Scissett Middle School

Scissett Middle School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across various domains in its first inspection since becoming an academy. The school is characterized by a happy and caring environment where staff hold high expectations for all pupils. Students appreciate the support for their mental health and enjoy the school’s initiatives, such as the 'mindful mile' and interactions with a therapy dog. The leadership emphasizes robust curricula and prepares students effectively for their transition to high school, although there are some areas for further development in reading support for weaker readers.

Strengths

• A caring and supportive school environment.
• High expectations from staff for all pupils.
• Strong performance in preparing pupils for high school.
• Good subject knowledge among most teachers.
• Pupils show positive attitudes towards learning.
• Effective personal development programs.

Areas for Improvement

• Weak readers in Year 6 do not catch up quickly enough.
• Lack of planned opportunities for cross-curricular learning.
• Underdeveloped understanding of dangers of radicalization and extremism.

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 Scissett Middle School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 2.6% of pupils at Scissett Middle School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Scissett Middle School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 18.4% of pupils at Scissett Middle School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Scissett Middle School received £6,767 and spent £6,555 for each of its 587 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £422,000 (£719 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of The Mast Academy Trust, income was £6,805 and spending £6,595 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

Scissett Middle School is part of The Mast Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Shelley First School Huddersfield
• Birdsedge First School Huddersfield
• Kirkburton Middle School Huddersfield
• Grange Moor Primary School Wakefield
• Scholes (Holmfirth) Junior & Infant School Holmfirth

What is Scissett Middle School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Scissett Middle School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Scissett Middle School last inspected by Ofsted?

Scissett Middle School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Scissett Middle School have?

Scissett Middle School has 592 pupils on roll.

What age range does Scissett Middle School cover?

Scissett Middle School for pupils aged 10 to 13.

What are Scissett Middle School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Scissett Middle School?

Scissett Middle School is at Wakefield Road, Scissett, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD8 9JX.