndown Town, and Ferndown West & Canford Bottom.

Headlines

  • 3% of pupils have a first language known or believed to be other than English, placing it in the bottom 10% of all areas in England – see more.
Guidance and data sources

Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.

The data displayed is sourced from:

Deprivation

West Moors is the 16th least deprived area in Dorset (out of 48) with 25% of children living in low-income families, compared to 29% across Dorset and 38% nationally.

Data source

State-funded pupil characteristics

Information acquired from the school census.

Free school meals

In West Moors, 22% of state-funded pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 21% in Dorset and 27% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

Table showing the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

% in West Moors % in Dorset % in England
Eligible for free school meals 22% 21% 27%
Not eligible for free school meals 78% 79% 73%

Data source

Special educational needs

In West Moors, 21% of pupils in state-funded settings have special educational needs (SEN), compared to 22% in Dorset, and 19% nationally.

This includes the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan and the number of pupils with SEN support.

Contents

Percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

Table showing the percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

% in West Moors % in Dorset % in England
No special educational needs 79% 78% 81%
Receiving special educational needs support 15% 16% 14%
With an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) 6% 6% 5%

Data source

Ethnicity

In West Moors, 7% of pupils are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 8% in Dorset, and 33% nationally.

Percentages may not sum to 100%, due to small values being suppressed.

Contents

Percentage of pupils by major ethnic groups

Table

% in West Moors % in Dorset % in England
White 92% 92% 67%
Asian – 2% 14%
Black – 1% 7%
Mixed 5% 3% 7%
Other 0% 1% 3%
Not known – 1% 2%

Data source

English as an additional language

The percentage of pupils in West Moors with English as an additional language is 3%, compared with 6% in Dorset, and 22% nationally.

Numbers may not sum to 100%, due to a small number of pupils with an unclassified language.

3% of pupils have a first language known or believed to be other than English, placing it in the bottom 10% of all areas in England.

Contents

Percentage of pupils with English as an additional language

Table

% in West Moors % in Dorset % in England
Known or believed to be other than English 3% 6% 22%
Known or believed to be English 97% 94% 78%

Data source

Provider information

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Registered childcare providers

West Moors has 3 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in West Moors
All childcare providers 3
Childminders 1
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 2

There have been no inspections of childcare providers in West Moors since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Data source

State-funded schools

West Moors has 3 state-funded schools.

Type Number in West Moors
All state-funded schools 3
Nursery schools 0
Primary and all-through schools 2
Secondary and all-through schools 1
Special schools 0
Registered alternative provision 0

In West Moors, there has been 1 full inspection of schools since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Under the renewed education inspection framework, schools are evaluated on the following areas:

  • Achievement
  • Attendance and behaviour
  • Curriculum and teaching
  • Early years (where applicable)
  • Inclusion
  • Leadership and governance
  • Personal development and wellbeing
  • Post 16 provision (where applicable)

The evaluation scale for each evaluation area, other than safeguarding, is:

  • Exceptional
  • Strong standard
  • Expected standard
  • Needs attention
  • Urgent improvement

Achievement: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Attendance and behaviour: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Curriculum and teaching: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Early years: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Inclusion: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Personal development and wellbeing: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Post-16 provision: There have been no inspections of Post-16 provision in West Moors so no outcomes are available for this area.

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of state-funded schools in West Moors. The tables are split by provider type, and show the number of inspections that have taken place for each area, and the outcomes of those inspections.

Contents

All schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Attendance and behaviour 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Early years 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 1 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0
Personal development and wellbeing 1 0 0 1 0 0
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Nursery schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Attendance and behaviour 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Early years 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal development and wellbeing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Primary schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Attendance and behaviour 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Early years 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 1 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0
Personal development and wellbeing 1 0 0 1 0 0
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Secondary schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Attendance and behaviour 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Early years 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal development and wellbeing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Special schools

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Attendance and behaviour 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Early years 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal development and wellbeing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Registered alternative provision

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Attendance and behaviour 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Early years 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 0 0 0 0 0 0
Personal development and wellbeing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Post-16 provision 0 0 0 0 0 0

Data sources: