Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery

Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is currently rated as requiring improvement overall, with notable strengths identified in the areas of behaviour, attitudes, and personal development, both receiving outstanding ratings. There is a strong sense of community within the school, with a highly inclusive ethos that supports a diverse range of pupils, including many who speak English as an additional language. However, the school is still in the process of embedding curriculum changes, and not all pupils are meeting their potential as they prepare for future education stages. While recent support from the trust has positively impacted curriculum development, the full effects on pupil outcomes are yet to be seen.

Strengths

• Exceptional pastoral support and personal development programs.
• Strong focus on creating a warm and purposeful environment.
• Celebration of diversity within the school community.
• Excellent relationships between staff and pupils.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• High priority given to reading from an early age.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of effective pedagogical approaches.
• Teachers sometimes fail to identify misconceptions during lessons.
• Variability in the quality of phonics teaching impacting weaker readers.

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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.2% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.6% 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 Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery received £9,214 and spent £7,872 for each of its 456 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £272,000 (£597 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Gateway Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,688 and spending £8,366 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 Southsea · Portsmouth local authority: places and applications

Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is part of Gateway Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Milton Park Primary School Portsmouth
• Woodcot Primary School Gosport
• Cams Hill School Fareham
• Foundry Lane Primary School Southampton
• Oakfield Academy Southampton
• The Romsey School Romsey

What is Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery have?

Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery has 462 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery cover?

Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery?

Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery is at Chivers Close, Southsea, Hampshire, PO5 1HG.