St Francis Special School
Patchway Drive, Oldbury Way, Fareham, PO14 3BN
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sonia Longstaff-Bishop
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- Federation of Heathfield and St Francis Schools
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Hamble Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Pupils on roll
- 115
- URN
- 116618
- Local authority
- Hampshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01329512804
About this school
St Francis Special School is a community special school in Fareham. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 115 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Francis Special School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 June 2023, 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.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | - |
| Expected standard in reading | - | - | - |
| Expected standard in maths | - | - | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 7 | 9 | 14 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Francis Special 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 | 14.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 104 |
| 2023/24 | 107 |
| 2024/25 | 110 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.71%
- English as an additional language
- 8.2%
- Overall absence
- 10.8%
- Persistent absence
- 30.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Heathfield Special School0.1 miles
Special schools · Fareham
-
Light Years School0.8 miles
Special schools · Fareham
-
Kingsgate School1.1 miles
Special schools
-
West Hill Park School1.4 miles
Independent schools · Fareham
-
Meoncross School1.4 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Fareham
- All's Well Special schools
- Baycroft School Special schools
- Heathfield Special School Special schools
- Light Years School Special schools
- Castle Primary School Primary
- Cornerstone CofE (VA) Primary School Primary
- Crofton Anne Dale Infant and Pre-School Primary
- Crofton Anne Dale Junior School Primary
- Crofton Hammond Infant School Primary
- Crofton Hammond Junior School Primary
- Harrison Primary School Primary
- Newtown Soberton Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Francis Special School teach?
- St Francis Special School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Fareham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Special School?
- The headteacher of St Francis Special School is Mrs Sonia Longstaff-Bishop, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Francis Special School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Special 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 many pupils are at St Francis Special School?
- St Francis Special School has 115 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is St Francis Special School a faith school?
- No. St Francis Special School has no designated religious character.
- Is St Francis Special School part of an academy trust?
- St Francis Special School is part of the Federation of Heathfield and St Francis Schools federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Francis Special School have?
- The schools register lists St Francis Special School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is St Francis Special School's absence rate?
- St Francis Special School's overall absence rate is 10.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Special School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
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.