Devonshire Park Primary School

Devonshire Park Primary School demonstrates effective action in maintaining strong educational standards since its last inspection. Pupils thrive in a caring, inclusive environment where high expectations are set for their achievements. The school’s curriculum has been overhauled, enriching learning experiences for all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). With effective support systems in place, pupils make impressive progress overall, displaying enthusiasm for various extracurricular activities and pride in their school community. However, challenges remain, particularly regarding the consistency of early writing instruction and addressing persistent absenteeism among students. While assessment practices show strength in some areas, the school needs to refine its approach to ensure that all gaps in pupils' knowledge are identified and addressed promptly. Overall, the school is performing well, yet it acknowledges areas where improvement is still needed to continue fostering student success.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a caring and welcoming school environment.
• High expectations for student achievement are evident.
• The school successfully supports students with SEND.
• The curriculum is ambitious and enriches learning experiences.
• Pupils make strong progress and show enthusiasm for learning.
• The school fosters a positive contribution to mental health through initiatives like happiness heroes.
• Staff receive strong support for their professional development.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Early writing expectations are not high enough, impacting pupils' letter formation.
• Assessment strategies do not effectively identify learning gaps across all subjects.
• Persistent absence rates are high, limiting some pupils' achievement.

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 Devonshire Park Primary School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.4% 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, 4.9% of pupils at Devonshire Park 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 Devonshire Park Primary School had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.9% 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, 23.0% of pupils at Devonshire Park Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 2 pupils and resourced provision with 25 pupils.

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 Devonshire Park Primary School received £8,948 and spent £9,072 for each of its 410 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £49,000 (-£120 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 Birkenhead · Wirral local authority: places and applications

What is Devonshire Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Devonshire Park Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Devonshire Park Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Devonshire Park Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Devonshire Park Primary School have?

Devonshire Park Primary School has 413 pupils on roll.

What age range does Devonshire Park Primary School cover?

Devonshire Park Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Devonshire Park Primary School?

Devonshire Park Primary School is at Temple Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH42 9JX.