Copnor Primary School

Copnor Primary School has improved significantly since its previous inspection, when it was graded as requiring improvement. The school is now good for quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision, while behaviour and attitudes and personal development are outstanding. Pupils are proud of the school’s values, behave exceptionally well, and benefit from strong pastoral support and a wide range of cultural and extracurricular experiences. The large school is well led, with effective governors and staff who are positive about the direction of travel. The curriculum has been strengthened and is ambitious and well sequenced overall, with a strong early years foundation, effective phonics teaching, good support for pupils with SEND, and improving attendance. Reading is promoted well, and pupils’ personal development is a clear strength. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders have successfully addressed the areas for improvement from the previous inspection. The main remaining concern is that a small number of curriculum areas are still being refined. In these subjects, pupils’ work is not always closely focused on the most important knowledge and skills, so pupils may not build secure understanding over time. The school needs to ensure that work in every subject aligns closely with the intended curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school.
• Personal development is outstanding, with a broad range of planned experiences.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, with significant improvements since the previous inspection.
• Early years provision is strong, with a focus on language and social and emotional development.
• Phonics teaching is well established and consistently delivered, with rising screening check outcomes.
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and well supported.
• Attendance has improved through an effective strategy, reducing regular absence.
• Leaders have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.
• Governors know the school well and provide effective challenge and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of curriculum areas are not as well established or consistently implemented as others.
• In some subjects, pupils’ work is not always closely aligned with the intended content and skills.
• Pupils may not build secure knowledge and understanding over time in these less developed curriculum areas.

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 Copnor Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.3% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Copnor Primary 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 Copnor Primary School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.7% 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, 9.0% of pupils at Copnor Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Copnor Primary School received £5,588 and spent £6,255 for each of its 632 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £542,000 (£858 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).

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What is Copnor Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Copnor Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Copnor Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Copnor Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Copnor Primary School have?

Copnor Primary School has 632 pupils on roll.

What age range does Copnor Primary School cover?

Copnor Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Copnor Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 51% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Copnor Primary School?

Copnor Primary School is at Copnor Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO3 5BZ.