Knowsley Central School, Liverpool

Outstanding
Special
Community special school
Mixed
Ages 411

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Daryl McConnell
Pupils:142 / 110 capacity
LA:Knowsley
Phone:01514778450
Address:Mossbrow Road, Huyton, Liverpool, L36 7SY
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 2 years ago
-

Overall

Inspected 18 March 2025View full report
URN:104500
UKPRN:10044083
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Knowsley
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Knowsley Central School excels at creating a safe, happy environment where every child feels valued and listened to. Outstanding teaching combined with staff who know pupils exceptionally well means children make excellent progress and develop positive attitudes to learning. The school also provides exceptional support to families through strong parent partnerships and an open-door policy.

Key Strengths

  • Outstanding teaching ensures pupils make excellent progress in English and mathematics skills
  • Staff know pupils exceptionally well and plan creative, enjoyable lessons that motivate learning
  • Pupils feel safe, happy and valued with high attendance and exceptionally well-managed behaviour
  • Early Years provision is excellent with strong support from the school's speech and language therapist
  • The outreach service provides highly regarded support and guidance to partner schools across the borough

Areas for Improvement

  • Increase opportunities for pupils to practise writing skills across all subjects, not just English
  • Give pupils, especially the most able, more time to act on the feedback included in their marking

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is effective with governors assiduously monitoring statutory requirements on all sites and ensuring strong safeguarding procedures are in place.

Extracurricular Activities

Physical education competitions and new sports opportunities, modern foreign language lessons, student leadership roles

Knowsley Central School is an outstanding special school that maintains its excellent standards from the previous inspection. The headteacher and her team are totally committed to enabling every pupil to be the best they can be.

At a Glance

47.9%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

43 responses
Would recommend95%
Child is happy98%
Well taught93%
Good progress84%
Feels safe93%
Well behaved86%
Bullying dealt with0%
Kept informed93%
Handles concerns51%
Wider development93%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
ReadingMathsWriting

Reading has remained stable at around 0%. Maths has remained stable at around 0%. Writing has remained stable at around 0%.

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Midway Road (opp)
180m · 3 min walk
Wellcroft Road (adj)
204m · 3 min walk
Mossbrow Road (adj)
204m · 3 min walk
Longview Lane (adj)
262m · 4 min walk
Bower Road (adj)
303m · 5 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

129%

Over capacity

142 pupils

110 capacity

32 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Liverpool

Low pressure
New homes approved:8,038
Projected new pupils:1,447

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Liverpool

Admissions Demand - Knowsley

Moderate demand1.34x oversubscription

Places available

1,290

Applications

1,725

Got 1st preference

84.1%

Got preferred school

95.3%

Secondary admissions across Knowsley (2025/26)

Inspection History(6)

18 March 2025
10 December 2019
14 October 2014
OutstandingReport
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding

House Prices

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

6.87532%

Overall absence

23.85321%

Persistent absence

109

Enrolments

Authorised4.30086%
Unauthorised2.57446%
Persistent (10%+)23.85321%
Severe (50%+)0%

Absence trend

9.92801%
18/19
6.79128%
20/21
9.46725%
21/22
7.287%
22/23
8.56718%
23/24
6.87532%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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