Horizons Independent School, Birkenhead
Horizons Independent School is a special school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Birkenhead. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2026, ended in a report card: 1 expected standard and 5 needs attention.
- Ofsted report card
- 5 areas need attention
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Horizons Independent School in detail
What Ofsted's report card says
Ofsted's report card from its 3 March 2026 inspection grades Horizons Independent School on 6 areas: 1 expected standard and 5 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.
Inclusion - Expected standard. "Pupils who attend Horizons have significant and multiple barriers to learning that have previously prevented them from engaging fully with education."
Achievement - Needs attention. "At the time of the inspection, most pupils do not follow an academic pathway."
Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Pupils join the school with typically low attendance at their previous settings."
Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Leaders have ambitious plans for pupils to learn a broad range of subjects, once their emotional needs are fully met and understood."
Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "The proprietor and headteacher know the school well."
Personal development and wellbeing - Needs attention. "Pupils' personal development is important to leaders, but some parts of the programme are at the early stages of implementation."
Safeguarding standards were met.
Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently and securely"; "Leaders should make sure that the most important knowledge is clearly identified in subjects across the curriculum"; "Leaders should make sure that pupils have the opportunity to learn the academic curriculum once they are emotionally ready"; "Leaders should support more pupils to work towards gaining recognised qualifications"; "Leaders should make sure that attendance information enables them to suitably identify patterns and trends"; "Leaders should shape the personal development offer to support more pupils to build appropriate knowledge across the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum".
Read the full report card on Ofsted's site (school website)
Source: Ofsted report card (Open Government Licence), quoted
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Horizons Independent School are Utopia (1 mile, Good); Foxfield School (1.6 miles, Good); IMPACT Northwest Schools (2 miles, Good); and Kilgarth School (2.1 miles, Outstanding).
UtopiaFoxfield SchoolIMPACT Northwest SchoolsKilgarth School
What parents say
10 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Horizons Independent School (as of April 2026): 90% would recommend the school, 70% say their child is happy there and 100% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (100%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (40%).
Who goes there
Almost every pupil at Horizons Independent School has an education, health and care plan (23 of 24 in 2026).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Rock Ferry Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.
18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Mendip Road (ne-bound), 40 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 278 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Wirral (155), as is usual near a town centre.
Sources: Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 7 months agoReport card - no single overall grade (Ofsted's framework since January 2026 for independent schools)
Safeguarding standards met
- InclusionExpected standard
- AchievementNeeds attention
- Attendance and behaviourNeeds attention
- Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
- Leadership and governanceNeeds attention
- Personal development and wellbeingNeeds attention
Safeguarding standards: met
Independent school standards
Did not meet the independent school standards in Part 1 (quality of education) and Part 8 (leadership and management).
- Part 1: quality of educationNot met
- Part 2: pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural developmentMet
- Part 3: welfare, health and safetyMet
- Part 4: suitability of staff and proprietorsMet
- Part 5: premises and accommodationMet
- Part 6: information for parentsMet
- Part 7: handling of complaintsMet
- Part 8: leadership and managementNot met
Source: Ofsted, non-association independent schools inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted's report card, in its own words
What it's like to be a pupil at Horizons Independent School
For many pupils who attend this school, this is their first successful experience of education. However, most pupils do not learn an academic curriculum. Pupils typically join the school after periods out of education or with a turbulent previous engagement with providers. This school helps pupils to reintegrate into education because it values pupils as individuals. Staff know pupils' needs well. They use this to plan an offer for each pupil that captures their interest and helps them to develop essential aspects of their personal development. The school has only been open for a short time. In this time, leaders have established strong relationships with pupils on roll and have started to develop routines that will set pupils up well for their next stage of learning, employment or training. Over time, pupils begin to enjoy attending the school. They do not worry about bullying. Pupils start to improve their attendance as they build trust in staff to listen to them and support them. That said, leaders' actions to improve attendance are at the early stages. Staff have recently started to use the information they have about pupils to reduce the barriers to learning that pupils join the school with. Leaders plan a range of opportunities for each pupil that go beyond what they would normally experience. These well-planned experiences support pupils' character development and open their eyes to learning in a way that has often not been possible before. However, some parts of the personal development offer are underdeveloped. That said, trusting relationships between staff and pupils help pupils to regulate their emotions and to feel safe and secure. Over time, pupils learn to share any worries they have with staff as they know they are there to help them.
