Gorse Covert Primary School

Gorse Covert Primary School, which has not been inspected before under section 5, has been rated as good overall. The school promotes a safe and nurturing environment where pupils feel valued and engaged in their learning. Leaders have established high expectations for student behaviour and well-being, and pupils respond positively in a structured and supportive atmosphere. The curriculum is ambitious and well-designed, catering to the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The early years provision ensures that children are well-prepared for future learning.

Strengths

• Strong commitment to pupil well-being and safety.
• High expectations for behaviour leading to a calm school environment.
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum in most subjects.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Wide range of enrichment activities promoting personal development.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack fully defined key knowledge, affecting pupil depth of understanding.

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 Gorse Covert Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.4% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Gorse Covert 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 Gorse Covert Primary School had 19.6 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, 9.9% of pupils at Gorse Covert Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 14 pupils.

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 Gorse Covert Primary School received £7,463 and spent £7,762 for each of its 211 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £306,000 (£1,448 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of One Community Trust, income was £7,898 and spending £7,940 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 Warrington · Warrington local authority: places and applications

Gorse Covert Primary School is part of One Community Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Birchwood Community High School Warrington
• Locking Stumps Community Primary School Warrington
• Culcheth Community Primary School Warrington
• Croft Primary School Warrington
• Woolston Community Primary School Warrington
• Brook Acre Community Primary School Warrington
• Oakwood Avenue Community Primary School Warrington

What is Gorse Covert Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gorse Covert Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Gorse Covert Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gorse Covert Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Gorse Covert Primary School have?

Gorse Covert Primary School has 212 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gorse Covert Primary School cover?

Gorse Covert Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gorse Covert Primary School?

Gorse Covert Primary School is at Gorse Covert Road, Birchwood, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6TS.