Merton Bank Primary School

Merton Bank Primary School is currently rated as requiring improvement overall. While the quality of education has been identified as an area that needs enhancement, the school has notable strengths in the areas of behavior, attitudes, personal development, and leadership. Pupils enjoy a calm and inclusive environment where they feel valued, and the school's recent initiatives, such as a new behavior policy, have been well-received. However, the curriculum does not effectively support all pupils in making the progress they need, especially in subjects outside of reading and mathematics.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well and listen carefully to adults and each other.
• The school is a calm, inviting place where pupils feel valued.
• Pupils with SEND are well-supported and included in all aspects of school life.
• There are effective systems in place to track pupils' progress in reading and mathematics.
• Parents report that staff are very supportive and responsive to concerns.
• The school has a strong focus on values such as respect, care, and empathy.

Areas for Improvement

• The wider curriculum is not designed effectively, hindering some pupils' progress.
• Insufficient attention is given to teaching letter and number formation, affecting writing fluency.
• Too many pupils are persistently absent, impacting their learning.

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 Merton Bank Primary School attended 91.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.0% 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, 6.0% of pupils at Merton Bank Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 3 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 Merton Bank Primary School had 16.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 22.3% of pupils at Merton Bank Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.3% 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 Merton Bank Primary School received £9,364 and spent £9,373 for each of its 186 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £71,000 (-£379 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

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What is Merton Bank Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Merton Bank Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Merton Bank Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Merton Bank Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Merton Bank Primary School have?

Merton Bank Primary School has 193 pupils on roll.

What age range does Merton Bank Primary School cover?

Merton Bank Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 28% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Merton Bank Primary School?

Merton Bank Primary School is at Roper Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 1EJ.