Elson Junior School

Elson Junior School is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils feel they belong, attend well overall and behave positively. Safeguarding standards are met, and pastoral care is a clear strength: pupils say bullying is rare, prejudicial language is not tolerated, and adults deal with concerns quickly. The school also has a well-designed personal development programme, a strengthened leadership focus on improvement after recent changes, effective governance, and good support for pupils with SEND. Pupils benefit from broad enrichment opportunities, and relationships between pupils and adults are positive and respectful. However, pupils do not achieve consistently well enough. Published key stage 2 outcomes are below national averages in reading, mathematics and the combined measure, and disadvantaged pupils have particularly large gaps in reading and mathematics. The curriculum has been improved, but teaching is too variable: important reading and mathematical knowledge is not secured consistently, misconceptions are not always addressed, and assessment and gap-closing work is not yet effective across the school. Provision for disadvantaged pupils in classrooms is also uneven. This was a full section 5 inspection. The current headteacher took up post after the last inspection, and leaders have an accurate view of what needs to improve. The school is close to average in size and SEND proportions, with a higher-than-national but close-to-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals; it uses two unregistered alternative provisions. Leaders now need to ensure teachers have the subject expertise to deliver the curriculum well, embed robust assessment to tackle gaps, and secure foundational knowledge in communication and language, reading, mathematics and spelling.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified, acted upon and managed.
• Pupils feel safe, belong to the school community and attend well overall.
• Persistent absence has reduced and overall attendance is close to the national average.
• The new behaviour management approach is well understood and creates a calm, orderly environment.
• Bullying is rare and pupils trust adults to deal with it quickly and effectively.
• High-quality pastoral care supports pupils' emotional wellbeing and behaviour.
• Inclusion is central to the school's work, and pupils with SEND receive well-targeted support.
• Leaders have strengthened the school's improvement focus and have an accurate view of strengths and development areas.
• Staff receive evidence-informed professional development, and leaders consider workload and wellbeing.
• Governance is effective, with appropriate expertise, statutory compliance and constructive challenge.
• The personal development programme is coherent, embedded and prepares pupils well for life beyond school.
• Pupils access a wide range of enrichment opportunities, including music, art and sport.
• Writing teaching is improving, and the recent language and communication focus is widening pupils' vocabulary.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve consistently well enough; KS2 outcomes are below national averages in reading, mathematics and the combined measure.
• Attainment is too low in subjects other than writing, and pupils' foundational reading and mathematical skills are not secure.
• Teaching is too variable, so not all pupils secure the key knowledge needed for future learning.
• Errors and misconceptions are not identified and addressed routinely across the school.
• Curriculum adaptation for different pupils varies in lessons.
• Provision for disadvantaged pupils within classrooms is variable, so some needs are not met consistently well enough.
• Assessment systems are not yet robust enough to identify and address gaps in learning.
• Efforts to address accumulated gaps, including in phonics, are not yet consistently effective.
• Expectations have not always been high enough, and current improvements are still embedding.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance gaps remain large, particularly in reading and mathematics.

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 Elson Junior School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Elson 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 Elson Junior School had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% 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, 18.5% of pupils at Elson Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.1% 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 Elson Junior School received £6,515 and spent £6,507 for each of its 313 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£143 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 Gosport · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Elson Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Elson Junior School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Elson Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Elson Junior School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Elson Junior School have?

Elson Junior School has 313 pupils on roll.

What age range does Elson Junior School cover?

Elson Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Elson Junior School?

Elson Junior School is at Exmouth Road, Gosport, Hampshire, PO12 4EX.