Overchurch Infant School

Overchurch Infant School is a happy, welcoming school where pupils behave well and achieve well. Inspectors found the school's inclusion work to be of a strong standard, with staff knowing pupils exceptionally well and providing highly personalised support that removes barriers to learning, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. The early years provision gives children a positive start, and pupils leave well prepared for key stage 2. Most other areas, including achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, leadership and governance, and personal development, are at the expected standard. Safeguarding standards are met. The school has a high proportion of pupils with SEN support, well above the national average, and is located in an area with above-average deprivation. Leaders are mindful of staff workload and wellbeing, and governors provide effective support and challenge. The main areas for improvement are ensuring pupils' writing across the curriculum is consistently of high quality and that monitoring at all levels provides precise information to drive further improvement.

Strengths

• Inclusion is a strong standard, with staff removing barriers to learning and wellbeing.
• Highly personalised support for disadvantaged pupils, including effective use of pupil premium funding.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start, with strong phonics and story/rhyme work.
• Pupils achieve well and leave the infant school well prepared for key stage 2.
• Pupils behave well and develop positive attitudes to learning.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with robust safeguarding oversight by governors.
• Personal development and wellbeing programme is well-crafted, with strong pastoral support.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' writing across the curriculum is not consistently of a high enough quality.
• Monitoring at all levels does not always provide sufficiently precise information to support further improvement.

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 Overchurch Infant School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Overchurch Infant 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 Overchurch Infant School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 23.0% of pupils at Overchurch Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Overchurch Infant School received £8,210 and spent £7,921 for each of its 264 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £76,000 (£289 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 Wirral · Wirral local authority: places and applications

What is Overchurch Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Overchurch Infant School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Overchurch Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Overchurch Infant School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Overchurch Infant School have?

Overchurch Infant School has 269 pupils on roll.

What age range does Overchurch Infant School cover?

Overchurch Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Overchurch Infant School?

Overchurch Infant School is at Moreton Road, Upton, Wirral, Merseyside, CH49 4NS.