Eccleston Mere Primary School

Eccleston Mere Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive school where most pupils achieve well, behave calmly and feel safe. Inspectors found personal development and wellbeing to be a strong feature, with pastoral support singled out as a particular strength and pupils benefiting from a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities. Safeguarding standards are met. Reading is also a strength, and most pupils read accurately by the time they leave Reception. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well included in school life and access the wider opportunities on offer. The main areas for improvement concern early writing and aspects of early years provision. Some younger pupils do not form letters correctly, and staff do not consistently spot and address these errors, so some writing remains inaccurate. Some pupils have gaps in prior knowledge that are not identified before new learning, which makes it harder for them to secure new ideas and deepen their understanding. In early years, the curriculum is not clear enough in a small number of areas about the key ideas and vocabulary children should learn, and some staff do not consistently use interactions and provision to build children's vocabulary and understanding. Leaders have appropriate priorities, including improving writing and attendance, and have already revised how early writing is taught. Governors fulfil their roles effectively, and staff value the professional development they receive, including training in SEND support and early reading. The school is larger than average, has below-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEN support, and is located in an area with above-average deprivation. This was a full section 5 inspection under the renewed inspection framework.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing are a strong feature, with a carefully planned programme and a wide range of opportunities.
• Pastoral support is a strength; staff know pupils well and act swiftly to identify those needing extra help.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and listened to, and bullying is rare and dealt with promptly.
• Reading is a strength, and most pupils read accurately by the time they leave Reception.
• The school has an inclusive culture in which disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are fully included and access wider opportunities.
• Behaviour is calm and orderly, with warm relationships, clear expectations and established routines.
• Governors fulfil their roles effectively, visiting regularly and asking challenging questions about pupils' outcomes.
• Staff value effective professional development, including training in SEND support and early reading.
• Pupils benefit from extensive character-building opportunities, including art, gardening, choir, cookery and outdoor pursuits.
• Pupils contribute to school life through Pupil Parliament and leadership roles such as playground leaders and reading buddies.

Areas for Improvement

• Some younger pupils do not form letters correctly, and teachers do not consistently spot and address these errors, so writing accuracy is not secure.
• Some pupils have gaps in previous learning that are not identified and addressed, making it harder to secure new ideas and deepen understanding.
• Teachers do not always check that all pupils have the knowledge they need before moving on to new learning.
• In early years, the curriculum is not clear enough in a small number of areas about the most important ideas and key vocabulary children should learn.
• Some early years staff do not consistently use interactions and provision to boost children's vocabulary and understanding.
• Some children do not write as accurately as they could because early writing errors are not consistently identified and addressed.

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 Eccleston Mere Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.2% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Eccleston Mere 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 Eccleston Mere Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.7% 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, 14.4% of pupils at Eccleston Mere Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 2025–26 Eccleston Mere Primary School received £6,554 and spent £6,744 for each of its 389 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £67,000 (-£171 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).

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What is Eccleston Mere Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Eccleston Mere Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Eccleston Mere Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Eccleston Mere Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Eccleston Mere Primary School have?

Eccleston Mere Primary School has 397 pupils on roll.

What age range does Eccleston Mere Primary School cover?

Eccleston Mere Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Eccleston Mere Primary School?

Eccleston Mere Primary School is at Saleswood Avenue, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 5NX.