Meadowside School, Wirral
Meadowside School is a special school for pupils aged 11 to 19 in Wirral. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2022. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2022)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Meadowside School in detail
Meadowside School in its own words
In its own words: "Meadowside School is a specialist provider of education for pupils aged 11 to 19 with complex learning difficulties, communication and/or sensory needs, autism, ADHD and varying health conditions. Meadowside is a successful and innovative school which is well established within the community in a green and quiet location."
From the headteacher's welcome: "Meadowside is a well-established school in a green and quiet location. It has a strong pastoral ethos and is well rooted within the local community. Meadowside School is a small school, highly staffed with a well-established, experienced, relevantly qualified and trained, team."
The school runs after-school care.
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Meadowside School are Gilbrook School (0.3 miles, Outstanding); Foxfield School (0.6 miles, Good); Hayfield School (1.3 miles, Good); and Wirral Wrap (1.5 miles, Good).
What parents say
23 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Meadowside School (as of September 2025): 91% would recommend the school, 91% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 14 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 100% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 7% to a further education college.
Who goes there
62.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 1.8% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (90%) and Mixed (5%).
Almost every pupil at Meadowside School has an education, health and care plan (114 of 114 in 2026). The most common need among them is a severe learning difficulty.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Upton Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Meadow (adjacent), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Meadowside School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
Meadowside School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Meadowside School creates a warm, nurturing environment where every child feels safe and valued. Teachers really get to know each pupil and tailor learning to their individual needs and abilities, so all pupils make good progress from their starting point. The school goes beyond academics, giving pupils real-world experiences like running a café and growing their own food, preparing them brilliantly for life after school.
Key Strengths
- Personalised curriculum tailored to individual pupil needs, helping all pupils including those with profound and complex needs to learn well
- Strong focus on reading with effective phonics teaching and promotion of reading for pleasure
- Excellent personal development opportunities including enrichment activities, careers advice, and work experience through initiatives like the sixth-form community café
- Calm, respectful behaviour with quick staff intervention to support pupils to regulate emotions
- Effective safeguarding arrangements and strong pastoral support
Areas for Improvement
- Some learning activities do not match what the school intends pupils to learn, meaning pupils are not building knowledge securely in all subjects
- Inconsistent evaluation of curriculum delivery in a small number of subjects, meaning weaknesses are not always identified and addressed quickly
- Occasional gaps in how curriculum content is delivered as intended
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with clear systems in place to identify and support pupil needs and create an open, positive culture around safeguarding.
Extracurricular Activities
Swimming lessons, residential trips, fruit and vegetable growing, charity fundraising, community café run by sixth-form students, independent careers advice
Meadowside School provides a nurturing environment where pupils with complex learning difficulties are valued and supported. The school has made effective improvements since its last inspection and now provides good quality education with high expectations for pupil achievement.
At a Glance
62.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
23 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Social & online
Keep up with Meadowside School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Meadowside School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Meadowside School is in Wirral; for families living there:
Apply to Wirral for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 16
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 5 serious and 10 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
5 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
79%
Available places
114 pupils
144 places
30 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Wirral
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Wirral
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(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
114
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
114
Total Pupils
81
Boys
33
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
16
Teachers
7.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,069
Mean salary
2026 data
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.0%
Overall absence
17.3%
Persistent absence
75
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Meadowside School
Showing 10 of 13 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Meadowside School
What are GCSE results like at Meadowside School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Meadowside School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 2. 0% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Meadowside School's Ofsted rating?
Meadowside School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in May 2022, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for Meadowside School?
No fixed boundary. When Meadowside School is oversubscribed, Wirral allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to Meadowside School?
Meadowside School has around 114 pupils on roll. 62% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Meadowside School?
10% of sessions were missed at Meadowside School in 2024/25. 17.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Meadowside School?
Apply through Wirral's coordinated admissions process, naming Meadowside School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Meadowside School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 5 serious and 10 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 5 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 Meadowside School?
Meadowside School is at Pool Lane, Woodchurch, Wirral, Merseyside, CH49 5LA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)