Broad Oak Community Primary School

Broad Oak Community Primary School is a warm and welcoming school where pupils are happy and the ‘Broad Oak Family’ values shape positive attitudes to learning. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains Good in all judged areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and pupils generally live up to them. The curriculum is broad, balanced and ambitious, reading is central, and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is a priority, and pupils benefit from a wide range of trips, clubs and leadership roles. The main area for improvement is writing. Recent outcomes in writing have been too low, and the school’s newly introduced writing curriculum has not yet fully embedded, so some pupils do not write as competently as they should. Handwriting and presentation expectations are not consistently high enough, and some pupils leave Year 2 without secure letter formation, which affects fluency and presentation later on. Published 2023 outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check and Year 6 mathematics and writing were below national averages, although the report notes that some pupils joined mid-year with barriers to learning and that current pupils mainly achieve well. Overall, this is a good school with strong pastoral support, a committed governing body and effective safeguarding. The priorities are to fully train staff for the new writing approach and to raise expectations for handwriting from the early years upwards.

Strengths

• Warm and welcoming school with strong relationships and positive ‘Broad Oak Family’ values.
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum with key knowledge mapped from early years to Year 6.
• Reading is central, with well-matched books, routine phonics checks and effective catch-up support.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and accurately and achieve well.
• Strong pastoral approach and effective work to improve attendance.
• Wide range of trips, clubs and leadership roles supporting personal development.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.
• Committed governors who provide challenge and support and fulfil statutory duties.
• Staff benefit from high-quality training and feel listened to.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing outcomes have been too low in recent years and the new writing curriculum is not yet fully embedded.
• Staff need full training to help pupils compose and structure writing successfully.
• Expectations for handwriting and presentation are not high enough across subjects.
• Some pupils leave Year 2 without accurate letter formation and legible handwriting, hindering later writing fluency.
• Published 2023 outcomes were below national averages in Year 1 phonics screening and Year 6 mathematics and writing, though current pupils mainly achieve well and some joined mid-year.

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 Broad Oak Community Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.6% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Broad Oak Community 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 Broad Oak Community Primary School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.9% 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, 20.5% of pupils at Broad Oak Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Broad Oak Community Primary School received £8,545 and spent £8,481 for each of its 582 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £322,000 (£553 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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What is Broad Oak Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Broad Oak Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Broad Oak Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Broad Oak Community Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Broad Oak Community Primary School have?

Broad Oak Community Primary School has 630 pupils on roll.

What age range does Broad Oak Community Primary School cover?

Broad Oak Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Broad Oak Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Broad Oak Community Primary School?

Broad Oak Community Primary School is at Brunswick Street, Parr, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 2JE.