Featherstone Girnhill Infant School

Featherstone Girnhill Infant School has maintained its good performance as an educational institution during its recent inspection. The school provides a nurturing and positive learning environment enriched by strong values of respect, responsibility, and resilience. Notably, pupils demonstrate confident learning behaviors and enjoy engaging with their peers, highlighting a supportive community that fosters their academic and social development. The curriculum is ambitious and well-structured, with a commendable emphasis on essential knowledge and skills across various subjects. Teachers are dedicated to ensuring effective learning, particularly in reading, mathematics, and phonics, leading to commendable pupil achievements.

Strengths

• Strong culture of respect, responsibility, recognition, and resilience.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• High expectations for pupil achievement across a broad curriculum.
• Well-structured lessons that promote language skills and oracy.
• Strong emphasis on reading with trained staff and comprehensive phonics program.
• Successful engagement in a wide range of extracurricular opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Opportunities for pupils to develop writing skills in foundation subjects are not fully embedded.

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 Featherstone Girnhill Infant School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.1% 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, 5.1% of pupils at Featherstone Girnhill 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 Featherstone Girnhill Infant School had 11.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.7% 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, 23.3% of pupils at Featherstone Girnhill 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 Featherstone Girnhill Infant School received £9,584 and spent £8,773 for each of its 112 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £246,000 (£2,199 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Inspire Partnership Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,468 and spending £6,416 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

Featherstone Girnhill Infant School is part of Inspire Partnership Multi Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Fitzwilliam Primary School Pontefract
• Ackton Pastures Primary Academy Castleford
• Half Acres Primary Academy Castleford
• Grove Lea Primary School Pontefract
• South Hiendley Primary School Barnsley
• Ash Grove Primary Academy Pontefract
• Towngate Primary Academy Ossett
• Gawthorpe Community Academy Ossett

What is Featherstone Girnhill Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Featherstone Girnhill Infant School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Featherstone Girnhill Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Featherstone Girnhill Infant School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Featherstone Girnhill Infant School have?

Featherstone Girnhill Infant School has 103 pupils on roll.

What age range does Featherstone Girnhill Infant School cover?

Featherstone Girnhill Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Featherstone Girnhill Infant School?

Featherstone Girnhill Infant School is at Hardwick Road, Featherstone, Girnhill Infant School, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF7 5JB.