School Chooser

Portman Early Childhood Centre

Nursery · ages 2-5MixedLocal authority nursery school65 pupilsNurseryLondonWestminster
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedOutstandingLast Ofsted inspection, June 2024
Pupils from low-income families12%Far fewer than most schools
Pupils per teacher11.4School workforce census
Pupils on roll65Census January 2026

Portman Early Childhood Centre is a local authority nursery school in London for boys and girls aged 2 to 5. It has 65 pupils. About 12 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2024.

12 Salisbury Street, London, NW8 8DE020 3307 1940portmancentre.co.ukMs Amie Curtis headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 18 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
21 March 2023UngradedSchool remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Westminster council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll65Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families34%12% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English86%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support43%28 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan11%7 pupils with a plan
Boys and girls33 / 32
White British pupils3%

Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 17 pupils, for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, other needs, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Westminster with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (15), Autistic spectrum disorder (12), Physical disability (4), Other difficulty or disability (1), Vision impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll657375726767
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals34%32%35%22%28%22%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language86%80%68%68%72%84%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support47%32%42%45%36%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%11%6%6%6%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers3.6full-time equivalent, 4 people
Pupils per teacher11.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants1.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£61,694
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.22022/23

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£40,508England £7,738. Total £1.8m
Income per pupil£40,856England £7,697. Total £1.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£6,267England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £67k, £1,485 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£16kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£40,508spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m2,47112 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate173 per 1,000 people90% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop90 mRossmore Road / Lisson Grove, 17 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Abingdon House SchoolIndependent110 m107Not inspectedCompare
St Edward's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic230 m199Good 202386Compare
Gateway AcademyAcademy290 m428Good 202258Compare
Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England410 m218Outstanding 202496Compare
Ark King Solomon AcademyAcademy440 m1,319Outstanding 202391Compare
London Business SchoolHigher education institutions450 mNot inspectedCompare
Francis Holland SchoolIndependent500 m546Not inspectedCompare
St Mary's Bryanston Square CofE SchoolChurch of England600 m166Good 202391Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Portman Early Childhood Centre a good school?

Portman Early Childhood Centre doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in June 2024.

What is Portman Early Childhood Centre's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Portman Early Childhood Centre outstanding at its last full inspection on 18 June 2024.

How many pupils does Portman Early Childhood Centre have?

65 pupils aged 2 to 5 were on the roll in January 2026.

Does Portman Early Childhood Centre have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, other needs, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
12 Salisbury Street, London, NW8 8DE
Telephone
020 3307 1940
Website
www.portmancentre.co.uk
Headteacher
Ms Amie Curtis
Type of school
Local authority nursery school (Local authority nursery school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Nursery school, ages 2-5, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Westminster
Ward
Church Street
Constituency
Queen's Park and Maida Vale
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
132151 · LAESTAB 2131053

Where these figures come from