Gorsewood Primary School

Gorsewood Primary School continues to be a good school where pupils thrive in a caring and purposeful environment. The school promotes positive relationships among students and fosters an appreciation for Britain's cultural and religious diversity. While most pupils learn well and demonstrate good behavior, previous gaps in knowledge in one or two curriculum areas hinder some students' ability to achieve their full potential. Additionally, attendance remains a concern for a subset of pupils, impacting their overall learning experience.

Strengths

• Pupils value friendships and positive relationships with staff.
• Most pupils achieve well across the curriculum.
• Leaders have devised a broad and balanced curriculum.
• Effective support and adaptations for pupils with SEND.
• Strong emphasis on reading with an extensive range of materials.
• Pupils participate in extra-curricular activities that stimulate their interests.
• Governors provide effective challenge and support to leaders.
• Staff feel supported and valued by school leadership.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge due to previous curriculum weaknesses.
• Attendance of certain pupils remains low, affecting their learning.

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 Gorsewood Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.0% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Gorsewood 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 Gorsewood Primary School had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.1% 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, 35.5% of pupils at Gorsewood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.4% 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 Gorsewood Primary School received £9,732 and spent £9,359 for each of its 166 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £488,000 (£2,940 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 Runcorn · Halton local authority: places and applications

What is Gorsewood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gorsewood Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Gorsewood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gorsewood Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Gorsewood Primary School have?

Gorsewood Primary School has 166 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gorsewood Primary School cover?

Gorsewood Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gorsewood Primary School?

Gorsewood Primary School is at Gorsewood Road, Murdishaw, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 6ES.