What Ofsted says the school should do next
- Leaders should ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently and securely.
- Leaders should make sure that the most important knowledge is clearly identified in subjects across the curriculum.
- Leaders should make sure that pupils have the opportunity to learn the academic curriculum once they are emotionally ready.
- Leaders should support more pupils to work towards gaining recognised qualifications.
- Leaders should make sure that attendance information enables them to suitably identify patterns and trends.
- Leaders should shape the personal development offer to support more pupils to build appropriate knowledge across the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum.
From Ofsted's report card (inspection 3 March 2026). Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2026 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Horizons is exceptional at meeting pupils where they are emotionally and helping them rebuild confidence in education. The school excels at creating inclusive, trusting relationships that transform pupils' attitudes to learning and attendance. For many pupils, this is their first positive school experience, and the dedicated staff team provides personalised support that recognises and celebrates individual progress.
Key Strengths
- Staff excel at understanding each pupil's individual needs and designing personalised approaches that build trust and self-esteem
- Significant improvements in pupils' behaviour, attitudes to learning and attendance after joining the school
- Strong pastoral support and communication skills development, with many pupils experiencing their first successful education experience
- Well-planned leadership and staff training focused on emotional regulation and building relationships
- Effective safeguarding culture where pupils feel safe and supported
Areas for Improvement
- Academic curriculum is limited and needs to be developed further as pupils become emotionally ready
- Not all independent school standards have been met
- Attendance tracking and analysis methods are at early stages and need strengthening
- Personal development programme is partially underdeveloped in some areas
- Most pupils are not yet working towards recognised qualifications
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and managed, and pupils feel safe.
Horizons Independent School is a newly opened school that specialises in supporting pupils with significant barriers to learning and those who have struggled with education elsewhere. The school has made strong progress in helping pupils rebuild trust in adults, regulate their emotions, and improve their attitudes to learning.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
10 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at April 2026 - % who strongly agree or agree
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with Horizons Independent School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 19
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 19 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 14 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Wirral is 15 (the median across 136 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
69%
Available places
24 pupils
35 places
11 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Birkenhead
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Birkenhead
Across Wirral council
Places available
3,889
Applications
3,305
Got 1st preference
95.3%
Got preferred school
99.1%
All secondary applications across Wirral council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(2)
Independent school standard inspection - first
Did not meet the independent school standards in Part 1 (quality of education) and Part 8 (leadership and management).
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
23
EHC Plans
95.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Horizons Independent School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
No need-level breakdown available
Pupil Demographics
Key Indicators
24
Total Pupils
14
Boys
10
Girls
2026 academic year
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Horizons Independent School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Horizons Independent School
Does Horizons Independent School meet the independent school standards?
At its most recent standard inspection, in March 2026, Horizons Independent School did not meet the independent school standards in Part 1 (quality of education) and Part 8 (leadership and management).
How many pupils go to Horizons Independent School?
Horizons Independent School has around 24 pupils on roll.
Does Horizons Independent School have specialist SEN provision?
Horizons Independent School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Horizons Independent School?
Horizons Independent School is an independent school and runs its own admissions rather than going through the local authority. Contact the school directly for entry requirements, assessment dates, fees and any bursaries.
How many road collisions happen near Horizons Independent School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 19 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 14 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Wirral is 15 (the median across 136 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Horizons Independent School?
Horizons Independent School is at 60 Mendip Road, Birkenhead, Cheshire, CH42 8NU.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)