Willow Bank School
Winwick Road, St Helens, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 8DE
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 8 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Laughton
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- St Helens North
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 65
- Pupils on roll
- 70
- URN
- 104843
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01744678745
About this school
Willow Bank School is a community special school in Newton-le-Willows. It teaches children aged 8 to 16 and has 70 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Willow Bank School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 50% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 17% | - | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99.0 | - | 90.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 91.0 | - | 92.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -4.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -9.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
| Attainment 8 score | 7.5 | 7.6 | 4.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -2.28 -3.15 to -1.40 | -2.01 -3.14 to -0.87 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Willow Bank School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | St. Helens average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 60.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | — | 60.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | St. Helens average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 7.6 | 38.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 4.8 | 30.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 29.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 25% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 29.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60 |
| 2023/24 | 62 |
| 2024/25 | 71 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 70.42%
- English as an additional language
- 1.4%
- Overall absence
- 29.17%
- Persistent absence
- 64.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wargrave House School1.4 miles
Special schools · Newton-le-Willows
-
Pace1.5 miles
Local authority maintained schools · St Helens
-
Lansbury Bridge School1.8 miles
Special schools · St Helens
-
Mill Green School1.8 miles
Special schools · St Helens
-
Ascent Autism Specialist College2.2 miles
Other types · St Helens
Other schools in Newton-le-Willows
- Wargrave House School Special schools
- Lyme Community Primary School Primary
- Newton-le-Willows Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Junior Academy Primary
- St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- The District CofE Primary School Primary
- Wargrave CofE Primary School Primary
- Hope Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Willow Bank School teach?
- Willow Bank School teaches children aged 8 to 16. It is a special school in Newton-le-Willows.
- Who is the headteacher of Willow Bank School?
- The headteacher of Willow Bank School is Mrs Nicola Laughton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Willow Bank School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Willow Bank School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Willow Bank School?
- Willow Bank School has 70 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 8 to 16.
- Is Willow Bank School full?
- Willow Bank School has capacity for 65 pupils and 70 on roll (108%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Willow Bank School a faith school?
- No. Willow Bank School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Willow Bank School have?
- The schools register lists Willow Bank School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Willow Bank School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Willow Bank School's absence rate?
- Willow Bank School's overall absence rate is 29.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Willow Bank School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Willow Bank School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.