Ark Dickens Primary Academy

Portsmouth · PO1 4PN

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 446 pupils, 54.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.5% on SEN support Behaviour 6.1% absence rate Staff 18.1% turnover Financials £7,511 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Ark Dickens Primary Academy

General Information

Address: Turner Road, Portsmouth, PO1 4PN – View on map
Phone: 02392826514
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Laura Berry
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 34 families put it first for 37 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 8 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

446 pupils out of 480 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 223
% eligible for free school meals: 54.8%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Portsmouth average)
English as an additional language: 32% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 18.1% a year (Portsmouth 16.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 27% moved to another school, 73% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Portsmouth: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 5 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 4 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Portsmouth, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.8%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 21 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2019 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 67% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Portsmouth average (55%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 67% against an expected 56%)
3-year average (expected standard): 67%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 72% · Writing 67% · Maths 73% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 65%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 105
Based on: 60 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolPortsmouth averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Portsmouth average (55%).

Year 6 SATs: 6th of 32 junior and primary schools in the area

=4St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School69%
=4St Swithun's Catholic Primary School69%
#6Ark Dickens Primary Academy67%
#7Westover Primary School66%
#8Meon Junior School65%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School83%
#2Ark Ayrton Primary Academy78%
#3St Paul's Catholic Primary School73%
=4St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School69%
=4St Swithun's Catholic Primary School69%
#6Ark Dickens Primary Academy67%
#7Westover Primary School66%
#8Meon Junior School65%
=9Gatcombe Park Primary School63%
=9Highbury Primary School63%
=9The Victory Primary School63%
=12Langstone Primary Academy58%
=12Medina Primary School58%
=12Solent Junior School58%
=15Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School57%
=15Court Lane Junior Academy57%
#17Fernhurst Junior School55%
#18Penbridge Junior School54%
=19Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery53%
=19Craneswater Junior School53%
=19Milton Park Primary School53%
=19St Jude's CofE Primary School53%
#23King's Academy College Park (Junior)52%
=24Copnor Primary School51%
=24Wimborne Primary School51%
#26New Horizons Primary School49%
#27King's Academy Northern Parade (Junior)48%
#28Stamshaw Junior School47%
#29Beacon View Primary Academy41%
=30Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery35%
=30Portsdown Primary School35%
#32The Flying Bull Academy17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

2nd of 16 primary schools in Portsmouth for Ofsted rating

#1Ark Ayrton Primary AcademyGood
#2Ark Dickens Primary AcademyGood
#3Corpus Christi Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#4Gatcombe Park Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Ark Ayrton Primary AcademyGood
#2Ark Dickens Primary AcademyGood
#3Corpus Christi Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#4Gatcombe Park Primary SchoolGood
#5Langstone Primary AcademyGood
#6Milton Park Primary SchoolGood
#7New Horizons Primary SchoolGood
#8Portsdown Primary SchoolGood
#9St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary SchoolGood
#10St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#11St Jude's CofE Primary SchoolGood
#12St Paul's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#13St Swithun's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#14Westover Primary SchoolGood
#15Wimborne Primary SchoolGood
#16Cottage Grove Primary School and NurseryRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,511 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

6th of 23 primary schools in Portsmouth for spending per pupil

#4St Paul's Catholic Primary School£8,265
#5St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School£8,262
#6Ark Dickens Primary Academy£7,511
#7Medina Primary School£7,389
#8St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School£7,259

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Beacon View Primary Academy£9,594
#2Portsdown Primary School£8,818
#3The Victory Primary School£8,729
#4St Paul's Catholic Primary School£8,265
#5St George's Beneficial Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School£8,262
#6Ark Dickens Primary Academy£7,511
#7Medina Primary School£7,389
#8St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School£7,259
#9The Flying Bull Academy£7,173
#10Milton Park Primary School£7,074
#11Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery£6,937
#12Ark Ayrton Primary Academy£6,711
#13Gatcombe Park Primary School£6,659
#14St Jude's CofE Primary School£6,568
#15Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School£6,545
#16St Swithun's Catholic Primary School£6,494
#17Wimborne Primary School£6,307
#18Copnor Primary School£6,212
#19Westover Primary School£6,148
#20Highbury Primary School£6,046
#21Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery£6,011
#22New Horizons Primary School£5,621
#23Langstone Primary Academy£5,152

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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