Harbour School Dorset
School Road, Bovington, BH20 6NU
- Phase
- Free Schools
- School type
- Free schools special
- Ages
- 10 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SOUTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Daniel Butt
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Delta Education Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- South Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 130
- Pupils on roll
- 145
- URN
- 147087
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01929508286
About this school
Harbour School Dorset is a special academy in Dorset. It teaches children aged 10 to 19 and has 145 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 10 | 9 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 10% | 44% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 22% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 33% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 89.0 | 96.0 |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 9 | 12 | 23 |
| Attainment 8 score | 3.0 | 5.6 | 3.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -2.61 -3.59 to -1.63 | -2.15 -3.20 to -1.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 16.7% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 16.7% | 4.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
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 Harbour School Dorset has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 5.6 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 3.9 | 35.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 31.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 31.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 81 |
| 2023/24 | 105 |
| 2024/25 | 140 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 49.58%
- English as an additional language
- 0.7%
- Overall absence
- 31.53%
- Persistent absence
- 65.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Employ My Ability (EMA) Ltd2.2 miles
Other types · Dorchester
-
Millie College7.7 miles
Other types · Holton Heath
-
The Luccombe Hub8.3 miles
Special schools · Blandford Forum
-
Graduately Developing Futures8.6 miles
Special schools · Dorset
-
Yarrells Preparatory School9.1 miles
Independent schools · Poole
Common questions
- What year groups does Harbour School Dorset teach?
- Harbour School Dorset teaches children aged 10 to 19. It is a special school in Dorset.
- Who is the headteacher of Harbour School Dorset?
- The headteacher of Harbour School Dorset is Mr Daniel Butt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Harbour School Dorset last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harbour School Dorset, 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 Harbour School Dorset?
- Harbour School Dorset has 145 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 10 to 19.
- Is Harbour School Dorset full?
- Harbour School Dorset has capacity for 130 pupils and 145 on roll (112%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Harbour School Dorset a faith school?
- No. Harbour School Dorset has no designated religious character.
- Is Harbour School Dorset a selective school?
- No. Harbour School Dorset is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Harbour School Dorset?
- Harbour School Dorset is part of SOUTHERN EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Harbour School Dorset have?
- The schools register lists Harbour School Dorset's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Harbour School Dorset's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2023/24 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 Harbour School Dorset's absence rate?
- Harbour School Dorset's overall absence rate is 31.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harbour School Dorset's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harbour School Dorset'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 10 July 2026.