Kingsway Primary School

Kingsway Primary School is a smaller-than-average primary in an area of high deprivation, with well-above-average proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND or EHC plans. Safeguarding is met. Inspectors found a calm, harmonious school where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from strong personal development and wellbeing provision. Leaders work effectively with families and external agencies to reduce barriers for disadvantaged pupils, and reading and phonics are notable strengths: the phonics programme is embedded and pupils read accurately and fluently. Early years staff build strong relationships and support children’s language, communication and personal development. However, several core areas are weaker. Pupils do not learn as well as they should, and national test outcomes are low, especially in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Teachers do not consistently check prior knowledge before introducing new content, and support and interventions are not precise enough, so some pupils—including those with SEND—struggle to keep up. Teaching for pupils with SEND is too variable. Attendance is low and persistent absence is high, which undermines learning and wider development. In early years, gaps in children’s knowledge and skills are not identified or addressed consistently, leaving some children less prepared for Year 1. Leadership and governance are also weaker because improvement actions are not leading to rapid or sustained change. Leaders do not always ensure staff focus on what pupils most need to learn, and governors’ challenge sometimes focuses on activity rather than impact. The next steps centre on improving attendance, ensuring teachers identify and address gaps consistently, strengthening SEND support, making leadership actions more rapid, and designing the early years curriculum so children are fully prepared for Year 1.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Pupils feel happy and safe in a calm, harmonious school.
• Pupils typically behave well, and staff manage behaviour skilfully, so interruptions to learning are rare or brief.
• Personal development and wellbeing are a high priority, with a wide range of carefully chosen experiences.
• Pupils learn how to stay safe and healthy, including online safety and managing their emotions.
• Pupils develop positive relationships, embrace differences, and understand consent and changes during puberty.
• Pupils develop a secure understanding of democracy and fundamental British values and take on roles of responsibility.
• Inclusion work effectively identifies and reduces many barriers disadvantaged pupils face, with strong use of parent and external agency advice.
• Leaders ensure disadvantaged pupils can fully access the school’s range of opportunities.
• The phonics programme is fully embedded and delivered to a consistently high standard.
• Most pupils read accurately and fluently, and struggling readers receive regular additional practice.
• The curriculum is ambitious, systematically developed, and teachers have the subject knowledge they need.
• Leaders prioritise reading across the curriculum.
• Early years staff build nurturing relationships and strong partnerships with parents and carers.
• Early years provision supports children’s language and communication skills effectively.
• Children in early years make great strides in personal, social and emotional development and settle quickly into well-established routines.
• Leaders support staff workload and wellbeing, and staff-leader relationships are positive and collaborative.
• Governors understand their statutory duties and provide support and challenge to leaders.
• Behaviour has improved since the previous inspection, and suspensions are used sparingly and reducing over time.
• Leaders provide practical and well-considered support to improve attendance for some pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Outcomes for pupils in national curriculum tests are low.
• Many pupils do not develop sufficient fluency in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Pupils’ recall and understanding across the curriculum is not secure enough to build on prior knowledge and progress well.
• Attendance is low compared with national averages, and persistent absence is high.
• Poor attendance impedes pupils’ learning and ability to address gaps, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Leaders do not check carefully enough whether additional support for disadvantaged pupils is having the desired impact.
• Teachers do not consistently check what pupils already know before introducing new learning.
• Some pupils, including those with SEND, struggle to keep up and do not secure enough prior learning.
• The effectiveness of additional support and intervention is not precise enough.
• The quality of teaching for pupils with SEND is too variable, affecting progress through the curriculum.
• Early years leaders do not identify what children most need to know to be ready for Year 1 and beyond.
• Early years staff do not consistently identify and address gaps in children’s knowledge, such as letter and number formation.
• Improvements in the phonics screening check results are not yet evident despite the stronger phonics programme.
• Leaders’ actions to improve the school do not lead to necessary improvements quickly enough.
• School improvement work does not ensure pupils experience the expected standards in a timely way.
• Leaders do not ensure all staff focus on what pupils most need to learn, including additional support, intervention and adjustments.
• Governors’ support and challenge sometimes focuses on action taken rather than its impact on pupils.
• The school is not fully preparing pupils for the next stages of their education.

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 Kingsway Primary School attended 87.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 32.5% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Kingsway 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 Kingsway Primary School had 13.1 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, 40.4% of pupils at Kingsway Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.6% 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 Kingsway Primary School received £10,947 and spent £12,057 for each of its 140 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £38,000 (-£273 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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All schools in Wallasey · Wirral local authority: places and applications

What is Kingsway Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Kingsway Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kingsway Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Kingsway Primary School have?

Kingsway Primary School has 151 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kingsway Primary School cover?

Kingsway Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 37% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kingsway Primary School?

Kingsway Primary School is at Ashville Road, Wallasey, Merseyside, CH44 9EF.