Brookside Primary School

Brookside Primary School has maintained its status as a good school, showing a positive environment where pupils are happy and feel safe. The school creates a supportive atmosphere with high expectations for learning, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Most pupils engage well and achieve high standards, reinforced by a curriculum that is well-designed and implemented across the school. However, the school faces challenges in a few areas, such as some gaps in knowledge due to recent curriculum changes and a limited range of high-quality reading materials for older students.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe in a supportive school environment.
• High expectations are set for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Teachers effectively use assessment strategies to support learning.
• A strong emphasis on early reading with a well-structured phonics program.
• Robust systems in place to address safeguarding concerns.
• A broad extra-curricular offer that enhances learning experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge due to recently revised curriculums.
• Older pupils do not have access to a broad enough range of high-quality texts for reading.

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 Brookside Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.4% 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, 3.6% of pupils at Brookside 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 Brookside Primary School had 18.4 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, 19.0% of pupils at Brookside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Brookside Primary School received £8,461 and spent £7,891 for each of its 177 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £120,000 (£682 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 Ellesmere Port · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Brookside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Brookside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brookside Primary School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Brookside Primary School have?

Brookside Primary School has 184 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brookside Primary School cover?

Brookside Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brookside Primary School?

Brookside Primary School is at Rostherne Avenue, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH66 2EE.