Cathcart Street Primary School

Cathcart Street Primary School is a smaller-than-average primary in a highly deprived area of Birkenhead, with a well-above-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEN support. The school has experienced significant leadership and staffing instability, and the current headteacher took up post in April 2025. Safeguarding is a clear strength: standards are met, pupils feel safe, relationships with staff are positive, and bullying or discrimination is dealt with swiftly. The recently revised curriculum is ambitious and beginning to improve pupils' knowledge, particularly in early reading and phonics and in some subject-specific skills, and leaders have an accurate understanding of what needs to change. However, the inspection found significant weaknesses in achievement, attendance, behaviour and inclusion. Pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6 remains below national averages, with disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND or other barriers achieving well below their peers. Many pupils are persistently absent, which contributes to gaps in learning. Teaching is variable: basic skills are not consistently well taught, misconceptions are not always addressed, and support for pupils with SEND is not consistently matched to their needs. Early years provision also varies, with some children not developing the vocabulary and skills they need for Year 1. Behaviour and personal development also require attention. Some staff do not consistently apply the school's behaviour policy, leading to disengagement and disruption, and pupils' understanding of values, cultures and faiths is not deep enough to prepare them well for life in modern Britain. Leadership capacity is improving, governors are skilled, and external support is effective, but improvements are at an early stage and sustained impact is not yet evident. The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions, and its nurture provision, pastoral care, clubs and trips are helping some pupils feel settled and engaged.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and the school has an open, positive culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils feel safe, have trusting relationships with staff, and know how to seek help.
• Leaders respond swiftly and effectively to bullying, discrimination or harassment.
• A recently revised, ambitious curriculum is beginning to build pupils' knowledge and skills progressively.
• Early reading and phonics are taught logically, helping pupils apply letter sounds with increasing accuracy.
• Pupils learn subject-specific knowledge, such as tennis skills in Year 6 and geographical comparisons in Year 2.
• Early years children learn to partition numbers and use this to solve simple calculations.
• Leaders and governors accurately understand the school's strengths and weaknesses and have identified the right priorities.
• Governors have the skills and expertise, including in finance and safeguarding, to challenge and support leaders.
• Leaders work effectively with external professionals such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists.
• Nurture provision, the Rainbow Room and an adapted start to the day support pupils' wellbeing and readiness to learn.
• Pupils access a range of clubs, sports competitions, dance festivals and residential experiences, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils learn how to manage risk, stay safe online, and understand healthy relationships and consent.
• Staff value support for their workload and wellbeing, and leaders work well with parents and carers.
• Alternative provision is used well to improve attendance, confidence and engagement for some pupils.
• Leaders prioritise attendance and provide tailored support, with early signs of success for some individuals.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6 is below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND or other barriers achieve well below their peers and are not prepared well enough for next steps.
• Many pupils have significant gaps in reading, writing and mathematics that hinder learning across the curriculum.
• Attendance remains below national average and persistent absence is high.
• Some staff do not consistently apply leaders' high expectations for behaviour.
• Some pupils become disengaged or call out in lessons, disrupting their own and others' learning.
• Teaching quality is variable, and basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics have not been taught consistently well over time.
• Teachers do not routinely identify and address misconceptions, allowing errors to persist.
• Some teachers do not adapt teaching well enough for pupils with SEND and those facing other barriers.
• Early years provision is variable, and some children do not gain the knowledge, vocabulary and skills needed for Year 1.
• Staff in early years sometimes lack expertise to develop children's vocabulary and interact effectively.
• Some pupils with SEND or other barriers do not consistently receive the support they need to achieve well.
• Pupils' understanding of important values and of different cultures and faiths lacks depth, so they are not well prepared for life in diverse modern Britain.
• Opportunities for pupils to develop leadership and social skills through roles of responsibility are at an early stage and limited.
• Leadership capacity is improving but it is too soon to see sustained impact on achievement and personal development.
• The programme of training and support for teaching and assessment is at an early stage, so its impact is not yet fully evident.

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 Cathcart Street Primary School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 26.2% 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, 4.5% of pupils at Cathcart Street 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 Cathcart Street Primary School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.5% 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, 34.3% of pupils at Cathcart Street Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Cathcart Street Primary School received £9,867 and spent £9,618 for each of its 197 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £170,000 (£866 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 Cathcart Street Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cathcart Street Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Cathcart Street Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cathcart Street Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Cathcart Street Primary School have?

Cathcart Street Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cathcart Street Primary School cover?

Cathcart Street Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 26% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cathcart Street Primary School?

Cathcart Street Primary School is at Dover Close, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 3JY.