Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery School
General Information
- Address: Barnfield Avenue, Murdishaw, Runcorn, WA7 6EP – View on map
- Phone: 01928711254
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Vanessa Edwards
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 15 families put it first for 18 places – 8 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 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 8
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 98
- % eligible for free school meals: 70.5%
- Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (more mixed than the Halton average)
- English as an additional language: 8% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 11.1% a year (Halton 12.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 19% moved to another school, 81% 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 Halton: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.1 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 Halton, 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: 7.2%
- Persistently absent pupils: 21.7%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 22.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 8.6%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 53% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 9 percentage points below the Halton average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 49% against an expected 45%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 49%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 74% · Writing 63% · Maths 74% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 68%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 104
- Based on: 19 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 33rd of 48 junior and primary schools in the area
- =31Ditton Primary School54%
- =31Hillview Primary School54%
- =33Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery School53%
- =33The Grange School53%
- #35Kingsway Primary Academy School52%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
15th of 34 primary schools in Halton for Ofsted rating
- #13Moore Primary SchoolGood
- #14Moorfield Primary SchoolGood
- #15Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery SchoolGood
- #16Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary SchoolGood
- #17Palace Fields Primary AcademyGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £9,255 (2024-25)
16th of 46 primary schools in Halton for spending per pupil
- #14St Martin's Catholic Primary School and Preschool£9,600
- #15Windmill Hill Primary School£9,420
- #16Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery School£9,255
- #17Gorsewood Primary School£9,181
- #18Bridgewater Park Primary School£9,180
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)