Crosby High School

Crosby High School is a community special school where all pupils have an education, health and care plan. Pupils enjoy attending, feel safe and cared for, and benefit from warm relationships with staff. Behaviour and personal development are strengths: pupils are generally polite and respectful, the school provides sensitive support for those who struggle to regulate their emotions, and there is a varied programme of enrichment, careers information and work experience. The main concerns are the quality of education and leadership and management. The school has experienced leadership turbulence, which contributed to weaknesses in the curriculum, and recent improvements are still in their infancy. In some subjects, essential knowledge is not clearly identified or sequenced, assessment systems are underdeveloped, and teaching choices are inconsistent, so some pupils do not build knowledge securely. The school also does not use information about pupils' precise SEND needs and academic starting points well enough, which means expectations are sometimes too low and the curriculum is not sufficiently matched to some pupils' abilities. There are clear signs of improvement. Leaders have acted decisively to raise ambition in curriculum pathways and qualifications, reading is prioritised with prompt support for pupils at the early stages, and safeguarding is effective. Governors, supported by the local authority, have a renewed focus and are united in supporting the school through this period of change. The substantive headteacher was absent at the time of inspection, with an acting headteacher in post.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, cared for and part of a warm school community.
• Pupils behave well and are polite and respectful in lessons.
• The school provides sensitive, individualised support for pupils' emotional and behavioural needs.
• Pupils benefit from a varied enrichment programme including outdoor learning, animal care and residential trips.
• Many pupils complete the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, building confidence and social skills.
• Reading is prioritised, with early identification and effective phonics support.
• Clear rules and routines help pupils understand expectations.
• Older pupils act as ambassadors and support younger peers.
• Personal development teaches difference, tolerance, safety and preparation for next steps.
• Careers information, advice and work experience are helpful and well established.
• Staff feel supported with workload and well-being during a period of change.
• Governors have a renewed focus and are united in supporting improvement.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement.
• Leadership and management require improvement.
• In some subjects, essential knowledge is not clearly identified or sequenced.
• Assessment systems are underdeveloped and do not reliably check how well pupils are learning.
• Teaching approaches are inconsistent, so some pupils do not build knowledge as they should.
• Information about pupils' SEND needs and academic starting points is not used well enough.
• Academic expectations are sometimes too low for some pupils.
• The current curriculum does not meet the needs and abilities of some pupils well enough.
• Leadership turbulence has led to curriculum weaknesses that were not addressed quickly enough.
• Recent curriculum improvements are still in their infancy and need to be embedded swiftly.

In 2024–25 pupils at Crosby High School attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 24.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

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, 7.1% of pupils at Crosby High School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). 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 Crosby High School had 8.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

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 Crosby High School had 173 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: specific learning difficulty; moderate learning difficulty; profound and multiple learning difficulty; social, emotional and mental health; speech, language and communication needs; hearing impairment; vision impairment; multi-sensory impairment; physical disability; autistic spectrum disorder; other difficulty or disability.

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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Crosby High School received £24,835 and spent £22,636 for each of its 173 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,295,000 (£7,487 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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• Secondary Schools

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What is Crosby High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Crosby High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Crosby High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Crosby High School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Crosby High School have?

Crosby High School has 173 pupils on roll.

What age range does Crosby High School cover?

Crosby High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

Where is Crosby High School?

Crosby High School is at De Villiers Avenue, Crosby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L23 2TH.