St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs, Liverpool
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs is a special school for pupils aged 4 to 19 in Liverpool. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2024. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in July 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs in detail
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include drama and journalism.
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs are Clifford Holroyde Sen College (0.9 miles, Good); Sandfield Park School (1 mile, Outstanding); Co-op Academy Rathbone (1.7 miles); and Knowsley Central School (2 miles, Outstanding).
Clifford Holroyde Sen CollegeSandfield Park SchoolCo-op Academy RathboneKnowsley Central School
Where pupils go next
Of the 7 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 100% stayed in education or training for at least two terms.
Who goes there
2.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 6.3% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (79%) and other ethnic groups (6%).
Almost every pupil at St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs has an education, health and care plan (48 of 48 in 2026). The most common need among them is visual impairment.
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs provides for pupils with visual impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism and multi-sensory impairment.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Broad Green Rail Station, about 1.4 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Andrews Avenue (adjacent), 170 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's July 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
St Vincent's has welcomed a new leadership team that is moving the school forward with a clear vision. Staff are skilled at helping pupils with sensory needs access their learning through varied resources and approaches. Reading is a particular strength, with pupils developing phonics knowledge well and reading fluently and confidently.
Key Strengths
- New senior leadership team has brought fresh strategic vision and direction
- Teachers are helping pupils access their learning through a range of resources and different teaching approaches
- Reading is taught well - pupils develop phonics knowledge effectively and read with confidence and fluency
- Governors have increased their oversight and are asking more pertinent questions about school improvement
- Most subjects now have higher aspirations for pupils with clearer definitions of what pupils should know and remember
Areas for Improvement
- Curriculum needs to be more specific about what pupils will learn in a few subjects, with inconsistent delivery of content
- Teachers need clearer guidance on assessing pupils' knowledge in some areas of the curriculum
- Pupils' recall of what they have been taught is not strong enough in some subjects
- Assessment checks do not identify pupils' next steps in learning as effectively as they could in some areas
St Vincent's School is a specialist school for sensory impairment and other needs that has made progress since its previous inspection, with a new leadership team in place and improved curriculum development underway.
At a Glance
2.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
Vision, Speech and language, Autism +1
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Social & online
Keep up with St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
You apply to the council where you live. St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs is in Liverpool; for families living there:
- Liverpool's school travel policy: this document : Home to School Transport Policy 2026-27
- How to apply: Apply for a travel pass
- Post-16 transport: Liverpool states a charge of £680 a year. Source
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 12
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 10 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
2 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 Liverpool is 32 (the median across 193 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
96%
Near capacity
48 pupils
50 places
2 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Liverpool
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Liverpool
Across Liverpool council
Places available
6,108
Applications
5,379
Got 1st preference
68.1%
Got preferred school
89.6%
All secondary applications across Liverpool council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(9)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Outstanding, but Ofsted raised concerns; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
48
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs provides for pupils with visual impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism and multi-sensory impairment.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
48
Total Pupils
36
Boys
12
Girls
2026 academic year
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.4%
Overall absence
40.0%
Persistent absence
35
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
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs
What are GCSE results like at St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
In the 2024 results, pupils at St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs achieved an Attainment 8 score of 7.7. 0% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs's Ofsted rating?
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs's most recent Ofsted inspection, in July 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2024, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
No fixed boundary. When St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs is oversubscribed, Liverpool allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs has around 48 pupils on roll. 2% are eligible for free school meals.
Does St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs have specialist SEN provision?
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs provides for pupils with visual impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism and multi-sensory impairment.
What is attendance like at St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
11.4% of sessions were missed at St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs in 2024/25. 40% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
Apply through Liverpool's coordinated admissions process, naming St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs 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 St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 10 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 2 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 Liverpool is 32 (the median across 193 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs?
St Vincent's School - A Specialist School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs is at Yew Tree Lane, West Derby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L12 9HN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)