Lindley Church of England Infant School

Lindley Church of England Infant School is a caring and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, attend well and benefit from a broad personal development offer. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils are kind and respectful, and staff provide strong pastoral support. Attendance is close to national average and improving. However, the school's overall performance requires attention because achievement is variable and there are gaps in pupils' knowledge, especially in phonics and writing. Teaching is inconsistent, and some activities do not match learning intentions or meet pupils' needs. Early years provision has weaknesses in language modelling and purposeful play, meaning some children could achieve more. Leadership and governance have historically lacked a precise understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses, and trustees have been overly optimistic. New leaders have begun a thorough review and are taking appropriate actions, but these are at an early stage. The school has experienced significant staffing changes, including an acting headteacher, and is part of a single-academy trust.

Strengths

• Inclusive culture where all pupils develop a sense of belonging.
• Strong pastoral care and support for pupils' emotional wellbeing.
• Pupils are kind, respectful and care for each other.
• Attendance is close to national average and improving, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, including targeted provision in 'The Nest'.
• Pupil premium funding is used well to provide small group reading and nurture support.
• Broad and open enrichment offer, including clubs, trips and visits.
• Pupils develop confidence and resilience through woodland adventures and other experiences.
• Relationships and health education taught effectively, including online safety and British values.
• Recent phonics outcomes have been above national average.
• Writing curriculum improvements are beginning to have a positive impact.
• Early years has clear transition arrangements and a well-sequenced curriculum.
• Staff feel valued and supported with workload and wellbeing.
• Parents show strong support and value the school's inclusive, friendly and family feel.
• Safeguarding standards are met.
• Pupils are well cared for and safe, and arrive smiling with positive attitudes.
• Pupils are prepared for life beyond school through events, visits and themed days.

Areas for Improvement

• Current pupils have gaps in knowledge and skills, most evident in phonics and writing.
• Pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of education.
• Teaching is inconsistent across the school; some activities do not match intended learning.
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding well enough to address gaps.
• Work does not always match pupils' needs; some find it too hard, others too easy.
• Early years staff do not consistently model and extend language or engage in high-quality interactions.
• Early years activities are not consistently purposeful; play is not used effectively to develop learning.
• Some children do not make the progress they could, including in early years.
• Leaders' actions to improve achievement are at an early stage.
• Behaviour tracking lacks refinement, making it difficult to identify patterns or trends.
• Until recently, leaders and trustees did not have a clear enough understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses.
• Governance has been overly optimistic and not provided enough challenge.
• Trustees have not been thorough in checking the quality of information they receive.
• Some pupils miss learning due to term-time holidays.
• Some pupils lose focus when teaching and activities are not well planned.

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 Lindley Church of England Infant School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.6% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Lindley Church of England 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 Lindley Church of England Infant School had 23.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.8% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Lindley Church of England Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 2024–25 Lindley Church of England Infant School received £6,462 and spent £6,493 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £296,000 (£829 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Learning Accord Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,872 and spending £6,958 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Lindley Church of England Infant School is part of Learning Accord Multi Academy Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Lowerhouses CofE Primary School Huddersfield
• St Thomas CE Primary School Huddersfield
• Helme Church of England Academy Holmfirth
• St Augustine's CofE School Halifax
• Roberttown CofE Primary School Liversedge
• Hightown Primary School Liversedge
• New Mill Infant School Holmfirth
• New Mill Junior School Holmfirth
• Luddenden CofE School Halifax
• St John’s CE Primary School Dewsbury

What is Lindley Church of England Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lindley Church of England Infant School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Lindley Church of England Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lindley Church of England Infant School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Lindley Church of England Infant School have?

Lindley Church of England Infant School has 359 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lindley Church of England Infant School cover?

Lindley Church of England Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Lindley Church of England Infant School?

Lindley Church of England Infant School is at Lindley Ce Infant School, East Street, Lindley, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD3 3NE.