School Chooser

Belle Vale Community Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil272 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubLiverpool
School Chooser Score
50
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 27 to 73
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, September 2023
Reached the expected level at 1169%England 63%
Attendance94.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families45%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull272 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher25.0School workforce census

Belle Vale Community Primary School is a council school in Liverpool for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 272 pupils, 62 more than it has places for. About 45 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 51 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Besford Road, Gateacre, Liverpool, L25 2QF0151 487 8571bellevaleprimary.co.ukMr Tom Hanlon head teacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 26 September 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

29 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1169%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 57%57%20172018: 32%32%20182019: 71%71%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 58%58%20242025: 69%69%2025
Since 2017: +12%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LiverpoolEngland
Pupils tested293131342828
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths69%58%68%71%32%57%58%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%6%3%3%4%0%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0105.0106.0103.098.0100.0104.5105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0103.0104.0104.099.0100.0103.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0103.0103.0104.0100.0103.0104.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard76%71%81%74%39%64%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard76%65%77%76%46%64%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)76%71%77%82%57%68%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.6+1.0-5.2-1.1
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.5+1.5-3.5-1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged56%37%47%71%25%47%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged85%92%100%69%42%78%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
56%85%
Gap 29 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
75%65%
Gap 10 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
13%7%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places249 pupils for 315 places, 2024/25
79% full

66 places were empty (21% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Liverpool council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll272Census January 2026
Places210130% full
Pupils from low-income families45%45% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English17%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support23%62 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.511 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils18%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)46%£178,250 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls140 / 132
White British pupils73%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 25.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 26.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (26), language and communications needs (16), emotional and mental health (14), Specific learning difficulty (7), Moderate learning difficulty (4), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll272270282279274271
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals45%42%45%48%49%46%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language17%17%12%9%7%6%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support17%17%15%11%18%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%2%1%1%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school16.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.92024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission2.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.5%7.3%6.9%5.8%3.1%4.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.9%4.0%3.8%3.8%2.3%2.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.6%3.3%3.1%2.0%0.8%2.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence16.3%24.7%24.2%21.5%5.7%9.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.92.82.51.10.7
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions11100

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers10.7full-time equivalent, 12 people
Pupils per teacher25.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£41,456
Teachers who left in the year9%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher5.72024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,358England £7,738. Total £2.0m
Income per pupil£7,899England £7,697. Total £2.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,223England £3,480
Money in reserve17%A healthy amount put by: £348k, £1,303 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£144kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,358spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m56912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate100 per 1,000 people10% higher than the England average
Typical house price£176,500Liverpool
Nearest bus stop70 mBesford Road, 21 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic340 m224Good 202440Compare
Netherley Park Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles183Good 20224Compare
Woolton Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles640Good 202377Compare
Childwall Valley Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles220Report card 202616Compare
St Gregory's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic0.8 miles233Good 202418Compare
Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School, WooltonAcademy1.0 miles235Good 202272Compare
Much Woolton Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic1.0 miles402Not inspected57Compare
St Paschal Baylon Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic1.1 miles420Good 202379Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Belle Vale Community Primary School with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 51 is 18 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 32 · highest 90100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Belle Vale Community Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Garston Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy2.6 miles237Good 202283Compare
Delph Side Community Primary SchoolCouncil11.5 miles251No overall grade 202481Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 51 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 51% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 27 to 73. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.07
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 29 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.0 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.04
DfE progress measure; 29 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.04
2024/25; 239 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.08
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 29 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Belle Vale Community Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Belle Vale Community Primary School scores 51 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 27 to 73, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Belle Vale Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Belle Vale Community Primary School good at its last full inspection on 26 September 2023.

How good are Belle Vale Community Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 69% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Belle Vale Community Primary School have?

272 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 130% full.

Is Belle Vale Community Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 66 places were empty in 2024/25 (21% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Belle Vale Community Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 16% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Belle Vale Community Primary School?

The average class had 24.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 18% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Belle Vale Community Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Besford Road, Gateacre, Liverpool, L25 2QF
Telephone
0151 487 8571
Website
www.bellevaleprimary.co.uk
Head teacher
Mr Tom Hanlon
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Liverpool
Ward
Gateacre
Constituency
Liverpool Garston
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
104519 · LAESTAB 3412014 · UKPRN 10069962

Where these figures come from