Montacute School
3 Canford Heath Road, Poole, BH17 9NG
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 2 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MONTACUTE SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Ginny Bellard
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Mid Dorset and North Poole
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 98
- Pupils on roll
- 97
- URN
- 137286
- Local authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01202693239
About this school
Montacute School is a special academy in Poole. It teaches children aged 2 to 18 and has 97 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -8.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -7.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.90 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Montacute School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 56.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 58.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 59% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 90 |
| 2023/24 | 92 |
| 2024/25 | 92 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.33%
- English as an additional language
- 19.6%
- Overall absence
- 10.36%
- Persistent absence
- 30.26%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Longspee Academy0.8 miles
Academies · Poole
-
Winchelsea School2.2 miles
Special schools · Poole
-
The Lion Works School2.3 miles
Special schools · Poole
-
The Quay School2.3 miles
Academies · Poole
-
South West Regional Assessment Centre2.3 miles
Other types · Wimborne
Other schools in Poole
- Langside School Special schools
- Longspee Academy Academies
- The Lion Works School Special schools
- The Quay School Academies
- The White House School Special schools
- Victoria Education Centre Special schools
- Winchelsea School Special schools
- Ad Astra Infant School Primary
- Baden-Powell and St Peter's Church of England Junior School Primary
- Bayside Academy Primary
- Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Canford Heath Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Montacute School teach?
- Montacute School teaches children aged 2 to 18. It is a special school in Poole.
- Who is the headteacher of Montacute School?
- The headteacher of Montacute School is Mrs Ginny Bellard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Montacute School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Montacute School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Montacute School?
- Montacute School has 97 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 18.
- Is Montacute School full?
- Montacute School has capacity for 98 pupils and 97 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Montacute School a faith school?
- No. Montacute School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Montacute School?
- Montacute School is part of MONTACUTE SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Montacute School have?
- The schools register lists Montacute School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Montacute School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Montacute School's absence rate?
- Montacute School's overall absence rate is 10.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Montacute School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Montacute School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.