Sandfield Park School
Sandfield Park School is a council special school in Liverpool for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 87 pupils and room for 90. About 61 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2024.
South Drive, Sandfield Park, West Derby, Liverpool, L12 1LH0151 228 0324sandfieldparkschool.comCo Headteacher Mark / Wendy Hilton / Henshaw headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 18 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
12 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Liverpool | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | – | 0.4 | – | – | – | – | 43.1 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.94 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | 39% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | 59% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | – | 0.02 | – | – | – | – | 3.74 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | 38% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 0.4 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2017
2 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2017 | Liverpool | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 2 | – | – |
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.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with other needs, physical disability, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Liverpool with other needs provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Physical disability (27), Autistic spectrum disorder (22), Severe learning difficulty (21), language and communications needs (5), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Other difficulty or disability (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 87 | 88 | 90 | 91 | 79 | 82 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 64% | 67% | 61% | 60% | 63% | 60% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 13% | 9% | 7% | 7% | 5% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.1% 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 | 14.9% | 15.3% | 14.8% | 12.4% | 7.3% | 8.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 11.9% | 12.6% | 13.1% | 10.7% | 6.9% | 8.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.0% | 2.8% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 0.3% | 0.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 43.1% | 46.4% | 41.4% | 54.0% | 21.7% | 27.5% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 11 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with – for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 89% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 11% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hospital and Home Tuition Team at Sandfield Park School | Miscellaneous | 0 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Edward's College | Academy | 330 m | 1,150 | No overall grade 2024 | 61 | Compare |
| Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 380 m | 460 | Good 2023 | 83 | Compare |
| East Prescot Road Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 780 m | 96 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Holly Lodge Girls' College | Council | 960 m | 1,016 | No overall grade 2024 | 58 | Compare |
| St Paul's Catholic Junior School | Roman Catholic | 970 m | 500 | Report card 2026 | 6 | Compare |
| St Paul's and St Timothy's Catholic Infant School | Roman Catholic | 970 m | 357 | Good 2019 | 16 | Compare |
| Blackmoor Park Infants' School | Academy | 970 m | 316 | Requires improvement 2023 | 0 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Sandfield Park School a good school?
Sandfield Park School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in June 2024.
What is Sandfield Park School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Sandfield Park School outstanding at its last full inspection on 18 June 2024.
How many pupils does Sandfield Park School have?
87 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 90 places, so it is 97% full.
What is attendance like at Sandfield Park School?
Pupils were in school 85.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 43% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Sandfield Park School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for other needs, physical disability, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Sandfield Park School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- South Drive, Sandfield Park, West Derby, Liverpool, L12 1LH
- Telephone
- 0151 228 0324
- Website
- www.sandfieldparkschool.com
- Headteacher
- Co Headteacher Mark / Wendy Hilton / Henshaw
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Ward
- Sandfield Park
- Constituency
- Liverpool West Derby
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 1996
- URN
- 130961 · LAESTAB 3417059 · UKPRN 10017515
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2016/17.
- 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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.