Portway Junior School

Portway Junior School remains a good school, with Ofsted judging the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management all to be good. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school is a local authority community junior school for pupils aged 7 to 11. Pupils achieve well, take pride in their learning, and benefit from a positive and supportive culture. Behaviour is settled and focused, rare bullying is dealt with effectively, and pupils appreciate opportunities to take on responsibilities and contribute to school life. The curriculum is aspirational and well designed, including for pupils with SEND, and staff training is helping to establish consistent teaching approaches. Reading is a strong feature, with skilled identification of pupils needing help and effective targeted support. Attendance work is highly effective, particularly in reducing persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils also benefit from a strong personal development offer, including mental health and wellbeing support, cultural awareness, and wider experiences such as residential trips and visitors. The main areas for improvement are in teaching and curriculum implementation. In some lessons, teachers are not systematic enough in checking and correcting pupils’ understanding, so errors, misconceptions or gaps in learning are not always addressed. In a few subjects, especially those with more recent curriculum changes, tasks do not always help pupils connect new learning with what they already know, which limits how well some pupils achieve. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Aspirational and well-designed curriculum that is challenging and accessible for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Staff training is establishing consistent teaching approaches across the school
• Mathematics teaching builds well on prior learning, helping pupils and disadvantaged pupils achieve well
• Strong emphasis on reading with skilled identification of needs and effective targeted support
• Highly effective attendance work, including sustained reductions in persistent absence for disadvantaged pupils
• Positive behaviour culture supported by clear expectations and effective handling of rare bullying
• Pupils take pride in learning and enjoy responsibilities such as house captain roles
• Rich wider opportunities, including residential trips and visitors, build confidence, teamwork and different perspectives
• Personal development provision promotes mental health, wellbeing, online safety and cultural awareness
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers are not systematic enough in checking and correcting pupils’ understanding within lessons
• Pupils’ errors, misconceptions or gaps in learning are not always spotted or addressed
• In some subjects, particularly those with recent curriculum changes, tasks do not help pupils connect new learning with prior knowledge
• Some pupils find it difficult to fit new learning into their wider understanding within a subject

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Portway Junior School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at Portway Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Portway Junior School had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 43.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.2% of pupils at Portway Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Portway Junior School received £6,508 and spent £6,495 for each of its 376 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £222,000 (£590 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Andover · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Portway Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Portway Junior School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Portway Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Portway Junior School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Portway Junior School have?

Portway Junior School has 376 pupils on roll.

What age range does Portway Junior School cover?

Portway Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Portway Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Portway Junior School?

Portway Junior School is at Upper Drove, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 3NA.