Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #6 in Portsmouth public Top 42% UK

Ark Dickens Primary Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Laura Berry

corporate_fareARK SCHOOLS

location_onPortsmouth, PO1 4PN

language Visit Website phone 2392826514

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2019

groups

Students

464

school

Expected Standard

67%

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Demand Ratio

0.8x

summarize

Ark Dickens Primary Academy is a Academy sponsor led primary school in Portsmouth, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 42% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Ark Dickens Primary Academy is an academy sponsor led in Portsmouth, admitting pupils aged 2-11. It is part of ARK SCHOOLS. The school has approximately 448 pupils on roll, of whom 57% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 67% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #6 of 32 primaries in Portsmouth and #4,052 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2019. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.8× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.2 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 51%

Reading72% LA 65%

Writing67% LA 63%

Maths73% LA 62%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 49%England 61%

Reading67% LA 65% · Eng 74%

Writing72% LA 60% · Eng 72%

Maths77% LA 63% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 48%England 60%

Reading74% LA 63% · Eng 73%

Writing74% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths79% LA 64% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.4

Read

LA -1.5

-1.3 to 2.2

0.1

Write

LA -2.0

-1.6 to 1.8

2.6

Maths

LA -1.4

1.0 to 4.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

65%

LA 55%England 65%

Reading71% LA 64% · Eng 73%

Writing73% LA 72% · Eng 78%

Maths71% LA 72% · Eng 79%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.1

Read

LA -1.5

-0.6 to 2.7

0.2

Write

LA -2.3

-1.3 to 1.7

0.6

Maths

LA -1.8

-0.9 to 2.0

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

40%

LA 53%

Reading44% LA 66%

Writing69% LA 70%

Maths60% LA 64%

Read SS

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-4

Read

LA -1.9

-5.7 to -2.3

-0.9

Write

LA -2.3

-2.5 to 0.7

-0.6

Maths

LA -2.1

-2.1 to 0.9

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

01 April 2025

Inspection Report

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12 November 2019

Inspection Report

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27 June 2017

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2019-11-12

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2017-06-27

Academy First Section 5 Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2014-01-22

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.4%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.4%(2 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 448 pupils. During this period, there were 2 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.4%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	448	2	0.4%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	434	0	0.0%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	460	0	0.0%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	446	1	0.2%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	429	1	0.2%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	466	3	0.6%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	464	4	0.9%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	428	4	0.9%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	453	4	0.9%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	437	5	1.1%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	418	6	1.4%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	432	4	0.9%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	420	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	411	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	443	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	443	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	425	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	446	1	0.2%	0.4%	1
2018/19 (Spring term)	444	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	433	6	1.4%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	455	13	2.9%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	450	2	0.4%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	446	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	441	16	3.6%	0.4%	1
2016/17 (Spring term)	441	6	1.4%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	442	17	3.8%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 20 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 15 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 14 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 9 pupils

Physical Disability 4 pupils