Lydgate Junior and Infant School

Lydgate Junior and Infant School is a welcoming and orderly school where pupils are polite, respectful and behave well. Inspectors found high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and pupils achieve well. Reading and phonics are taught extremely well, pupils with SEND are supported skilfully, and early years children get off to a strong start. Personal development is a particular strength: pupils show a remarkable sense of equality and fairness, understand mental health well, and are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain. Parents are overwhelmingly positive, attendance is improving, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The curriculum is aspirational and thoughtfully designed, with particularly strong provision in mathematics and English. However, in some wider subjects, teachers do not check pupils' prior knowledge consistently well, so gaps in key knowledge are not clearly identified. This means pupils sometimes lack the foundations they need for more complex learning. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the report notes that this context was taken into account.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, respectful and friendly, and behave well in a calm, orderly environment.
• Pupils show a remarkable sense of equality and fairness.
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, help pupils achieve well.
• The curriculum is aspirational and thoughtfully designed, especially in mathematics and English.
• Reading and phonics are taught extremely well, with skilful support for pupils who find reading difficult.
• Pupils with SEND are identified and supported skilfully, and work is adapted so they access the same curriculum.
• Early years provision is carefully planned, and children cooperate exceptionally well.
• Pupils benefit from a strong wider curriculum, meaningful enrichment activities and a strong understanding of mental health.
• Attendance continues to improve, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Governors provide appropriate support and challenge, and leaders support staff well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

Areas for Improvement

• In some wider subjects, teachers do not check pupils' prior knowledge consistently well.
• Gaps in key knowledge are not clearly identified, so pupils sometimes lack the foundations for more complex learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Lydgate Junior and Infant School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Lydgate Junior and Infant School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Lydgate Junior and Infant School had 21.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.4% of pupils at Lydgate Junior and Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Lydgate Junior and Infant School received £6,749 and spent £6,520 for each of its 297 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £165,000 (£554 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Batley · Kirklees local authority: places and applications

What is Lydgate Junior and Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lydgate Junior and Infant School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Lydgate Junior and Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lydgate Junior and Infant School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Lydgate Junior and Infant School have?

Lydgate Junior and Infant School has 297 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lydgate Junior and Infant School cover?

Lydgate Junior and Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Lydgate Junior and Infant School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lydgate Junior and Infant School?

Lydgate Junior and Infant School is at Lydgate Road, Soothill, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 6EY.