No schools on the Wirral have been rated overall as “inadequate” by OFSTED.
Out of the 125 schools on the Wirral, 107 schools have been rated good or better though this is slightly lower than the North West and England average. OFSTED is the regulatory body that oversees the standards across all maintained schools and academies and carries out inspections at schools. This holds schools accountable and tells them where improvements need to be made.
These figures were revealed in a report ahead of Wirral Council’s education committee next week on June 21 which supports schools in improving. Here is a list of school inspections that were carried out between October 2022 and March 2023.
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Grove Street. Inspected October 2022.
This school was rated good in all areas though “leaders should ensure that teachers are equally well trained to assess what pupils know and can do across the full range of curriculum subjects.”
South Wirral High School. Inspected October 2022.
This school was rated good in all areas but areas for improvement included leaders ensuring “they provide staff with high-quality training on how to effectively check pupil’s learning.” It was also reminded staff needed to be well trained in how they can adapt how they teach for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND.)
Eastway Primary School. Inspected October 2022.
This was rated good in all areas though the school “must set out all the knowledge that they wish pupils to learn in these remaining subjects” and make sure pupils can read fluently.
Holy Cross RC PRimary School. Inspected October 2022.
This was also rated good in all areas though the school was recommended to work with families and agencies to improve pupil attendance and how pupil’s vocabulary development is integrated into each subject.
St Joseph’s RC Primary School. Inspected November 2022.
This was rated in all areas but the school was told to “finalise their curriculum thinking to ensure that all staff know what to teach and when across all subjects” and that subject leaders receive training and guidance to teach effectively.
West Kirby Grammar School. Inspected November 2022.
This school was rated good in all areas but was told “leaders should ensure that subject leaders are fully equipped to support teachers to deliver the curriculum consistently well.” The school was also told the curriculum needed to be finalised so pupils can be assessed more effectively.
Wirral Boys Grammar School. Inspected November 2022
This was rated good overall but its early years and sixth form provision, school behaviour, and personal development was rated outstanding. The room for improvement was that “leaders should ensure that teachers are clear about the knowledge that pupils and students will learn and that teachers deliver these curriculums effectively.”
Bedford Drive Primary School. Inspected November 2022.
This school was rated good in all areas with areas of improvement was making sure teachers were clear about what pupils are learning and when, as well as supporting SEND pupils.
St John Plessington Catholic College. Inspected November 2022.
This was rated good overall but required improvement for behaviour and attitudes. Recommendations included ensuring “teachers use assessment strategies effectively to check that pupils’ knowledge is secure before moving on to new learning.”
OFSTED also said: “Leaders should ensure that all staff implement the new behaviour policy consistently well, so that these pupils develop positive attitudes towards staff and each other.”
Castleway Primary School. Inspected November 2022.
This school was told it requires improvement with two areas not rated good. This was the quality of education and its early years provision.
The school was told: “Leaders should check that the support these pupils receive focuses sharply on their particular difficulties. Leaders should also ensure that these pupils practise their reading regularly so that they develop fluency and confidence in their reading.
“Leaders should ensure that subject leaders are sufficiently well trained to improve the delivery of the curriculum in their subjects to enable all pupils to achieve well. Leaders should ensure that they communicate with parents and carers and take effective action to improve pupils’ attendance so that these pupils attend school more often.
“Leaders must ensure that the curriculum in the early years sets out the important knowledge and vocabulary that children need to know and remember as the foundation for their future learning.”
Prenton High School for Girls. Inspected November 2022
This school was rated good overall but not graded in specific areas.
Weatherhead High School. Inspected November 2022.
This school was rated good in all areas but was told to improve school attendance and “ensure that teachers identify and address misconceptions effectively so that pupils and students build their knowledge well over time.”
Our Lady and St Edward’s RC Primary School. Inspected November 2022.
This school was rated good in all areas but was told to “ensure that all staff abide by the agreed approach to managing pupils’ behaviour” and check that pupils are remembering more over time.
Wirral Girls Grammar School. Inspected December 2022.
This school was rated outstanding in all areas.
Sacred Heart. Inspected January 2023.
This school was overall rated good but in a minority of subjects, leaders’ systems for assessing how well pupils are learning new subjects had not been finalised.
The report said: "As a result, some teachers are not fully clear about what pupils know and can do. This hinders how well pupils are making connections between different topics."
Heygarth. Inspected February 2023
This school was overall rated good but was told to “ensure that these pupils receive appropriate support to practise new sounds so that they can become confident and fluent readers.”
Raeburn. Inspected February 2023,
This school was overall rated good but “leaders should ensure that they are clear about the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn in these subjects.”
Foxfield. Inspected February 2023.
This school was overall rated good but was told to “make certain that teachers provide these pupils with reading books which contain letters and sounds that pupils know well, so that they can develop better fluency and accuracy in their reading.”
Coop Academy Portland. Inspected February 2023.
This school was told it requires improvement and that its early years provision was inadequate. It was told: “Trustees and governors must ensure that leadership capacity within the school is strengthened to continue to improve the school, particularly the curriculum from the early years to Year 6.
“Leaders should ensure that they finalise what pupils should know and remember in these subjects from the early years to Year 6.
“Leaders should make sure that pupils, particularly those who struggle the most with reading, receive appropriate support from well-trained staff so that they catch up quickly.
“Leaders must ensure that staff in the early years are clear about the important knowledge and vocabulary that children need to know and remember in readiness for their future learning. In addition, leaders should ensure that staff in the early years are equipped to deliver the curriculum effectively.”
Ladymount Primary School. Inspected February 2023.
This school was rated good though its next inspection will be graded. The school was told to review the processes regarding pupil welfare and finalise early years provision so children are prepared for Key Stage 1.
West Kirby Primary School. Inspected March 2023.
This school was rated good but told “leaders should ensure that staff are fully equipped to design learning that helps pupils to develop a rich body of subject knowledge across the curriculum.”
St George’s Primary School. Inspected March 2023.
This school was rated good but said it should be able to identify what pupils know and remember throughout the curriculum so that they can build on their learning in Key Stage 2.
Manor Primary School. Inspected March 2023.
This school was told it requires improvement including in the quality of education and leadership and management.
The school was told: “Leaders should ensure that they adapt the delivery of the curriculum to address the gaps that pupils have in their knowledge, skills and understanding of different subjects.
“Leaders must ensure that teachers deliver all the essential information that has been identified in each curriculum area. They must also ensure that teachers choose the most appropriate pedagogical activities to fully meet pupils’ learning needs.
“Leaders should ensure that the systems that they use to check how well pupils are learning knowledge are fully effective. Leaders should improve the attendance rates of those pupils who fail to attend school as often as they should.”
Pensby High School. Inspected March 2023.
This school was rated good but told to improve assessment as well as school attendance.
St Andrews. Inspected March 2023.
This school was rated outstanding though only its next inspection will be graded. However the school was told to improve support for pupils with SEND and “identify the building blocks of knowledge that pupils need to learn so that teachers can plan learning that helps pupils to know and remember more.”
Stanley. Inspected March 2023.
This school was rated good but told to “ensure that the curriculum clearly identifies the small building blocks of knowledge that pupils will acquire as they progress through the school” and that teaching matches “the knowledge and skills that pupils need to acquire.”
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