Bidston Village CofE (Controlled) Primary School
General Information
- Address: Ballantyne Drive, Bidston, Prenton, CH43 7XG – View on map
- Phone: 01516520673
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Ms Mina Shahi
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 36 families put it first for 38 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 236
- % eligible for free school meals: 64.8%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Wirral average)
- English as an additional language: 9% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 13.4% a year (Wirral 14.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 12% moved to another school, 88% 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.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Wirral: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 4 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 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 Wirral, 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: 6.9%
- Persistently absent pupils: 22.6%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
- SEN unit for Moderate learning difficulties 30 places · 30 pupils at the last count
Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.
- Pupils on SEN Support: 30.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 9.4%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 45 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 44 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 25 pupils
- Physical disability: 5 pupils
- Vision impairment: 2 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 10 pupils
- Physical disability: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Ofsted report card May 2026
Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.
- Safeguarding Met
- Inclusion Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
- Achievement Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
- Early years Expected standard
- Leadership and governance Expected standard
Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Requires improvement (2023). The report card above replaces that grade.
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 27% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 31 percentage points below the Wirral average (58%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 27% against an expected 46%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 27%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 39% · Writing 44% · Maths 37% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 44%
- Average test scores: reading 100, maths 98
- Based on: 62 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: 73rd of 75 junior and primary schools in the area
- #71Grove Street Primary School30%
- #72Rock Ferry Primary School28%
- #73Bidston Village CofE (Controlled) Primary School27%
- #74Cathcart Street Primary School26%
- #75Eastway Primary School21%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,691 (2024-25)
19th of 74 primary schools in Wirral for spending per pupil
- #17Holy Spirit Catholic and Church of England Primary School£8,858
- #18St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School£8,846
- #19Bidston Village CofE (Controlled) Primary School£8,691
- #20Somerville Primary School£8,639
- #21Cathcart Street Primary School£8,489
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)