Banks Methodist School
General Information
- Address: Chapel Lane, Banks, Southport, PR9 8EY – View on map
- Phone: 01704227323
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Stephen Draper
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 0 families put it first for 1 places – 0 for every 10 places. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 0
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Methodist
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
52 pupils on roll
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 25
- % eligible for free school meals: 49.0%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the West Lancashire average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 11.9% a year (West Lancashire 13.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
- Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 7.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 22.2%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 34.6%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
- Physical disability: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Profound and multiple learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Ofsted report card January 2026
Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.
- Safeguarding Met
- Inclusion Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
- Achievement Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention
- Early years Needs attention
- Leadership and governance Needs attention
Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 43% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 22 percentage points below the West Lancashire average (65%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 25%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 43% · Writing 57% · Maths 43% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 43%
- Average test scores: reading 103, maths 102
- Based on: 7 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 44th of 52 junior and primary schools in the area
- =39Westhead Lathom St James' Church of England Primary School50%
- #43Burscough Bridge St John's Church of England Primary School45%
- =44Banks Methodist School43%
- =44Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery43%
- =46Ormskirk Asmall Primary School38%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,867 (2024-25)
14th of 55 primary schools in West Lancashire for spending per pupil
- #12Hillside Community Primary School£9,365
- #13Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery£9,104
- #14Banks Methodist School£8,867
- #15Delph Side Community Primary School£8,857
- #16Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School£8,841
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)