Hillside Primary School

Hillside Primary School is a welcoming, friendly school where pupils enjoy learning and feel safe. Inspectors found the school performing well in all key areas, with effective safeguarding. Pupils are polite and calm, behave well, and benefit from high expectations. Reading is a particular strength: phonics teaching is expertly planned, weaker readers are identified quickly, and pupils receive precise intervention. Pupils with SEND are well supported, and the broad curriculum, clubs and visits help develop knowledge and responsibility. Staff feel supported and well trained, and governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge. The main areas for improvement relate to consistency. In some subjects, teaching does not consistently help pupils connect important knowledge and ideas, which limits how deeply some pupils understand the curriculum. New assessment approaches are still being embedded, so in some subjects leaders and teachers do not yet have a precise picture of gaps in pupils' knowledge or the progress they are making. The report notes that the school's redeveloped curriculum is having a positive impact, but it is too soon to see the full effect on published national assessment outcomes. The school is an academy converter within the South Pennines Academies trust. This was a graded inspection in December 2024; under the arrangements for schools inspected from September 2024, no overall effectiveness grade was given. The previous inspection grade was good.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and describe a caring school community.
• High expectations and effective new teaching approaches help pupils access learning.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and respectful, and are calm in lessons and at break.
• Reading is a priority, with expertly planned phonics and rapid intervention for weaker readers.
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and well supported through adapted lessons and tailored support.
• A broad curriculum, clubs and visits enrich pupils' learning and develop responsibility.
• Personal development is thorough, covering relationships, health, safety and morality.
• Staff feel well supported and well trained, and governors and trustees understand the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects, limiting pupils' ability to connect important knowledge and deepen understanding.
• New assessment models are not fully embedded, so gaps in knowledge and progress are not precisely understood across all subjects.

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 Hillside Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.7% 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, 4.6% of pupils at Hillside 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 Hillside Primary School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Hillside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.0% 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 Hillside Primary School received £8,675 and spent £8,358 for each of its 305 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £347,000 (£1,137 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of South Pennine Academies, income was £8,124 and spending £8,234 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

Hillside Primary School is part of South Pennine Academies, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Beaumont Primary Academy Huddersfield
• Moor End Academy Huddersfield
• Brambles Primary Academy Huddersfield
• Kirkheaton Primary School Huddersfield
• Park Lane Academy Halifax
• Orchard Primary Academy Dewsbury
• Woodlands Primary Academy Oldham
• Willowpark Primary Academy Oldham
• Greenacres Primary Academy Oldham

What is Hillside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hillside Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Hillside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hillside Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Hillside Primary School have?

Hillside Primary School has 302 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hillside Primary School cover?

Hillside Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Hillside Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Hillside Primary School?

Hillside Primary School is at Headfield Road, Newsome, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD4 6LU.