Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a small, split-site primary in Leeds with a high proportion of pupils joining at different points in the year and above-average numbers speaking English as an additional language. Following its June 2025 inspection, the school was judged good in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The previous inspection grade was also good, and this was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspectors found a kind, caring culture where staff know pupils and families well, pupils enjoy school and behave well, and relationships are warm. The school has notable strengths in reading, SEND support, early years and personal development. Reading is prioritised from the start, with strong phonics teaching, effective interventions and confident readers in key stage 2. Pupils with SEND are identified and supported well, attendance has improved significantly, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders and governors are ambitious and rigorous, and staff professional development is a priority. The curriculum has improved and is ambitious in most subjects, although published key stage 2 outcomes in 2024 were low, partly because many pupils join at non-standard times; pupils who stay longer achieve more strongly. Inspectors identified three main areas for improvement. Curriculum implementation is not consistently effective across all subjects, and improvements in some subjects are not identified or acted on quickly enough. Checks on what pupils know are sometimes not used well to adapt subsequent learning, meaning gaps are not always addressed and tasks can be too challenging. The school’s wider offer beyond the academic curriculum is also limited, with insufficient extra-curricular opportunities. Leaders are tenacious and governance is strong, so the school is well placed to address these points.

Strengths

• A warm, kind and caring culture where staff know pupils and families well.
• Pupils behave well, respond to high expectations and play harmoniously together.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified and supported well.
• Reading is prioritised, with strong phonics teaching, effective interventions and confident, fluent readers.
• The early years curriculum is clear and well delivered, developing children’s language and social skills.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life, including safety, respect and healthy relationships.
• Attendance has improved significantly through effective support.
• Leaders and governors are ambitious, rigorous and committed to further improvement.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff professional development is prioritised, with strong subject knowledge supporting curriculum delivery in most subjects.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects, and improvements are not identified or acted on quickly enough.
• Assessment checks do not effectively inform subsequent learning, so gaps are not always addressed and tasks can be too challenging.
• The wider offer beyond the academic curriculum is limited, with insufficient and unvaried extra-curricular opportunities.
• Published key stage 2 outcomes in 2024 were low, partly linked to high pupil mobility.

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 Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.8% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary 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 Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.9% 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, 22.2% of pupils at Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School received £9,357 and spent £9,759 for each of its 180 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £12,000 (-£66 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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What is Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 180 pupils on roll.

What age range does Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School cover?

Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is at Burley Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS4 2HY.