# Willow Bank School

Willow Bank School is a special school in St. Helens, for pupils aged 8 to 16.

It had 70 pupils at the school census in January 2026.

Special school. Code E104843. [St. Helens](https://openindex.co.uk/st-helens)

- Phase: Special
- Type: Community special school
- Ages: 8 to 16
- Pupils: 70
- Council: St. Helens
- URN: 104843

## Latest Ofsted outcome

Report card, May 2026: safeguarding met
- Inspection: Report card, 12 May 2026
- Safeguarding: Met
- Inclusion: Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention
- Achievement: Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour: Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing: Expected standard
- Early years: Not applicable
- Post-16 provision: Not applicable
- Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Edition: Latest inspections as at 30 September 2026
Outcomes as Ofsted published them. Report cards (from November 2025) give no overall grade, and grades under different frameworks cannot be compared.

## Results

Source: Department for Education school performance tables (Open Government Licence).

In 2024/25, 0% of pupils at Willow Bank School met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% in St. Helens and 62% in England.
0% reached the higher standard (8% in England).
In 2025/26, the average Attainment 8 score at Willow Bank School was 9.4, against 43.6 in St. Helens and 46.2 in England.
0% of its pupils got grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs (46.3% in England).

### End of primary school (KS2): 2024/25

| Measure | This school | St. Helens | England |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 62% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 90 | 105 | 106 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 92 | 104 | 105 |

### End of secondary school (KS4, GCSEs): 2025/26, provisional

| Measure | This school | St. Helens | England |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Average Attainment 8 score | 9.4 | 43.6 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 41% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 61.2% | 64.8% |
| Pupils at the end of KS4 | 7 | – | – |

Willow Bank School teaches pupils with needs that most schools' pupils do not have, often in very small year groups, so its results are not a fair comparison with mainstream schools. They are not shown on the map.
Progress scores from KS1 to KS2 were not published for 2024/25, because the KS1 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
The 2025/26 figures are provisional. The Department for Education publishes revised ones later in the school year.
Progress 8 cannot be worked out for 2025/26, because the KS2 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
Results reflect the pupils a school admits as well as its teaching, and a year's results can move a lot in a small school.

## Schools nearby

Distances are in a straight line. Admissions and catchments are set by councils and schools.

- [Lyme Community Primary School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/lyme-community-primary-school-e104776): 870 m. Primary. Graded inspection, November 2024: no overall grade. 62% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [The District CofE Primary School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/the-district-cofe-primary-school-e149654): 1.3 km. Primary. Good (overall), October 2021, before the school changed. 60% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [Burtonwood Community Primary School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/burtonwood-community-primary-school-e145390): 1.6 km. Primary. Good (overall), May 2023. 81% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [St Mary's Catholic Junior Academy](https://openindex.co.uk/school/st-marys-catholic-junior-academy-e150302): 1.6 km. Primary. Requires improvement (overall), November 2022, before the school changed. 72% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [Grange Valley Primary School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/grange-valley-primary-school-e104774): 1.6 km. Primary. School remains Outstanding, May 2024. 71% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)
- [Wargrave CofE Primary School](https://openindex.co.uk/school/wargrave-cofe-primary-school-e104787): 1.8 km. Primary. Graded inspection, November 2024: no overall grade. 57% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)

## Sources and further information

- [Schools: methods, licences and inspection sources](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/schools)
- [Get Information about Schools](https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/104843)
- [Ofsted reports](https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/104843)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/school/willow-bank-school-e104843, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/school/willow-bank-school-e104843#sc-results.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/school/willow-bank-school-e104843