Nutgrove Methodist Primary School

Nutgrove Methodist Primary School is a school in transition. This was its first section 5 inspection, although it had previously been judged outstanding before becoming an academy within the Epworth Trust. Recent staffing and leadership disruption has affected the quality of education, but trust support has recently increased leadership capacity and is beginning to drive improvement. Pupils are happy, feel safe and are polite and well-mannered, and safeguarding is effective. However, expectations are not high enough, and provision is not yet consistently good across classes and subjects. The main concerns are curriculum clarity and delivery. In several subjects, including early years, the essential knowledge pupils should learn is not well defined, and some staff are unsure what to teach or how to adapt work for pupils with SEND. Assessment is at an early stage, subject leadership is underdeveloped, and phonics teaching is variable, although most pupils were fluent readers by Year 2 in 2024. Behaviour is not consistently managed, so low-level disruption occurs in some lessons. Pupils also have too few extracurricular opportunities and limited chances to shape school life. There are clear strengths to build on. The curriculum is logically sequenced from early years to Year 6, some subjects have been refined, and 2024 Year 6 attainment in reading, writing and mathematics compared well with national averages. Staff report a positive culture and good support for workload and well-being, and the local advisory board fulfils statutory duties and acts on concerns. However, board members lack the expertise to hold the school fully to account, and the school does not yet know how well current pupils achieve across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and trust staff to listen and help.
• Pupils are polite, well-mannered and attend school regularly.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• The curriculum begins in the early years and flows logically to Year 6.
• Some subjects have been refined to include essential knowledge pupils need.
• Trust support has increased leadership capacity and is leading to some improvements.
• Some staff identify SEND quickly and provide effective support.
• Most pupils were confident, fluent readers by Year 2 in the 2024 phonics screening check.
• Year 6 attainment in reading, writing and mathematics compared well with national averages in 2024.
• Pupils understand fundamental British values and learn how to stay healthy and safe.
• Staff report a positive culture with support for well-being and workload.
• The local advisory board fulfils statutory duties and acts swiftly when issues are raised.

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations for what pupils can achieve are not high enough.
• Key knowledge is unclear in many curriculum areas, including aspects of early years.
• Curriculum delivery is weak in some subjects and classes, including early years.
• Staff are unsure what knowledge to deliver and do not always choose appropriate activities.
• Subject leaders lack the skills to fulfil their roles successfully.
• Assessment strategies are in the early stages and do not effectively check what pupils know.
• Phonics delivery is variable, and pupils needing additional support are not always receiving it.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are not consistently effective across the school.
• The behaviour policy is not followed consistently, leading to low-level disruption in some lessons.
• Pupils lack sufficient extracurricular opportunities to develop talents and interests.
• Pupils have too few opportunities to make a difference or have a true voice in school.
• Educational visits are not carefully thought through, limiting opportunities for some pupils.
• The local advisory board lacks the skills and expertise to fully hold the school to account.
• The school does not know how well current pupils achieve across the curriculum.

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 Nutgrove Methodist Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.5% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Nutgrove Methodist 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 Nutgrove Methodist Primary School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 37.0% 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, 24.2% of pupils at Nutgrove Methodist Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 2024–25 Nutgrove Methodist Primary School received £6,956 and spent £6,886 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £160,000 (£796 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Epworth Education Trust, income was £7,330 and spending £7,127 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 St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

Nutgrove Methodist Primary School is part of Epworth Education Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Leigh Westleigh Methodist Primary School Leigh
• Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School Leigh
• Leyland Methodist Junior School Leyland
• Leyland Methodist Infant School Leyland
• Wesley Methodist Primary School Manchester
• Summerseat Methodist Primary School Bury
• Rosehill Methodist Primary Academy Ashton-Under-Lyne
• Hey-with-Zion Primary School Oldham
• Wheatley Lane Methodist Primary School Burnley
• Bakewell Methodist Academy Bakewell

What is Nutgrove Methodist Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Nutgrove Methodist Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Nutgrove Methodist Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Nutgrove Methodist Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Nutgrove Methodist Primary School have?

Nutgrove Methodist Primary School has 194 pupils on roll.

What age range does Nutgrove Methodist Primary School cover?

Nutgrove Methodist Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Nutgrove Methodist Primary School?

Nutgrove Methodist Primary School is at Govett Road, Nutgrove, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 5NH.