Broad Oak Community Primary School

About Broad Oak Community Primary School

Broad Oak Community Primary School enjoys strong backing from its parent community, with 91% of respondents to the most recent Parent View survey saying they would recommend the school to other families. That survey, covering responses from September 2024 to September 2025, also showed that 91% of parents strongly agreed their child feels safe at the school, and 82% strongly agreed their child is happy there. The school is clearly popular locally: for the 2025/26 academic year, it received 85 applications for 60 places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.42 applicants per place. 57 of those applications were first-preference choices, and all 57 received offers. Parents also reported strong satisfaction with how the school communicates, with 73% strongly agreeing the school makes them aware of what their child will learn, and 64% strongly agreeing they are kept informed about their child's progress.

Academically, Broad Oak's most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024 rated it Good across all areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision. This is consistent with its previous Good rating from 2014. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 46% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This is below the St. Helens local authority average of 61% and places the school 39th out of 47 primary schools in the borough. Individual subject scores were more mixed: 61% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading and in maths, while 53% did so in writing. Average scaled scores were 101 in reading and 100 in maths. Only 1% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects, though 15% reached the higher standard in reading and 8% in maths. The school's ranking nationally places it in the bottom half of primary schools on this combined measure.

The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage, with 66% of pupils eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. It has a nursery provision for children aged two and above, and offers a wide range of facilities including playing fields, a sports hall, a gymnasium, art studios, a forest school area, and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include football, dance, tennis, rounders, gymnastics, cricket and swimming, and there are clubs for choir, drama, eco club and chess. The school's SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health needs, multi-sensory impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families considering Broad Oak, the data suggests a school that is well-regarded by its parents and oversubscribed, but one where academic outcomes are below the local average and where the focus may be on supporting a high-needs intake rather than pushing for top-tier results.

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