The Harbour School, Portsmouth
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 6 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
The school excels at building supportive relationships with vulnerable pupils and helping them manage their emotions and wellbeing. Staff are caring and skilled at working with extremely vulnerable young people, including those with medical needs and significant anxiety. The school provides specialist support through dedicated provisions and partnerships with local agencies to help pupils at risk.
Key Strengths
- Staff develop warm, caring relationships with pupils and are skilled at helping them manage their emotions
- Some pupils show success in specialist provisions like the medical provision and football academy
- New leadership structure is starting to make positive changes and reorganising provision to better target support
- Careers education is well-planned and tailored to individual pupils
- School is calm with good behaviour management overall
Areas for Improvement
- Attendance rates are extremely low and declining across most provisions
- Inappropriate use of part-time timetables has restricted pupils' access to full-time education
- Progress and achievement for most pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, remains consistently low
- Leaders have not successfully helped pupils overcome barriers to attending school
- Curriculum improvements have not yet had sufficient impact on pupil achievement
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and managed, and pupils are made safer and feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Football academy, vocational college courses, outdoor learning, beach trips
The Harbour School serves pupils with complex social, emotional and mental health needs across multiple sites. The school requires special measures as it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education, with particular concerns about extremely low attendance rates and inadequate progress for most pupils.
At a Glance
82.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
18 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
2025/26 academic year
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
Commute Calculator
Find out if this school is reachable from your home - before you apply
What are my chances?
Enter your postcode to estimate your probability of getting a place.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
85%
Available places
169 pupils
200 capacity
31 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Portsmouth
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Portsmouth
Admissions Demand - Portsmouth
Places available
2,152
Applications
2,185
Got 1st preference
75.7%
Got preferred school
93.2%
Secondary admissions across Portsmouth (2025/26)
Inspection History(5)
House Prices
Moving into the catchment? See what homes near this school actually cost
SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
Pupil Absence2024/25
48.55231%
Overall absence
91.60584%
Persistent absence
274
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Reviews
No reviews yet - be the first to leave one.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Harbour School
Stamshaw Junior School
Stamshaw Infant Academy
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School
King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant)
King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior)
The Flying Bull Academy
King's Academy College Park (Junior)
King's Academy College Park (Infant)
New Horizons Primary School
Cliffdale Primary Academy
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Nearby Schools
Do you work at this school?
Claim your profile free to get a verified badge, update your contact details, and see how many parents are viewing your page.