Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School

Kirkburton Church of England Voluntary Aided First School is performing at the expected standard overall. Pupils are happy, feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging at this caring and welcoming school. Behaviour is good, attendance is high, and bullying or discrimination is rare and dealt with swiftly. The curriculum is well designed and ordered, with recent changes to mathematics already improving pupils' multiplication and times tables knowledge. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils generally make good progress from their starting points, and early years children develop appropriate knowledge and are well prepared for Year 1. The school's main strengths include effective leadership and governance, strong inclusion work, positive staff culture, and a broad personal development programme. Safeguarding standards are met. However, writing is an area where pupils do not achieve as well as in other subjects, and the revised writing curriculum is still being embedded. In lessons, checks on pupils' understanding do not consistently identify and address misconceptions, meaning some pupils move on before consolidating earlier learning. In the early years, staff do not always maximise opportunities for high-quality interactions to extend children's learning. This is a small Church of England voluntary aided first school in the Diocese of Leeds, with 120 pupils, below average for the phase. The proportion of pupils with SEN support is above average, while free school meals and education, health and care plans are close to average, and the school is in an area of well below average deprivation. The inspection was a full section 5 inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and feel a strong sense of belonging.
• Pupils behave well and are respectful and kind to each other and adults.
• Attendance is high, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• The curriculum is well designed and sequenced with clear knowledge and end points.
• Recent mathematics curriculum changes are improving pupils' multiplication and times tables knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils generally achieve well from their starting points.
• Early years provision is well designed, and children are generally well prepared for Year 1.
• Phonics teaching is effective, and children quickly develop early reading knowledge.
• Inclusion work is strong, with swift identification and effective support for barriers to learning.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with clear improvement actions and secure safeguarding oversight.
• Staff feel valued, supported and positive about workload and professional development.
• Personal development is coherent, broad and inclusive, including clubs, outdoor learning and pupil leadership.
• Relationships with parents, carers and the community are positive.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve as well in writing as they do in other areas of the curriculum.
• The revised writing curriculum is a work in progress, and its full impact is not consistently evident in pupils' work.
• Lesson checks do not consistently identify and address pupils' misconceptions, so some pupils move on before consolidating current and prior learning.
• Early years staff do not always maximise opportunities for high-quality interactions to extend children's learning.
• Gaps in pupils' knowledge are not identified and addressed consistently and effectively.

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 Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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 Kirkburton CofE (VA) First 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 Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School had 17.6 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, 24.8% of pupils at Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School received £8,290 and spent £8,752 for each of its 117 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £69,000 (-£590 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).

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• Secondary Schools

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What is Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School have?

Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School has 117 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School cover?

Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School for pupils aged 4 to 10.

Where is Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School?

Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School is at School Hill, Kirkburton, West Yorkshire, HD8 0SG.