Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School

Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School is a happy, calm and welcoming school where pupils feel safe and relationships are strong. Inspectors found an ambitious curriculum and typically strong pupil achievement, with early reading and phonics a particular strength; pupils with SEND are identified early and supported well to access the same curriculum. Pupils behave well, enjoy a broad range of wider opportunities and take on leadership roles, and safeguarding is effective. Leadership, governance and trust oversight are clear, and staff feel valued. This was the school’s first section 5 inspection since it became an academy, and under current arrangements it received no overall effectiveness grade. It was judged good in each key area. The main areas to improve are in a small number of subjects where the curriculum does not set out the smaller steps of knowledge clearly enough and where leaders’ checks on delivery are not sufficiently deep, meaning some pupils miss key learning without the school being aware.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum with clear knowledge, skills and vocabulary in most subjects
• Strong phonics and reading provision, with very high 2024 attainment in English
• Early reading is prioritised and children develop a love of books from the early years
• Highly effective early identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Pupils behave well, are polite, confident and articulate, and school is calm
• Broad wider-development opportunities, including clubs and pupil leadership roles
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Clear shared vision and diligent governance and trust oversight
• Staff feel valued and workload and well-being are considered

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, curriculum planning does not clearly define the smaller steps of knowledge pupils need
• Curriculum checks are not deep enough in some subjects to confirm content is delivered as intended
• Some pupils miss key learning because aspects of the curriculum are not covered as intended and leaders are not always aware

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 Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School attended 96.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.4% 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 Thurstaston Dawpool CofE 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 Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 17.6% of pupils at Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School received £6,776 and spent £6,636 for each of its 222 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £14,000 (£63 per pupil).

Across all 27 schools of Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £6,299 and spending £6,313 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 Wirral · Wirral local authority: places and applications

Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School is part of Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 32 schools. The nearest others:

• Woodchurch CofE Primary School Wirral
• Moreton Christ Church CofE Primary School Wirral
• Oxton St Saviour's CofE Primary School Prenton
• Little Sutton C of E Primary School Ellesmere Port
• St Oswald's CofE Primary School Chester
• Upton Heath CofE Primary School Chester
• Overleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary School Chester
• Dodleston CofE Primary School Chester
• St Mary's Church of England Primary School Runcorn
• St Berteline's CofE Primary School Runcorn

What is Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School have?

Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School has 216 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School cover?

Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School?

Thurstaston Dawpool CofE Primary School is at School Lane, Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside, CH61 0HH.