Shirley Junior School

Shirley Junior School has maintained its status as a good school, showing a strong commitment to inclusion and meeting the diverse needs of its pupils. The curriculum is well-structured, promoting effective learning and helping students to achieve their academic potential. There is a notable emphasis on fostering a love of reading and ensuring that pupils develop skills that will benefit them in the future. While the school environment is generally positive and supportive, there are some concerns regarding consistency in teaching methods, particularly in areas related to reading support and curriculum implementation.

Strengths

• Strong emphasis on inclusion and understanding pupil needs
• Well-sequenced curriculum supporting achievement
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
• Enthusiastic promotion of reading among pupils
• Positive pupil behavior management and a calm learning atmosphere
• Strong support from multi-academy trust and local governing committee
• Focus on pupils' personal development and values

Areas for Improvement

• Minor inconsistencies in reading support leading to variable pupil progress
• Some areas of the curriculum are not yet fully implemented as per expectations

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 Shirley Junior School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.4% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Shirley 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 Shirley Junior School had 23.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.4% 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, 15.5% of pupils at Shirley Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 2024–25 Shirley Junior School received £5,837 and spent £5,952 for each of its 358 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £113,000 (£316 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Hamwic Education Trust, income was £7,058 and spending £7,015 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Southampton · Southampton local authority: places and applications

Shirley Junior School is part of Hamwic Education Trust, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Shirley Infant School Southampton
• Upper Shirley High School Southampton
• Wordsworth Primary and Nursery School Southampton
• Hollybrook Junior School Southampton
• Hollybrook Infant School Southampton
• Beechwood Junior School Southampton
• Glenfield Infant School Southampton
• Ludlow Infant Academy Southampton
• Townhill Infant School Southampton
• Woolston Infant School Southampton

What is Shirley Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shirley Junior School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Shirley Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shirley Junior School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Shirley Junior School have?

Shirley Junior School has 361 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shirley Junior School cover?

Shirley Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Shirley Junior School?

Shirley Junior School is at Bellemoor Road, Shirley, Southampton, Hampshire, SO15 5XE.