School Chooser

Sefton schools in numbers

How Sefton's 114 schools compare with North West and England on every headline measure, with the council's rank out of the English councils that have data. Ranks run from best to worst for each measure (highest attendance first, lowest exclusions first, and so on).

Schools114open, all types
Pupils41,789on roll
Primary schools74
Secondary schools18

Who the pupils are

MeasureSeftonNorth WestEnglandRank
Pupils from low-income familiesJanuary 2026 · 103 schools29.0%29.0%26.3%91stof 151
Pupils attracting pupil premiumnow · 100 schools29.7%29.8%27.1%82ndof 151
Pupils learning EnglishJanuary 2026 · 103 schools8.8%16.7%18.6%124thof 151
Pupils with SEN supportJanuary 2025 · 105 schools15.7%14.5%14.5%32ndof 151
Pupils with an EHC planJanuary 2025 · 105 schools12.8%12.7%11.6%55thof 151

Classrooms and teachers

MeasureSeftonNorth WestEnglandRank
Average class sizeJanuary 2026 · 92 schools25.724.925.0100thof 151
Classes with more than 30 pupilsJanuary 2026 · 92 schools12.3%11.5%10.6%113thof 151
Pupils per teacherJanuary 2026 · 102 schools19.319.119.091stof 151
Teachers leaving each year2024/25 · 97 schools11.2%13.5%15.0%7thof 151
Average teacher payJanuary 2026 · 101 schools£50,970£51,081£51,37781stof 151
Sick days per teacher2024/25 · 94 schools5.45.04.7133rdof 151

Attendance and behaviour

MeasureSeftonNorth WestEnglandRank
Attendance2024/25 · 96 schools93.1%93.7%93.8%129thof 151
Persistently absent pupils2024/25 · 96 schools18.1%15.9%15.8%113thof 151
Suspensions per 100 pupils2024/25 · 95 schools4.76.77.032ndof 151

Money

MeasureSeftonNorth WestEnglandRank
Spend per pupil2024/25 · 97 schools£9,367£9,291£9,273
Spent on teachers per pupil2024/25 · 97 schools£4,193£4,183£4,22972ndof 151
Reserves as a share of income2024/25 · 102 schools9.6%6.6%8.3%51stof 151
Schools in deficit2024/25 · 102 schools16.7%15.2%14.1%96thof 151

Results

MeasureSeftonNorth WestEnglandRank
Strong pass in English and maths GCSE2024/25 · 17 schools39.3%42.3%46.1%125thof 150
Average GCSE score2024/25 · 17 schools43.345.347.0128thof 150
Reached the expected level at 112024/25 · 69 schools58.8%61.3%63.1%135thof 151
Reached the higher level at 112024/25 · 69 schools5.1%7.1%8.3%139thof 151

Ofsted, score and places

MeasureSeftonNorth WestEnglandRank
Inspected under the new report cardsnow · 98 schools15%15%13%35thof 151
Good or outstanding (old grades)now · 75 schools95%93%94%85thof 151
Scored above similar schoolsnow · 91 schools24%32%35%128thof 151
Places taken2024/25 · 92 schools90.8%88.5%86.2%31stof 151
Academies and free schoolsnow · 112 schools37%38%52%117thof 154
Free breakfast clubsnow · 112 schools8.9%14.6%12.0%100thof 154

Trends

Trend
Attendance
2016 to 2025
SeftonEngland
Sefton 2016: 95.0%95.0%Sefton 2017: 95.0%95.0%Sefton 2018: 95.0%95.0%Sefton 2019: 95.1%95.1%Sefton 2021: 95.0%95.0%Sefton 2022: 92.5%92.5%Sefton 2023: 92.5%92.5%Sefton 2024: 92.6%92.6%Sefton 2025: 93.1%93.1%England 2016: 95.6%England 2017: 95.5%England 2018: 95.3%England 2019: 95.4%England 2021: 95.5%England 2022: 92.9%England 2023: 93.2%England 2024: 93.4%England 2025: 93.8%201620172018201920212022202320242025
Since 2016: -1.9%
Trend
Pupils from low-income families
2019 to 2026
SeftonEngland
Sefton 2019: 18.8%18.8%Sefton 2021: 22.6%22.6%Sefton 2022: 24.1%24.1%Sefton 2023: 26.1%26.1%Sefton 2024: 26.6%26.6%Sefton 2025: 28.2%28.2%Sefton 2026: 29.0%29.0%England 2019: 16.0%England 2021: 21.2%England 2022: 22.6%England 2023: 24.4%England 2024: 25.0%England 2025: 25.8%England 2026: 26.3%2019202120222023202420252026
Since 2019: +10.2%
Trend
Strong pass in English and maths GCSE
2017 to 2025
SeftonEngland
Sefton 2017: 39.2%39.2%Sefton 2018: 40.6%40.6%Sefton 2019: 37.5%37.5%Sefton 2022: 47.0%47.0%Sefton 2023: 38.1%38.1%Sefton 2024: 36.4%36.4%Sefton 2025: 39.3%39.3%England 2017: 45.4%England 2018: 45.1%England 2019: 44.7%England 2022: 50.6%England 2023: 46.0%England 2024: 46.9%England 2025: 46.1%2017201820192022202320242025
Since 2017: +0.2%
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2016 to 2025
SeftonEngland
Sefton 2016: 57.5%57.5%Sefton 2017: 66.9%66.9%Sefton 2018: 68.1%68.1%Sefton 2019: 66.9%66.9%Sefton 2023: 59.5%59.5%Sefton 2024: 58.9%58.9%Sefton 2025: 58.8%58.8%England 2016: 55.8%England 2017: 63.4%England 2018: 66.3%England 2019: 66.6%England 2023: 60.7%England 2024: 61.7%England 2025: 63.1%2016201720182019202320242025
Since 2016: +1.3%
Trend
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2007 to 2025
SeftonEngland
Sefton 2007: 1.61.6Sefton 2008: 1.6Sefton 2009: 1.81.8Sefton 2010: 1.7Sefton 2011: 2.12.1Sefton 2012: 2.6Sefton 2013: 3.63.6Sefton 2014: 2.9Sefton 2015: 3.23.2Sefton 2016: 2.8Sefton 2017: 3.33.3Sefton 2018: 2.8Sefton 2019: 2.82.8Sefton 2020: 1.9Sefton 2021: 1.51.5Sefton 2022: 2.8Sefton 2023: 4.04.0Sefton 2024: 5.3Sefton 2025: 4.74.7England 2007: 2.7England 2008: 2.6England 2009: 2.5England 2010: 2.4England 2011: 2.7England 2012: 2.6England 2013: 2.6England 2014: 2.7England 2015: 3.1England 2016: 3.3England 2017: 3.6England 2018: 3.9England 2019: 4.0England 2020: 2.8England 2021: 2.9England 2022: 4.4England 2023: 5.8England 2024: 7.0England 2025: 7.02007200920112013201520172019202120232025
Since 2007: +3.1