Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School

Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School continues to uphold its good performance, fostering a friendly and supportive environment where pupils thrive and enjoy their learning. The school's committed staff and strong leadership create a foundation where high expectations for both academic achievement and personal development are evident. The curriculum emphasizes communication, language, reading, and mathematics, effectively preparing pupils for future stages of education. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from tailored support and a range of extracurricular activities that enhance their educational experience.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy learning and demonstrate very good behavior.
• Strong commitment from staff towards pupils and the wider community.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• An ambitious and well-structured curriculum, particularly in early reading, mathematics, and language development.
• High-quality interactions in the early years, fostering good communication and language skills.
• Pupils experience a variety of learning opportunities, including regular trips and leadership roles.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, important knowledge and its sequence are not clearly defined, leading to challenges in pupil recall.

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 Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 31.3% 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 Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery 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 Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 19.7% of pupils at Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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 Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School received £8,441 and spent £8,390 for each of its 251 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £141,000 (£565 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 Dewsbury · Kirklees local authority: places and applications

What is Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.

When was Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in October 2023.

How many pupils does Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School have?

Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School has 284 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School cover?

Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School?

Thornhill Lees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant and Nursery School is at Slaithwaite Road, Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF12 9DL.