Southsea Infant School, Southsea

Ofsted's report card from its 23 June 2026 inspection grades Southsea Infant School on 7 areas: 5 expected standard and 2 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Most pupils attend school regularly."

Early years - Expected standard. "The early years provides children with a positive start to their education."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders ensure that pupils' needs are identified quickly and accurately."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders understand the school's strengths and areas identified for further improvement."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders ensure that all pupils experience a personal development programme which reflects their context, needs and interests."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils do not achieve consistently well across subjects."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Although the curriculum contains the key knowledge and skills which pupils should learn, there is variability in the quality of teaching in some areas."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that pupils receive the support they need with their reading across the curriculum"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers select tasks and activities within lessons which allow pupils to achieve the curriculum aims"; "Leaders should further strengthen the identification of pupils' learning needs and the resulting support they receive".

In its own words: "Our Vision is of a caring school community where every child is happy, will achieve their best, become confident, ambitious, responsible and independent through exceptional teaching and by knowing our children really well as individuals, we will nurture a lifelong love of learning and a thirst for knowledge."

The school runs after-school care.

Coming up: an open day on Thursday 12 November 2026 at 9.15am. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

For September 2026 entry, 22 families put Southsea Infant School as their first choice and 153 named it as one of their preferences, for 29 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state primary schools to Southsea Infant School are St Swithun's Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 76% reading, 76% maths); Craneswater Junior School (0.3 miles, Good, 78% reading, 66% maths); Bramble Infant School and Nursery (0.4 miles, Good); and Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery (0.5 miles, Requires improvement, 75% reading, 73% maths).

31.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (50%), Asian (14%) and Black (11%).

In 2026, 13 pupils (7.8%) received SEN support and 18 (10.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

Southsea Infant School has a SEN unit for speech, language and communication needs and autism: 8 places, 9 pupils on roll.

Southsea Infant School had 11 teachers in 2026, one for every 16 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.

The nearest railway station is Fratton Rail Station, about 1140 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).

13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Napier Road (w-bound), 30 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 986 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Portsmouth (499), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Southsea Infant School issued 5 suspensions, 2.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to Southsea Infant School are Priory School (0.6 miles), Ark Charter Academy (0.8 miles) and St Edmund's Catholic School (0.9 miles).