SF School Facts UK

Special school in Birkenhead, Wirral

Wirral Wrap

Summerhill House, Beechwood Drive, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH43 9LB

School website 01512720813
Ofsted No grade not inspected
Pupils 25 78% full
Local deprivation 1/10 more deprived

Ofsted

Ofsted has not published an inspection outcome for this school.

This is usual for schools that have opened recently, and for most independent schools, which are inspected by ISI or another approved body rather than Ofsted.

Current published outcome
None published
Last overall grade in this dataset
None published
Days since inspection
Not published
Framework era
No published Ofsted outcome

These four fields describe the latest published inspection on this record. The dataset does not keep a previous inspection row, so a school inspected under the current framework will usually have no overall grade to show as “prior”.

Exam results

Special schools serve pupils whose needs the standard measures were not designed to describe, so results are not shown or ranked here.

Evidence found
No phase-compatible comparable headline measure is published here.
Source coverage
DfE 2024/25 school performance files, checked by exact URN and establishment type.
What this means
The standard mainstream measure would not support a fair comparison for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school achieved zero, has no outcomes, or should be read as performing below a mainstream school.

Pupils

Pupils on roll
25
Places
32
How full
78% full — 25 of 32 places taken, so places are likely to be available
Girls / boys
9 / 16
Free school meals, last 6 years
0%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
Not published
With an EHC plan
100%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
0%

England 15%

School funding 2025-26 financial year

Not covered by this mainstream-school release.

Evidence found
Not covered by this mainstream-school release; this is not represented as £0.
Source coverage
DfE mainstream-school allocations for running costs for pupils aged 5-16, importer snapshot 23 August 2026.
What this means
The official mainstream allocation release does not provide a publishable row for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school received no public funding or has no budget; other establishment types and funding streams use different publications.

Allocation is not expenditure. DfE says this release combines the schools block with several other revenue grants and excludes capital spending. Funding is shown for context and is never used in School Facts ordering, peer groups or quality claims. Source, licence and coverage.

Roads and getting there

Road casualties within 500m

Child pedestrian casualties
0

England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years

All reported collisions
16

England average 24.2 over five years

Of those, serious or fatal
2

Public transport

Bus stops within 500m
6

England average 11.9

Nearest station
Upton Rail Station

0.9 km away — railway station

Every collision reported to the police within 500m of the school over the five years to 2024, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe — counts rise with traffic and with how built up an area is, and a rural school on a fast road may have fewer collisions but a worse one. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position.

The area around the school

1/10 Deprivation decile

Among the most deprived fifth of England.

1/10 Child poverty decile

Among the most deprived fifth of England for children in low-income families.

Indices of Deprivation 2019, for the small area the school stands in. 1 means the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. The second measure counts only children living in low-income families, which is the one that describes the intake a school is likely to draw on.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£225,000

postcode sector CH43 9 · 183 sales

Typical range
£155,000 to £300,000

middle half of sales

Detached
£346,250
Semi-detached
£208,000
Terraced
£130,000
Flat
£230,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most of England.

Every residential sale registered in this postcode sector since January 2024, from HM Land Registry. A sector covers roughly 2,500 addresses. England's median over the same period was £293,000.

Who lives there

Adults with a degree
14%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
34%

England 18.3%

In professional or managerial work
4%

England 13.4%

Households deprived in 2+ ways
35%

England 17.8%

Residents in very good health
43%

England 48.4%

Housing

Owned by the occupier
22%

England 62.7%

Social housing
69%

England 17%

Privately rented
9%

England 19.2%

Detached homes
36%

England 38.2%

Four or more bedrooms
9%

England 22.5%

No car
48%

England 21.9%

Census 2021, for Wirral 011E and the wider neighbourhood around it. These figures describe the area, not the pupils — children may travel in from much further away, and for selective, faith and independent schools they usually do.

School details

Type
Other independent special school
Phase
Special
Ages
Ages 11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Sixth form
No
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Matthew Pennington
Opened as this establishment
21 June 2023
Register status
Open
Local authority
Wirral
Ward
Bidston and St James
Constituency
Birkenhead
URN
149638

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Official DfE record
Open the register entry

The source record for this establishment and URN.

The URN identifies this registered establishment. If a school converts or is replaced, DfE may issue a new URN; this page does not stitch different establishments together by a similar name.

Nearest special schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Progress 8DistanceCompare
Hayfield SchoolCommunity special school Good 2023 — — 0.6 mi
The Observatory SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 0.7 mi
Clare Mount Specialist Sports CollegeCommunity special school Report card 2026 — — 0.9 mi
Gilbrook SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 1.2 mi
Meadowside SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 1.5 mi
Foxfield SchoolCommunity special school Good 2023 — — 1.6 mi
Kilgarth SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 1.7 mi
Edstart Schools WirralOther independent special school No overall grade — — 2.4 mi

Evidence ledger

Reference dates and join methods are kept separate because the figures do not all describe the same year or geography.

EvidencePublisherReference dateHow it reaches this page
School identityGet Information About Schools23 August 2026Exact URN 149638; unified importer snapshot
Inspection evidenceOfsted management information31 July 2026No Ofsted outcome matched to this URN
Pupil intakeDfE school census2024/25Exact URN; suppressed values remain missing
Funding allocationDfE school funding statistics2025-26 financial yearNo row for this URN in the mainstream-school release; not represented as zero
Roads and transportDfT road casualties, traffic and NaPTANFive-year road window; access-node snapshotCoordinate join within the stated radius
NeighbourhoodONS Census2021LSOA/MSOA containing the school, not pupil homes
DeprivationEnglish Indices of Deprivation2019LSOA containing the school
Home pricesHM Land Registry Price Paid DataSales since January 2024School postcode sector, not a catchment

These sources are published for reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, including the Crown database-right notice that accompanies Price Paid Data. Definitions and source notes. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.

Questions this school record can answer

Which exact school is this?

Match the DfE URN, school name and address; names and structures can change while the URN remains the stable identifier.

What does the latest inspection evidence say?

Use the inspection date and framework shown. Do not compare a legacy overall grade directly with the newer report-card judgements.

How should I compare nearby schools?

Compare the same phase, cohort and academic year, then keep intake context and confidence intervals beside performance measures.

What must a parent verify?

Check current admissions rules, travel practicality, support for the child’s needs and the school’s latest official information before deciding.