Dovedale Community Primary School

Liverpool · L18 1JX

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 839 pupils, 8.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 19% on SEN support Behaviour 3.3% absence rate Staff 5.1% turnover Financials £5,910 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Dovedale Community Primary School

General Information

Address: Herondale Road, Liverpool, L18 1JX – View on map
Phone: 01517334232
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Nik Smith
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 117 families put it first for 120 places – 10 for every 10 places. 88% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 120 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

839 pupils out of 840 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 73
% eligible for free school meals: 8.7%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (similar to the Liverpool average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 5.1% a year (Liverpool 13.5%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 60% moved to another school, 40% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Liverpool: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 6 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 8 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 4 (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 Liverpool, 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: 3.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 4.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 19.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 67 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 47 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 24 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 16 pupils
Hearing impairment: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card November 2025

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2024). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 66% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 11% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 7 percentage points above the Liverpool average (59%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 69% against an expected 62%)
3-year average (expected standard): 69%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 77% · Writing 82% · Maths 76% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 81%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 104
Based on: 119 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

This schoolLiverpool averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 7 percentage points above the Liverpool average (59%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 38th of 107 junior and primary schools in the area

=35St John's Catholic Primary School67%
=38Broadgreen Primary66%
=38Dovedale Community Primary School66%
=38King David Primary School66%
=38Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery66%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Garston Church of England Primary School86%
#2Woolton Primary School84%
=3St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary and Nursery School83%
=3Sudley Primary School83%
#5Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School82%
#6Four Oaks Community Primary School81%
#7Whitefield Primary School79%
#8Barlows Primary School78%
=9Christ The King Catholic Primary School77%
=9Our Lady's Bishop Eton Catholic Primary School77%
=9Ranworth Square Primary School77%
=9St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School77%
=9St Patrick's Catholic Primary School77%
#14Heygreen Primary School76%
=15Booker Avenue Junior School75%
=15Mosspits Lane Primary School75%
#17Gilmour Primary School74%
#18Wellesbourne Community Primary School73%
=19Mab Lane Junior Mixed and Infant School72%
=19Much Woolton Catholic Primary School72%
=19Our Lady of Good Help Catholic Primary School72%
=19St Ambrose Catholic Academy72%
=23Croxteth Community Primary School71%
=23Emmaus Church of England and Catholic Primary School71%
=23St. Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School71%
=26Liverpool College70%
=26Longmoor Community Primary School70%
=28Arnot St Mary CofE Primary School69%
=28Belle Vale Community Primary School69%
=28Broad Square Community Primary School69%
=28Middlefield Community Primary School69%
=28Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School69%
=28St Paschal Baylon Catholic Primary School69%
#34Holy Name Catholic Primary School68%
=35Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School, Woolton67%
=35St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School67%
=35St John's Catholic Primary School67%
=38Broadgreen Primary66%
=38Dovedale Community Primary School66%
=38King David Primary School66%
=38Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery66%
=38St Anne's (Stanley) Junior Mixed and Infant School66%
#43St Austin's Catholic Primary School65%
=44Florence Melly Community Primary School64%
=44Pleasant Street Primary School64%
=44St Anne's Catholic Primary School64%
=47St Cleopas' Church of England Primary Academy63%
=47St Sebastian's Catholic Primary School and Nursery63%
=49Banks Road Primary School62%
=49Holy Family Catholic Primary School62%
#51St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School61%
=52Kingsley Community School60%
=52Knotty Ash Primary School60%
=52St Christopher's Catholic Primary School60%
=52St Oswald's Catholic Primary School60%
#56Matthew Arnold Primary School59%
=57Fazakerley Primary School58%
=57St Michael's Catholic Primary School58%
=57The Beacon Church of England Primary School58%
=60Greenbank Primary School57%
=60Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School57%
=60Roscoe Primary School57%
=60St Albert's Catholic Primary School57%
=60St Mary's Church of England Primary School, West Derby57%
=60St Matthew's Catholic Primary School57%
=60Stockton Wood Community Primary School57%
=67Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School56%
=67Leamington Community Primary School56%
=67New Park Primary School56%
=67St Silas Church of England Primary School56%
=71Our Lady and St Philomena's Catholic Primary School55%
=71Our Lady and St Swithin's Catholic Primary School55%
=73St Finbar's Catholic Primary School54%
=73St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary Academy54%
=75Rice Lane Primary School and Nursery53%
=75Springwood Heath Primary School53%
=75St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Community Primary School53%
=78Childwall Valley Primary School52%
=78Holy Cross Catholic Primary School52%
=80Hunts Cross Primary School50%
=80Smithdown Primary School50%
#82Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School48%
#83Monksdown Primary School47%
#84St Paul's Catholic Junior School46%
=85Blueberry Park45%
=85Northcote Primary School45%
=85St Nicholas Catholic Academy45%
=88All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School43%
=88Blackmoor Park Junior School43%
=88Faith Primary Academy43%
=91LIPA School40%
=91St Gregory's Catholic Primary School40%
=91St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School40%
#94Windsor Community Primary School39%
#95Lawrence Community Primary School38%
#96Rudston Primary School35%
#97Kensington Primary School34%
=98St Clare's Catholic Primary School33%
=98Wavertree Church of England School33%
=100Anfield Road Primary School29%
=100Gwladys Street Primary and Nursery School29%
=102Dovecot Primary School25%
=102The Trinity Catholic Academy25%
#104Corinthian Community Primary School22%
#105St Hugh's Catholic Primary School19%
#106Netherley Park Primary School12%
#107Phoenix Primary School9%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £5,910 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

