Devonshire Infant School

Devonshire Infant School is a smaller-than-average infant school with a specially resourced SEN unit for pupils with speech, language and communication needs and autism, serving a community with above-average deprivation. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, generally achieve well and are prepared for the next stage, with early reading a particular strength. The school has a warm and inclusive culture. Pupils are polite, happy and benefit from clear routines, strong relationships and a values-led personal development programme. Early years provides a positive start, while phonics and early reading are delivered effectively. Leaders know the school well, support staff, work closely with families and external partners, and have created a calm, orderly environment. Areas for continued improvement include persistent absence, which remains above national levels for some pupils facing barriers, and consistency of teaching, assessment and adaptations across the curriculum. Some pupils still have gaps in knowledge, early years interactions vary at times, and leaders and governors are still refining how precisely they evaluate performance and the impact of some provision.

Strengths

• A warm, inclusive and welcoming culture where pupils feel valued and safe.
• Strong early reading and phonics provision; pupils develop reading skills quickly.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, generally achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Calm and orderly environment with clear behaviour expectations and well-established routines.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils; bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, including within the specially resourced provision and The Hive.
• Broad personal development and wellbeing programme that develops respect, emotional language and life skills.
• Early years provides a positive, well-structured start with a clear focus on early reading, writing and mathematics.
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school and make informed decisions about staffing and resources.
• Governors fulfil statutory responsibilities and engage with leaders and the wider community.
• Staff feel well supported and valued, with professional learning linked to school priorities.
• Welcoming daily routines and a central library help foster community and a love of reading.

Areas for Improvement

• Persistent absence remains higher than it should be, especially for some pupils facing additional challenges.
• Attendance is not yet consistently high for all pupils, so some do not benefit fully from provision.
• Teaching, assessment and adaptations are not consistently precise across all aspects of the curriculum.
• Some pupils have gaps in understanding where they have missed key learning, limiting how securely they build knowledge.
• Early years interactions, including group activities, do not always consistently support all children to engage fully.
• Adaptations for some pupils with SEND are not applied with consistent precision, so some access learning less effectively.
• Leaders are still developing more precise evaluation of the impact of disadvantaged-pupil funding and personal development.
• Monitoring and challenge are still developing, so oversight is not yet consistently sharp.
• Leaders are continuing to refine how precisely they analyse performance information to inform strategic priorities.

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 Devonshire Infant School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.4% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Devonshire Infant 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 Devonshire Infant School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Devonshire Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 10 pupils.

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 Devonshire Infant School received £8,879 and spent £8,885 for each of its 171 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £161,000 (£943 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 Southsea · Portsmouth local authority: places and applications

What is Devonshire Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Devonshire Infant School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Devonshire Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Devonshire Infant School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Devonshire Infant School have?

Devonshire Infant School has 171 pupils on roll.

What age range does Devonshire Infant School cover?

Devonshire Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Devonshire Infant School?

Devonshire Infant School is at Francis Avenue, Southsea, Hampshire, PO4 0AG.