Orchard Junior School

New Forest · SO45 4SB

General information Junior School · 7-11 years Who goes here 355 pupils, 17.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 17.5% on SEN support Behaviour 4.1% absence rate Staff 6.3% turnover Financials £6,023 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Orchard Junior School

General Information

Address: Water Lane, Dibden Purlieu, Southampton, SO45 4SB – View on map
Phone: 02380843162
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Carol Taylor
Age range: 7-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

355 pupils out of 360 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 61
% eligible for free school meals: 17.2%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the New Forest average)
English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.3% a year (New Forest 14.6%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 59% moved to another school, 41% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Hampshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 15 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 16 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Hampshire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 5.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 27 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card May 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 64% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: in line with the New Forest average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 61% against an expected 63%)
3-year average (expected standard): 61%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 70% · Writing 73% · Maths 80% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 71%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 105
Based on: 89 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolNew Forest averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was in line with the New Forest average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 18th of 35 junior and primary schools in the area

#16Blackfield Primary and Nursery School66%
#17Western Downland Church of England Aided Primary School65%
=18Orchard Junior School64%
=18Tiptoe Primary School64%
#20Beaulieu Village Primary School63%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School - the Learning Federation Partnership of Schools93%
#2Breamore Church of England Primary School83%
#3St Luke's Church of England Primary School82%
=4Brockenhurst Church of England Primary School & Pre-School81%
=4Lymington Junior School81%
#6Hordle CofE (VA) Primary School76%
#7Wildground Junior School75%
#8Cadland Primary School73%
#9Oakfield Academy71%
=10Bransgore Church of England Primary School70%
=10Marchwood Junior School70%
#12Hale Primary School69%
=13Foxhills Junior School68%
=13New Milton Junior School68%
=13Poulner Junior School68%
#16Blackfield Primary and Nursery School66%
#17Western Downland Church of England Aided Primary School65%
=18Orchard Junior School64%
=18Tiptoe Primary School64%
#20Beaulieu Village Primary School63%
=21Bartley Church of England Junior School62%
=21Fordingbridge Junior School62%
=21Hythe Primary School62%
=21Milford-on-Sea Church of England Primary School62%
=21Ringwood Junior School62%
#26Abbotswood Junior School60%
=27Calmore Junior School58%
=27William Gilpin Church of England Primary School58%
#29Waterside Primary School57%
=30Ashley Junior School56%
=30South Baddesley Church of England Primary School & Nursery56%
=32Burley Primary School50%
=32Hyde Church of England Primary School50%
#34Pennington Church of England Primary School48%
#35Sopley Primary School38%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,023 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

11th of 13 junior schools in New Forest for spending per pupil

#9Foxhills Junior School£6,500
#10New Milton Junior School£6,467
#11Orchard Junior School£6,023
#12Abbotswood Junior School£5,845
#13Lymington Junior School£5,815

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Wildground Junior School£7,902
#2Ashley Junior School£7,626
#3Marchwood Junior School£7,115
#4Bartley Church of England Junior School£7,033
#5Calmore Junior School£6,895
#6Ringwood Junior School£6,717
#7Fordingbridge Junior School£6,677
#8Poulner Junior School£6,548
#9Foxhills Junior School£6,500
#10New Milton Junior School£6,467
#11Orchard Junior School£6,023
#12Abbotswood Junior School£5,845
#13Lymington Junior School£5,815

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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