Devonshire Infant School
Francis Avenue, Southsea, PO4 0AG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachel Arnold
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 190
- Pupils on roll
- 171
- URN
- 116187
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392734902
About this school
Devonshire Infant School is a community primary school in Southsea. It teaches children aged 4 to 7 and has 171 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 June 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Trends over time
How Devonshire Infant School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 181 |
| 2023/24 | 183 |
| 2024/25 | 181 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Devonshire Infant School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 5.5% | 30.9% | 171 | — |
| Fernhurst Junior School | 55% | 4.6% | 38.8% | 349 | 0.0 miles |
| Bramble Infant School and Nursery | — | 4.9% | 16.1% | 162 | 0.2 miles |
| Wimborne Primary School | 51% | 4.4% | 18.8% | 557 | 0.4 miles |
| Cumberland Infant School | — | 3.4% | 11.9% | 172 | 0.4 miles |
| Penbridge Infant School & Nursery | — | 5.4% | 28% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.94%
- English as an additional language
- 35.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.52%
- Persistent absence
- 17.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fernhurst Junior School0.0 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
Bramble Infant School and Nursery0.2 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
Wimborne Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Cumberland Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
Penbridge Infant School & Nursery0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
Other schools in Southsea
- Bramble Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Craneswater Junior School Primary
- Cumberland Infant School Primary
- Fernhurst Junior School Primary
- Meon Infant School Primary
- Moorings Way Infant School Primary
- Southsea Infant School Primary
- St Swithun's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Ark Charter Academy Secondary
- Priory School Secondary
- Mayville High School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Devonshire Infant School teach?
- Devonshire Infant School teaches children aged 4 to 7. It is a primary school in Southsea.
- Who is the headteacher of Devonshire Infant School?
- The headteacher of Devonshire Infant School is Mrs Rachel Arnold, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Devonshire Infant School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Devonshire Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Devonshire Infant School?
- Devonshire Infant School has 171 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 7.
- Is Devonshire Infant School full?
- Devonshire Infant School has capacity for 190 pupils and 171 on roll (90%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Devonshire Infant School a faith school?
- No. Devonshire Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Devonshire Infant School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Devonshire Infant School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Devonshire Infant School have?
- The schools register lists Devonshire Infant School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Devonshire Infant School's absence rate?
- Devonshire Infant School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Devonshire Infant School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Devonshire Infant School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.