Linthwaite Ardron CofE (Voluntary Aided) Junior and Infant School

and Infant School

Address: Church Lane, Linthwaite, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD7 5TA Unique reference number (URN): 107740

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders have created a school where pupils feel that they belong and can flourish. Leaders track absence diligently and respond quickly when there is a concern. They work closely with pupils and their families to overcome barriers to attendance. This means that pupils are rarely absent and attendance remains above national average levels.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

The school is calm and welcoming. Pupils understand the expectations and make positive choices because they know it is the right thing to do. Staff step in quickly when pupils need guidance, although this is rare. Unwanted behaviour is also rare but addressed immediately, which means that pupils can learn well without any disruption. Staff understand pupils' individual needs and use a range of approaches to help them understand routines and to make positive choices. This includes, for example, teaching pupils to regulate strong emotions. Over time, this transforms pupils’ behaviour, enabling them to take greater responsibility for themselves and their learning.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Children in the early years develop positive learning behaviours. Pupils across the school build on this strong start. The school’s approach to behaviour supports pupils to concentrate very well in lessons. Bullying is not tolerated. If it happens, pupils know staff will deal with it quickly.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders show determination that disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities succeed. The school has effective systems in place to identify pupils’ individual barriers to learning. Leaders and staff know pupils well. They identify barriers to learning and wellbeing quickly. This means that the school responds to pupils’ needs without delay. Staff get the right training to offer appropriate and well-considered support in lessons, with the timely involvement of specialist services where necessary. Leaders ensure that information is shared so that staff understand and address challenges to help pupils to access the full curriculum offer. They work closely with staff to create targets for all disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Strategies to support pupils are implemented consistently well to help pupils to access learning alongside their peers. Pupils' information is reviewed meticulously to plan the next steps for pupils.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school uses pupil premium funding to support pupils effectively. Leaders and staff work hard to ensure that the right support is in place for disadvantaged pupils. Leaders ensure that pupils experience the full school offer, including wider opportunities. The school is making a sustained, positive difference to the education and experiences that disadvantaged pupils have.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school provides a very well-considered programme for pupils' personal development. It enables pupils to flourish academically and to develop the necessary skills for life beyond the school. The curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education is

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Expected standard

thoughtfully designed. For example, pupils learn about healthy relationships, puberty and personal safety, including how to keep themselves safe when online. The school supports pupils to understand what is happening in the world, and pupils participate in meaningful activities such as fundraising for children in Ukraine.

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Expected standard

Pastoral support for pupils is highly effective. Leaders assess their work to support pupils' mental health and wellbeing. The whole-school approach starts in the early years. It includes teaching pupils strategies to manage stressful situations.

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Expected standard

Daily collective worship and reflective spiritual experiences, such as the annual local pilgrimage, help pupils to learn to respect the values, beliefs and backgrounds of others. Staff support pupils to develop their understanding of British values. Pupils learn the importance of tolerance because staff teach them about misconceptions regarding different religions. The school connects with the local Member of Parliament, who visited school recently and was interviewed by pupils to help them to understand democracy.

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Expected standard

Pupils benefit from a wide range of well-chosen enrichment opportunities, including educational and residential visits, sports partnerships and visitor programmes that broaden experiences and raise aspirations. Leaders ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils are supported to participate fully in enrichment activities, for example participating in a Boccia tournament, football, basketball and cricket.

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Expected standard

The school makes strong links with the local community to enhance pupils’ understanding of social responsibility. Work includes collecting for a local food bank and engaging with the 'welcome centre'. Pupils have well-established opportunities to contribute to school life through the school council, becoming play leaders and part of collective worship teams. The school's inclusive and rich personal development offer benefits pupils and prepares pupils for life beyond the school.

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Achievement Expected standard

Over time, all pupils attain and progress well in reading, writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils outperform their non-disadvantaged peers in national tests. The most vulnerable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve particularly well from their starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Since the previous inspection, leaders' development of the wider curriculum and teaching ensures that pupils are knowledgeable about the subjects they learn. They remember important content and make meaningful connections across topics of study.

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Achievement Expected standard

