Birkenhead Park School

Birkenhead Park School is a secondary school in Birkenhead, Merseyside, part of the BePART Educational Trust. It serves a disadvantaged community: 66.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (well above average) and 25.95% receive SEN support (well above average). The school has improved dramatically in recent years. Inspectors found strong standards in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and leadership and governance, with expected standards in achievement, curriculum and teaching, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Attendance is now above the national average and persistent absence has reduced markedly. Pupils feel safe, supported and cared for, and behaviour is calm and respectful. Inclusion is central to the school's work, with robust systems to support pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have embedded a culture of high expectations, supported by governors and trustees, and staff feel highly valued. The curriculum is well structured, and the 'BPS way' of teaching helps pupils make progress. Personal development and pastoral care are strong, with a broad range of opportunities and effective careers guidance. However, some areas require further improvement. Teaching is not yet consistently highly effective across all subjects and year groups, and attainment in national examinations, while improving, remains below national averages in some measures such as Progress 8 and English and maths GCSE. Some pupils have gaps in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is sometimes not as detailed as leaders intend. Leaders should ensure teaching is embedded consistently to raise attainment further and better prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

Strengths

• Attendance is above the national average and persistent absence has reduced markedly.
• Pupils feel safe, supported and cared for, which contributes to their desire to attend.
• Behaviour is calm and respectful, with clear and consistent expectations.
• Bullying and unkind behaviour are rare and dealt with quickly and effectively.
• Inclusion is central, with robust systems to identify and support additional needs.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils attend regularly, achieve well, and feel they belong.
• Leaders work effectively with external agencies and the local authority virtual school.
• Additional funding is used well to reduce barriers for pupils eligible for free school meals.
• Alternative provision is used effectively, with many pupils successfully reintegrating.
• Leadership has embedded a culture of high expectations, leading to marked improvements.
• Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge.
• Staff feel highly valued and are proud to work at the school.
• Comprehensive professional development supports staff, including those aspiring to leadership.
• Leaders collaborate with other schools and colleges to share best practice.
• Transition arrangements from primary to secondary and on to post-16 are strengthened.
• Community engagement is strong, with parents positive about communication.
• The curriculum is structured to build knowledge securely over time.
• The 'BPS way' of teaching helps pupils make progress through the curriculum.
• Teachers use a range of strategies to check understanding and adjust teaching.
• Adaptive teaching strategies are embedded, supporting pupils with SEND.
• The personal development programme broadens experiences through clubs, trips and culture days.
• The careers programme ensures pupils, especially those with barriers, get support for next steps.
• Pastoral care is embedded, with experts brought in when needed.
• Pupils produce work of high quality and engage enthusiastically with reading.
• Results at key stage 4 have improved markedly, with disadvantaged pupils sometimes outperforming national averages.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is not yet consistently highly effective across all subjects and year groups.
• Attainment in national examinations at key stage 4 could improve further.
• Some pupils have gaps in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is sometimes not as detailed as intended.
• Destinations after 16 are below the national average.
• Progress 8 and English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above are below national averages in recent data.

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 Birkenhead Park School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 10.7% of pupils at Birkenhead Park School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Birkenhead Park School had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 25.4% of pupils at Birkenhead Park School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Birkenhead Park School received £10,605 and spent £9,160 for each of its 768 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,450,000 (£3,190 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Bepart Educational Trust, income was £8,092 and spending £7,652 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Birkenhead · Wirral local authority: places and applications

Birkenhead Park School is part of Bepart Educational Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Birkenhead Sixth Form College Wirral

What is Birkenhead Park School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birkenhead Park School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Birkenhead Park School last inspected by Ofsted?

Birkenhead Park School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Birkenhead Park School have?

Birkenhead Park School has 731 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birkenhead Park School cover?

Birkenhead Park School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Birkenhead Park School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.1, and 25% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Birkenhead Park School?

Birkenhead Park School is at Park Road South, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH43 4UY.