OFSTED
21 April 2026
Latest inspection
Latest published outcome
Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding
Met
Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development
Strong standard
Leadership & governance
Strong standard
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
10 May 2023
Graded inspection
Requires improvement
Published
5 July 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Non-maintained special school
Phase
Not applicable
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Does not apply
Local authority
Sefton
Trust
Not applicable
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
70
70 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
13
18.6% of pupils
Male pupils
57
81.4% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
16.6 pts
above England
School
41.4%
Sefton
26.0%
North West
28.5%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
16.0 pts
below England
School
4.3%
Sefton
8.2%
North West
18.1%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
1.0 pts
below England
School
0.0%
Sefton
1.3%
North West
0.8%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
80.0%
56
Unclassified
7.1%
5
Any other White background
4.3%
3
African
1.4%
1
Any other Mixed background
1.4%
1
Chinese
1.4%
1
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
100.0%
70 of
70 pupils
79.2 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
14.8 pts
below
England
6.0%
94.0 pts
above
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
25.12%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
18.90 pts
higher than
England
School
25.12%
Sefton
6.89%
North West
6.25%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
46.15%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
30.34 pts
higher than
England
School
46.15%
Sefton
18.13%
North West
15.89%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
23.08%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
21.27 pts
higher than
England
School
23.08%
Sefton
2.08%
North West
1.75%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open not applicable schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
87.5%
7.7 pts
above England
Peterhouse School
87.5%
Sefton
74.4%
North West
82.4%
England
79.8%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.