Norwood Primary School

About Norwood Primary School

Norwood Primary School sits within Sefton local authority, a borough with 74 primary schools, where it currently ranks 50th. That places it in the bottom half of the local league table, behind the top-performing peers in the area: St Thomas Church of England Primary School, Lydiate, St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School, and Shoreside Primary School. The school is a mixed, state-funded primary for children aged 5 to 11, with no religious character. It is led by headteacher Aileen McCarthy and is a large school, with 625 pupils on roll against a capacity of 630. The school is noticeably oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 admissions cycle, it received 174 applications for 79 places, with all 79 first-preference applicants receiving an offer. That works out at 2.2 applications per place, suggesting strong local demand despite its middling rank. Just over a fifth of pupils (21.8%) are eligible for free school meals, which is slightly above the national average for primary schools.

Academically, Norwood’s most recent Key Stage 2 results, from the 2023/24 academic year, show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 44%, well below the Sefton local authority average of 59%. In reading, 56% met the expected standard and 20% reached the higher standard; in writing, 59% met the expected standard and just 3% reached the higher standard; in maths, 64% met the expected standard and 14% reached the higher standard. Average scaled scores were 101 in reading and 102 in maths. The school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2017, rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership and management and Good for early years provision. A subsequent ungraded inspection in November 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. That is an improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2015, when it was rated Requires Improvement.

The school offers a solid range of facilities, including a library, art studios, a gymnasium, music rooms, a sensory room, a forest school, and a dining hall. Sports provision covers athletics, netball, swimming, rounders and dance, and there are clubs for art, science, film and books. SEND support is broad, with provisions for specific learning difficulties (including dyslexia), moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. There is no nursery or sixth form. Norwood is a good fit for families who prioritise a large, inclusive primary with strong SEND support and a forest school, and who are comfortable with academic results that sit below the local average. The oversubscription suggests it is a popular choice within its immediate catchment, even if it does not top the local rankings.

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