Westvale Primary School

Westvale Primary School is a smaller-than-average primary school in an area of above-average deprivation, with well-above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This was a full section 5 inspection, and safeguarding standards were met. Inspectors found a mixed picture: early years provision and personal development are expected standard, while achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance need attention.

Strengths

• Early years provision uses a stimulating environment and high-quality interactions to build children's vocabulary and curiosity.
• The early years curriculum is carefully sequenced around children's starting points, with a strong focus on early reading and phonics.
• Strong partnerships with parents and carers help families support children's learning.
• The personal development programme helps pupils understand healthy relationships, safety, including online safety, and active citizenship.
• Pupil leadership roles build confidence in public speaking, debating and resolving conflict.
• Leaders provide a wide range of carefully selected enrichment activities, including sports and visits, and track participation to remove barriers.
• Pupils show respect for others and understand the importance of learning about difference.
• Most pupils behave well, show courtesy and concentrate hard in lessons.
• Pupils feel safe, trust adults to resolve issues, and benefit from a calm and orderly environment.
• Most of the curriculum is broad, balanced and carefully sequenced, and staff generally have the subject knowledge to deliver it well.
• Leaders and governors make decisions in pupils' best interests and prioritise staff wellbeing and workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and pupils feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement has improved but remains below national averages over time in several measures.
• Recent work to strengthen mathematical fluency and times table recall has not yet raised pupils' outcomes over time.
• Some pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as they should from their starting points.
• Attendance remains stubbornly low, including for pupils who are absent for long periods.
• Leaders have not analysed absence patterns well enough to target support effectively.
• Staff do not always adapt behaviour support appropriately for some pupils, including pupils with SEND.
• The curriculum is not sequenced carefully enough for some pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils or other vulnerable pupils.
• Staff do not consistently identify pupils' learning needs thoroughly enough or act effectively on external support.
• Professional learning for staff is not specific enough to build the expertise needed to support pupils with SEND.
• Support for some pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils lacks precision, and targets are not routinely set.
• Governors do not rigorously analyse information or challenge leaders precisely enough to hold them fully to account.
• Some leaders' actions have not yet achieved the intended impact on achievement, attendance or SEND provision.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Westvale Primary School attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 37.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.9% of pupils at Westvale Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Westvale Primary School had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.6% of pupils at Westvale Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Westvale Primary School received £9,534 and spent £8,943 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £294,000 (£1,436 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Liverpool · Knowsley local authority: places and applications

What is Westvale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Westvale Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Westvale Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Westvale Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Westvale Primary School have?

Westvale Primary School has 212 pupils on roll.

What age range does Westvale Primary School cover?

Westvale Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Westvale Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Westvale Primary School?

Westvale Primary School is at Melverley Road, Westvale, Kirkby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L32 0RQ.