Dee Banks School
Dee Banks, Sandy Lane, Chester, CH3 5UX
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Judith McGuinness
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Chester North and Neston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Pupils on roll
- 141
- URN
- 111494
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Telephone
- 01244667800
About this school
Dee Banks School is a community special school in Chester. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 141 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 March 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 9 | 6 | 2 |
| 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 | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -10.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -10.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -10.70 | - | - |
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 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Dee Banks 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 | Cheshire West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 57.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 57.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 117 |
| 2023/24 | 128 |
| 2024/25 | 139 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.3%
- English as an additional language
- 7.9%
- Overall absence
- 12.88%
- Persistent absence
- 37.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Maple Grove School1.2 miles
Special schools
-
Abbey School for Exceptional Children1.2 miles
Special schools
-
The Queen's School1.3 miles
Independent schools · Chester
-
The King's School1.6 miles
Independent schools · Chester
-
University of Chester1.7 miles
Universities · Chester
Other schools in Chester
- Ancora House School Local authority maintained schools
- Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College Special schools
- iMap Centre Special schools
- Acresfield Academy Primary
- Ashton Hayes Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Belgrave Primary School Primary
- Boughton Heath Academy Primary
- Capenhurst CofE Primary School Primary
- Cherry Grove Primary School Primary
- Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Dee Banks School teach?
- Dee Banks School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Chester.
- Who is the headteacher of Dee Banks School?
- The headteacher of Dee Banks School is Mrs Judith McGuinness, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dee Banks School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dee Banks 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 big is Dee Banks School?
- Dee Banks School has 141 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Dee Banks School a faith school?
- No. Dee Banks School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Dee Banks School have?
- The schools register lists Dee Banks School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Dee Banks 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 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Dee Banks School's absence rate?
- Dee Banks School's overall absence rate is 12.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dee Banks School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dee Banks 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 29 June 2026.