The Observatory School
Special school in Prenton CH43 7QT
Special school in Prenton CH43 7QT
Map marker coordinates are supplied by the schools. They have not been verified, and may be inacccurate or outdated.
* Active From and To dates don't necessarily mean that a school opened or closed on those dates. Schools are allocated a new Reference Number when they change status in any way, for example when a local authority school converts to an academy or when schools are combined or merged.
Further Information
Inspected on 21/11/2012
Rating published on 13/12/2012
Overall effectiveness: Good
Effectiveness of leadership and management: Good
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Information on this page is sumarised from two sources: EduBase, which is the government database of schools in England and Wales, and Ofsted, which is responsible for inspecting schools and educational establishments in England. You can view the full, unedited data from these providers below. Ofsted data will only be available for currently active registrations and recently closed registrations.
| Unique Reference Number | 127715 |
|---|---|
| Local Authority Code | 344 |
| Local Authority Name | Wirral |
| Establishment Number | 7215 |
| School / College Name | The Observatory School |
| Establishment Type Code | 07 |
| Establishment type | Community special school |
| Establishment Type Group Code | 5 |
| Establishment Type Group | Special schools |
| Establishment Status Code | 1 |
| Establishment status | Open |
| Reason Establishment Opened Code | 06 |
| Reason establishment opened | New Provision |
| Open date | 01-09-2005 |
| Reason Establishment Closed Code | 00 |
| Reason establishment closed | Not applicable |
| Close date | |
| Phase Of Education Code | 0 |
| Phase of education | Not applicable |
| Age range Low | 7 |
| Age range High | 16 |
| Boarders Code | 1 |
| Boarders | No boarders |
| Nursery provision | Not applicable |
| Official Sixth Form Code | 0 |
| Official sixth form | Not applicable |
| Gender Code | 3 |
| Gender of entry | Mixed |
| Religious Character Code | 00 |
| Religious character | Does not apply |
| Religious ethos | Does not apply |
| Diocese Code | 0000 |
| Diocese | Not applicable |
| Admissions Policy Code | 0 |
| Admissons policy | Not applicable |
| School capacity | 160 |
| Special Classes Code | 1 |
| Special classes | Has Special Classes |
| Census Date | 18-01-2024 |
| Number of Pupils | 142 |
| Number of Boys | 117 |
| Number of Girls | 25 |
| Percentage Free School Meals | 68.10 |
| Trust School Flag Code | 0 |
| Trust School Flag | Not applicable |
| Trusts Code | |
| Academy trust or Trust | |
| School Sponsor Flag | Not applicable |
| Academy sponsor | |
| Federation Flag | Not under a federation |
| Federations Code | |
| Federation | |
| UKPRN | 10017755 |
| FEHE Identifier | |
| Further education type | Not applicable |
| Last Changed Date | 10-01-2025 |
| Street | Bidston Village Road |
| Locality | Bidston |
| Address3 | |
| Town | Prenton |
| County (name) | Merseyside |
| Postcode | CH43 7QT |
| Website | www.theobservatoryschool.wirral.sch.uk |
| Telephone | 01516527093 |
| Headteacher/Principal title | Mr |
| Headteacher/Principal first name | Gregory |
| Headteacher/Principal last name | Chiswell |
| Headteacher/Principal Job Title | Acting Headteacher |
| BSO Inspectorate Name | Not applicable |
| Inspectorate Report | |
| Date of Last Inspection Visit | |
| Next Inspection Visit | |
| Teenage mothers provision | Not applicable |
| Teenage mothers capacity | |
| Childcare facilities provision | Not applicable |
| SEN facilities | Not applicable |
| Pupils with EBD | Not applicable |
| Number of places | |
| Full time provision | |
| Pupils educated by other providers | Not applicable |
| Section 41 approved | Not applicable |
| SEN provision | |
| Type of resourced provision | Not applicable |
| Resourced provision number on roll | |
| Resourced provision capacity | |
| SEN unit number on roll | |
| SEN unit capacity | |
| Government Office Region Code | B |
| Government Office Region | North West |
| District Code | E08000015 |
| District | Wirral |
| Ward Code | E05000955 |
| Ward | Bidston and St James |
| Parliamentary Constituency Code | E14001091 |
| Parliamentary Constituency | Birkenhead |
| Urban/Rural Code | A1 |
| Urban/Rural Description | (England/Wales) Urban major conurbation |
| GSS LA Code | E08000015 |
| Easting | 328381 |
| Northing | 390239 |
| Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) | Wirral 011 |
| Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) | Wirral 011A |
| Inspectorate Name | |
| Number of special pupils under a special educational needs (SEN) statement/education, health and care (EHC) plan | |
| Number of special pupils not under a special educational needs (SEN) statement/education, health and care (EHC) plan | |
| Boarding Establishment | |
| Proprietor's Name | |
| Previous Local Authority Code | 999 |
| Previous local authority | |
| Previous establishment number | |
| Country | |
| UPRN | 42129871 |
| Site Name | |
| QAB Code | 0 |
| QAB Name | Not applicable |
| Establishment Accredited Code | 0 |
| Establishment Accredited | Not applicable |
| QAB Report | |
| CH Number | |
| MSOA Code | E02001477 |
| LSOA Code | E01007120 |
| Free School Meals | 96 |
| Accreditation Expiry Date |
| URN | 127715 |
|---|---|
| Web Link | http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/127715 |
| LAESTAB | 3447215 |
| School name | The Observatory School |
| Ofsted phase | Special |
| Type of education | Community Special School |
| School open date | 01/09/2005 |
| Admissions policy | Not applicable |
| Sixth form | Not applicable |
| Designated religious character | Does not apply |
| Religious ethos | Does not apply |
| Faith grouping | Non-faith |
| Ofsted region | North West |
| Region | North West |
| Local authority | Wirral |
| Parliamentary constituency | Birkenhead |
| Multi-academy trust UID | N/A |
| Multi-academy trust name | N/A |
| Academy sponsor UID | N/A |
| Academy sponsor name | N/A |
| Postcode | CH43 7QT |
| Number of warning notices issued in 2023/24 academic year | N/A |
| The income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI) quintile | 5 |
| Total number of pupils | 142 |
| Statutory lowest age | 7 |
| Statutory highest age | 16 |
| Latest ungraded inspection number since last graded inspection | 10012591 |
| Does the ungraded inspection relate to the URN of the current school? | Yes |
| URN at time of the ungraded inspection | 127715 |
| LAESTAB at time of the ungraded inspection | 3447215 |
| School name at time of the ungraded inspection | The Observatory School |
| School type at time of the ungraded inspection | Community Special School |
| Number of ungraded inspections since the last graded inspection | 1 |
| Date of latest ungraded inspection | 14/03/2018 |
| Ungraded inspection publication date | 23/04/2018 |
| Did the latest ungraded inspection convert to a graded inspection? | No |
| Ungraded inspection overall outcome | School remains Good |
| Number of monitoring and urgent inspections since last graded inspection | N/A |
| Inspection number of latest graded inspection | ITS402409 |
| Inspection type | S5 Inspection |
| Inspection type grouping | S5 Inspection |
| Event type grouping | Schools - S5 |
| Inspection start date | 21/11/2012 |
| Publication date | 13/12/2012 |
| Does the latest graded inspection relate to the URN of the current school? | Yes |
| URN at time of latest graded inspection | 127715 |
| LAESTAB at time of latest graded inspection | 3447215 |
| School name at time of latest graded inspection | The Observatory School |
| School type at time of latest graded inspection | Community Special School |
| Current school type used for chart C6 | Maintained school |
| Overall effectiveness | Good |
| Category of concern | N/A |
| Quality of education | N/A |
| Behaviour and attitudes | N/A |
| Personal development | N/A |
| Effectiveness of leadership and management | Good |
| Safeguarding is effective? | N/A |
| Early years provision | N/A |
| Sixth form provision | N/A |
| Previous inspection number | ITS341003 |
| Previous inspection start date | 12/01/2010 |
| Previous publication date | 29/01/2010 |
| Does the previous graded inspection relate to the URN of the current school? | Yes |
| URN at time of previous graded inspection | 127715 |
| LAESTAB at time of previous graded inspection | 3447215 |
| School name at time of previous graded inspection | The Observatory School |
| School type at time of previous graded inspection | Community Special School |
| Previous graded inspection overall effectiveness | 3 |
| Previous category of concern | N/A |
| Previous quality of education | N/A |
| Previous behaviour and attitudes | N/A |
| Previous personal development | N/A |
| Previous effectiveness of leadership and management | Requires Improvement |
| Previous safeguarding is effective? | N/A |
| Previous early years provision | N/A |
| Previous sixth form provision | N/A |