83rd of 90 primary schools in Liverpool for spending per pupil

#81Woolton Primary School£5,988
#82St Mary's Church of England Primary School, West Derby£5,912
#83Dovedale Community Primary School£5,910
#84St Paschal Baylon Catholic Primary School£5,853
#85Christ The King Catholic Primary School£5,799

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Knotty Ash Primary School£10,906
#2Windsor Community Primary School£10,165
#3Our Lady and St Swithin's Catholic Primary School£9,745
#4St Silas Church of England Primary School£9,691
#5Corinthian Community Primary School£9,500
#6St Finbar's Catholic Primary School£9,289
#7Matthew Arnold Primary School£9,222
#8Roscoe Primary School£9,157
#9St Patrick's Catholic Primary School£9,149
#10Pleasant Street Primary School£9,032
#11Wavertree Church of England School£8,895
#12Smithdown Primary School£8,770
#13St Ambrose Catholic Academy£8,689
#14Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School£8,671
#15All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,665
#16St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary and Nursery School£8,643
#17Kingsley Community School£8,603
#18Mab Lane Junior Mixed and Infant School£8,540
#19Dovecot Primary School£8,532
#20St Anne's Catholic Primary School£8,524
#21Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School£8,514
#22Faith Primary Academy£8,490
#23Four Oaks Community Primary School£8,381
#24Holy Family Catholic Primary School£8,371
#25Whitefield Primary School£8,350
#26Heygreen Primary School£8,237
#27Wellesbourne Community Primary School£8,210
#28Banks Road Primary School£8,124
#29Our Lady and St Philomena's Catholic Primary School£8,094
#30Blueberry Park£8,023
#31St Clare's Catholic Primary School£7,981
#32St Albert's Catholic Primary School£7,960
#33Fazakerley Primary School£7,955
#34St Michael's Catholic Primary School£7,946
#35Childwall Valley Primary School£7,856
#36St. Margaret's Anfield Church of England Primary School£7,848
#37Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery£7,846
#38Gwladys Street Primary and Nursery School£7,773
#39St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Community Primary School£7,772
#40Middlefield Community Primary School£7,758
#41Netherley Park Primary School£7,736
#42Croxteth Community Primary School£7,725
#43St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School£7,707
#44St Sebastian's Catholic Primary School and Nursery£7,682
#45Leamington Community Primary School£7,596
#46St Cleopas' Church of England Primary Academy£7,560
#47The Trinity Catholic Academy£7,493
#48St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary Academy£7,485
#49Florence Melly Community Primary School£7,457
#50Lawrence Community Primary School£7,376
#51Belle Vale Community Primary School£7,358
#52Arnot St Mary CofE Primary School£7,346
#53Broad Square Community Primary School£7,321
#54Anfield Road Primary School£7,235
#55Holy Cross Catholic Primary School£7,174
#56St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School£7,133
#57St Nicholas Catholic Academy£7,078
#58St Christopher's Catholic Primary School£7,075
#59Northcote Primary School£7,073
#60Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School£7,012
#61Garston Church of England Primary School£6,856
#62Greenbank Primary School£6,788
#63Rice Lane Primary School and Nursery£6,772
#64The Beacon Church of England Primary School£6,700
#65Mosspits Lane Primary School£6,664
#66St Austin's Catholic Primary School£6,639
#67Hunts Cross Primary School£6,628
#68Gilmour Primary School£6,615
#69Holy Name Catholic Primary School£6,591
#70St Matthew's Catholic Primary School£6,584
#71St Anne's (Stanley) Junior Mixed and Infant School£6,562
#72Much Woolton Catholic Primary School£6,543
#73Longmoor Community Primary School£6,531
#74Barlows Primary School£6,439
#75St Oswald's Catholic Primary School£6,376
#76Rudston Primary School£6,313
#77Our Lady's Bishop Eton Catholic Primary School£6,288
#78Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School, Woolton£6,211
#79Sudley Primary School£6,210
#80Emmaus Church of England and Catholic Primary School£6,136
#81Woolton Primary School£5,988
#82St Mary's Church of England Primary School, West Derby£5,912
#83Dovedale Community Primary School£5,910
#84St Paschal Baylon Catholic Primary School£5,853
#85Christ The King Catholic Primary School£5,799
#86Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School£5,755
#87St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School£5,703
#88King's Northway Primary Academy£4,105
#89St Charles' Catholic Academy£2,897
#90New Park Primary School£611

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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