Typically, pupils gain the foundations they need in language, communication and vocabulary. They develop fluency and accuracy in word reading and spelling. This helps pupils to become capable readers and confident writers. However, there is some variability in the quality of work pupils present across the curriculum. Some expectations for handwriting are not high enough in subjects beyond English. This hinders some pupils from producing high- quality work across the curriculum. Despite this, over time, pupils' outcomes in reading and writing at the end of Year 6 are consistently above national averages.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum across the school is well designed and generally implemented well. Pupils remember what they are taught in subjects such as history and music, because they build new knowledge on what they already know. Leaders' work to ensure that teaching includes a sharper focus on pupils gaining fluency in number facts is well underway. Staff have secure subject knowledge. Teaching follows a well-sequenced structure that develops knowledge of number and key mathematical concepts. Staff check pupils' understanding during lessons and provide support when pupils have misunderstood something.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Pupils are well supported to become fluent readers. Support is in place for pupils who need extra help with reading. Support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities supports pupils to fully participate in lessons. Leaders check the quality of teaching and make decisions in the best interests of pupils. Leaders have a sharp focus on securing pupils' basic knowledge in reading, writing, mathematics and language. This is helping pupils to progress well through the curriculum. Leaders recently revised the school’s approach to handwriting. This is implemented well in English lessons. However, some pupils do not write as fluently and accurately across the full curriculum as they could.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and governors understand the school’s strengths and areas for development well. They have identified appropriate priorities, such as improving pupils’ foundational knowledge in mathematics and handwriting. Leaders and governors make decisions in pupils’ best interests, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Since the last inspection, leaders have focused on strengthening their ambitious curriculum. This work has had a positive impact on pupils’ learning and achievement. Leaders have ensured that pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences to prepare them for diverse modern Britain.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Those responsible for governance know the school well and fulfil their statutory duties. Governors hold leaders to account for the impact of their actions, such as for improving and sustaining pupils' attendance. Governors maintain a clear focus on how additional funding is spent to help disadvantaged pupils achieve their full potential. Governors visit the school to see the impact of leaders' actions. Overall, governors have secure oversight of the school's work and priorities. Despite this, in a few instances, records related to safeguarding do not record as clearly as they could the actions the school takes to promote pupils’ welfare. This reduces the quality of information leaders have to assure themselves about this aspect of the school’s work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff are highly positive about working at the school. They appreciate the professional learning offer and support to strengthen their expertise. They feel valued and speak highly of leaders' actions to support their workload and wellbeing.

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Needs attention

Since the previous inspection, leaders have strengthened communication and engagement with parents. Parents and carers recognise the work the school does to provide a caring and nurturing place to be.

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Early years Needs attention

There is some further work needed in the early years to ensure that inconsistencies in the quality of adult interactions are used to consolidate and extend children's knowledge and skills so that all children are well prepared for future learning. Occasionally, time is not used well enough to ensure that all children are engaged in purposeful learning.

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Early years Needs attention

Leaders are ambitious for children to have a positive start to their school journey. The curriculum is carefully designed and offers a broad range of activities linked to the areas of learning, including early reading, number and developing children’s personal, social and emotional skills. The environment is thoughtfully planned to provide opportunities for children to revisit and practise previous learning. Children in the early years settle quickly, follow routines and develop independence. Generally, children are ready for their learning in Year 1.

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Early years Needs attention

Reading is given high priority. Children enjoy sharing favourite stories with familiar adults. Most children learn to sound out words to read and spell, supported by staff who demonstrate expertise in early reading.

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Early years Needs attention

Relationships between staff and children are positive. Staff know the children well. They support children to develop social skills as they play alongside their friends. Staff work closely with parents, creating an effective partnership that supports children’s wellbeing and development.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils flourish at this school because they are valued as individuals. Pupils' high attendance reflects their enthusiasm for school. They are keen to learn and enjoy the many opportunities on offer. Pupils feel safe because staff support and care for them well.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Happiness and kindness reflect pupils’ attitudes. Pupils enjoy the thoughtfully planned experiences, such as visits to another local primary school to develop friendships in preparation for joining secondary school. Older pupils understand the importance of including and respecting everyone no matter their differences. There is a well-established culture of respect in the school as a result. Incidents of unkindness are very rare, and pupils say that bullying does not happen. Staff are quick to deal with any incidents effectively.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Teachers make learning interesting, which helps pupils to enjoy lessons. Pupils show positive attitudes to learning. On the whole, pupils achieve well. In reading and writing in national tests, pupils achieve particularly well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are disadvantaged often outperform their peers. By the time they leave the school at the end of Year 6, pupils are ready for secondary school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children in the early years are happy and settled. However, staff interactions with children vary in quality. This means that some children benefit from purposeful dialogue, while others do not receive the support that they need to develop important knowledge and skills, including vocabulary.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Opportunities for pupils to broaden their view of the world are plentiful, such as participating in the annual pilgrimage and competing in sports competitions. Leaders design opportunities based on their deep knowledge of pupils and the local community. For example, pupils work with local groups, including the local food bank and welcome centre. This helps pupils to understand their role within the community.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that all staff who work with children in the early years have the necessary expertise to engage in high ‑ quality interactions with children in all areas of learning both indoors and outdoors. Leaders should continue to embed recently introduced strategies to secure pupils' foundational knowledge in mathematics and handwriting so that pupils build greater fluency and accuracy over time. Leaders should ensure that safeguarding records provide a full picture of the actions taken by the school to promote pupils' wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Claire Horne.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and other school leaders during the inspection. The lead inspector spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also spoke to a representative from the local authority and a representative from the Diocese of Leeds separately on the telephone.

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Church of England religious character. It is in the Diocese of Leeds. Its last section 48 inspection was in February 2020.

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Lead inspector:

Kathryn McDonald, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Michael Watson, Ofsted Inspector Stephanie Ngenda, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 14 April 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England. The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

Headteacher: Jane Travis National average: 300

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (revised) 72% 74% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 80% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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gap

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.2% 5.5% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 12.6% 14.6% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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