Co-op Academy Rathbone
Co-op Academy Rathbone is a sponsored special academy in Liverpool for boys aged 5 to 11. It has 67 pupils and room for 70. About 81 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inadequate, back in 2024.
Bankfield Road, West Derby, Liverpool, L13 0BQ0151 330 5121rathbone.coopacademies.co.ukMrs Hayley Gorman headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 5 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Inadequate overall.
Ofsted has serious worries about this school. It is in special measures.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
21 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of Ernest Cookson School, the school this one replaced.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Liverpool | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 21 | 9 | 19 | 14 | 27 | 20 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 58% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 94.0 | 97.0 | 107.0 | 92.0 | 94.0 | 95.0 | 104.5 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 92.0 | 105.0 | 95.0 | 88.0 | 91.0 | 95.0 | 103.5 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 95.0 | 92.0 | 97.0 | 92.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 104.7 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 14% | 11% | 37% | 14% | 15% | 20% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 5% | 11% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 25% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 5% | 0% | 0% | 14% | 22% | 5% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | – | -8.0 | -8.3 | -6.9 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | – | -11.3 | – | -7.3 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | – | – | – | – | 0% | – | – |
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.
† These results are for Ernest Cookson School, the school this one replaced in July 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (54), Autistic spectrum disorder (7), language and communications needs (3), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Other difficulty or disability (1), Severe learning difficulty (1).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 11.4% | 15.9% | 12.1% | 11.9% | 8.2% | 6.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.7% | 7.7% | 7.1% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 3.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 6.7% | 8.2% | 5.0% | 7.2% | 3.8% | 3.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 32.8% | 47.1% | 47.1% | 37.9% | 27.6% | 26.6% | 12.8% |
† These attendance figures are for Ernest Cookson School, the school this one replaced in July 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Derby School | Academy | 120 m | 1,011 | Good 2023 | 31 | Compare |
| Lister Primary School | Council | 180 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 350 m | 439 | Not inspected | 52 | Compare |
| Holly Lodge Girls' College | Council | 570 m | 1,016 | No overall grade 2024 | 58 | Compare |
| Roscoe Primary School | Academy | 760 m | 203 | Report card 2026 | 43 | Compare |
| St Edward's College | Academy | 950 m | 1,150 | No overall grade 2024 | 61 | Compare |
| Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 970 m | 460 | Good 2023 | 83 | Compare |
| St Anne's (Stanley) Junior Mixed and Infant School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 395 | Good 2022 | 57 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Co-op Academy Rathbone a good school?
Co-op Academy Rathbone doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it inadequate at its last inspection in June 2024.
What is Co-op Academy Rathbone's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Co-op Academy Rathbone inadequate at its last full inspection on 5 June 2024.
How good are Co-op Academy Rathbone's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does Co-op Academy Rathbone have?
67 pupils aged 5 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 70 places, so it is 96% full. It is a boys' school.
What is attendance like at Co-op Academy Rathbone?
Pupils were in school 88.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 33% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Co-op Academy Rathbone 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
- Bankfield Road, West Derby, Liverpool, L13 0BQ
- Telephone
- 0151 330 5121
- Website
- rathbone.coopacademies.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hayley Gorman
- 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
- Sponsored special academy (Academy special sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 5-11
- Gender
- Boys
- Multi-academy trust
- The Co-operative Academies Trust (40 schools)
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Ward
- Stoneycroft
- Constituency
- Liverpool West Derby
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 July 2025 (new provision)
- URN
- 151857 · LAESTAB 3417000 · UKPRN 10098021
- Formerly
- Ernest Cookson School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.