Highbury Primary School

Highbury Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school in a relatively deprived coastal area, part of the University of Chichester Academy Trust. Inspectors found a positive, inclusive and well-led school where pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well. Inclusion is a standout strength: leaders identify additional needs early and in detail, use funding effectively, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make strong progress. Attendance is high, persistent absence is low, and pastoral and wellbeing support is highly valued. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils generally achieve well and most are ready for secondary school by the end of Year 6, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, early years provision is effective, and reading is a priority. Leadership, governance and trust oversight are secure, staff are positive about support and professional development, and personal development is well planned with a wide wider offer. There are still areas to sharpen. Some pupils' handwriting, especially among younger pupils, and basic multiplication facts by the end of Year 4 need improvement. Occasionally, tasks do not let pupils show what they know, and some curriculum knowledge, particularly in history, is not recalled in enough depth. Leaders' next step is to make teaching consistently support learning of essential knowledge and basic skills.

Strengths

• Inclusion is exceptionally well led, with early and detailed identification of additional needs.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support and make strong progress.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well, with positive relationships across the school community.
• Attendance is high and persistent absence is well below national averages.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and sensibly sequenced.
• Early reading and phonics are taught effectively, and pupils enjoy reading.
• Early years provision gives children a strong start, with a well-structured curriculum and a strong language focus.
• Leaders, governors and the multi-academy trust provide secure oversight and effective support.
• Staff value professional development and feel well supported with workload and wellbeing.
• Personal development and wellbeing support are strengths, including mental health support and outdoor activities.
• A wide range of extracurricular opportunities and pupil leadership roles are available, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils use subject-specific vocabulary and can explain ideas clearly in several subjects.
• Most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, learn the knowledge and skills needed for secondary school.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils need to improve their handwriting, and recent improvements are less evident for younger pupils.
• Some pupils do not know basic multiplication facts well enough by the end of Year 4.
• Occasionally, teaching tasks do not enable pupils to demonstrate what they know and can do as well as they could.
• Pupils' understanding of some curriculum content is not as deep as it could be, including recall of detailed history knowledge.
• Teaching effectiveness is not yet fully consistent in ensuring all pupils learn the important knowledge and basic skills they need for their next steps.
• Combined reading, writing and maths outcomes have been below national averages over the latest three-year period, although 2024/25 was close to average.

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 Highbury Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.8% 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 Highbury 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 Highbury Primary School had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.9% 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, 19.4% of pupils at Highbury Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% 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 Highbury Primary School received £7,567 and spent £7,668 for each of its 411 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £168,000 (£409 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust, income was £7,095 and spending £7,150 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 Portsmouth · Portsmouth local authority: places and applications

Highbury Primary School is part of University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Court Lane Infant Academy Portsmouth
• Court Lane Junior Academy Portsmouth
• Stamshaw Junior School Portsmouth
• Stamshaw Infant Academy Portsmouth
• The Flying Bull Academy Portsmouth
• Langstone Primary Academy Portsmouth
• Newlands Primary Academy Waterlooville
• Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery Portsmouth
• Berewood Primary School Waterlooville
• Kingsham Primary School Chichester

What is Highbury Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Highbury Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Highbury Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Highbury Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Highbury Primary School have?

Highbury Primary School has 391 pupils on roll.

What age range does Highbury Primary School cover?

Highbury Primary School for pupils aged 0 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Highbury Primary School?

Highbury Primary School is at Dovercourt Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 2RZ.