Peterhouse School

Peterhouse School is a specialist school for pupils with autism aged 5 to 19, all of whom have an education, health and care plan and whose places are commissioned by local authorities. Inspectors found the school performing well overall, with attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision all at a strong standard. Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders have built a calm, inclusive and highly supportive environment, and families report increased confidence in the school, particularly where pupils have previously struggled to attend or engage with education. The school’s main strengths are its personalised support, strong relationships with families, and rapid improvements in curriculum design and teaching. Pupils benefit from well-matched therapeutic and academic provision, and many show marked improvements in attendance, confidence and independence. Post-16 students receive personalised programmes that prepare them well for adulthood, including careers guidance and practical life skills. The areas for development are in achievement and curriculum and teaching, which are at the expected standard rather than strong. The school’s next step is to develop teachers’ expertise in using assessment consistently to check understanding and address misconceptions, so that progress from starting points is clearly evident across all curriculum areas. Overall, this is a strong and improving school with no significant weaknesses beyond that consistency issue.

Strengths

• Leaders manage attendance thoughtfully with personalised support and close work with families.
• Behaviour is calm and orderly, and pupils feel safe and well supported.
• Bullying is rare and addressed promptly and sensitively.
• Inclusion is strong, with pupils’ SEND needs identified and met promptly and accurately.
• Staff have secure knowledge of autism and adapt environments, routines and resources well.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those known to children’s social care are well supported.
• The flexible education offer helps pupils re-engage and move towards regular attendance.
• Leadership and governance are clear, well informed and focused on pupils’ welfare and inclusion.
• There has been rapid improvement in curriculum design and teaching.
• Partnership with parents and carers is strong and helps rebuild trust.
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is well designed and carefully adapted.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enriching experiences and therapeutic support.
• Post-16 provision is personalised, calm, structured and focused on independence.
• Careers education and transition planning in post-16 are personalised and relevant.
• Pupils make progress from often low and disrupted starting points and gain accredited qualifications.
• Pupils’ views matter and are acted on through the school council.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment practice varies across subjects, so checking of understanding and addressing misconceptions is inconsistent.
• Progress from pupils’ starting points is not consistently clear across all areas of the curriculum.
• Leaders need to further embed assessment approaches so teaching is matched precisely to pupils’ starting points.

In 2024–25 pupils at Peterhouse School attended 74.9% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 46.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

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 Peterhouse School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). 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 Peterhouse School had 70 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 98.6%).

It says it provides for: autistic spectrum disorder.

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 non-maintained special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Southport · Sefton local authority: places and applications

What is Peterhouse School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Peterhouse School last inspected by Ofsted?

Peterhouse School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Peterhouse School have?

Peterhouse School has 70 pupils on roll.

What age range does Peterhouse School cover?

Peterhouse School for pupils aged 5 to 19.

Where is Peterhouse School?

Peterhouse School is at Preston New Road, Churchtown, Southport, Merseyside, PR9 8PA.