Airedale Infant Academy
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Airedale Infant Academy is a converter academy in Castleford for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 206 pupils, 26 more than it has places for. About 20 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 19 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2019.
Poplar Avenue, Airedale, Airedale Junior School, Castleford, WF10 3QJ01977 519281airedaleinfants.comMrs Kirsten Mckechnie headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 5 November 2019, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 4 June 2025 said: “Standards maintained”.
This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 4 June 2025 | Ungraded | Standards maintained |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Wakefield council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (18), emotional and mental health (1), Vision impairment (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 206 | 217 | 227 | 245 | 242 | 229 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 18% | 22% | 25% | 19% | 22% | 21% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 6% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 12% | 15% | 12% | 5% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.2% | 7.3% | 7.0% | 8.7% | 5.4% | 5.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.9% | 6.1% | 3.7% | 3.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 1.7% | 2.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 23.1% | 23.3% | 19.7% | 30.3% | 17.4% | 15.5% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townville Academy | Academy | 0 m | 111 | Requires improvement 2023 | 0 | Compare |
| Airedale Junior Academy | Academy | 20 m | 385 | Good 2023 | 22 | Compare |
| Fairburn View Primary School, Castleford | Council | 610 m | 471 | Good 2023 | 8 | Compare |
| Oyster Park Primary Academy | Academy | 970 m | 349 | Report card 2026 | 4 | Compare |
| Glasshoughton Infant Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 222 | Good 2023 | 71 | Compare |
| Castleford Park Junior Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 412 | Good 2024 | 42 | Compare |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford | Academy | 1.2 miles | 197 | No overall grade 2024 | 32 | Compare |
| Castleford Wheldon Infant School and Nursery | Council | 1.3 miles | 169 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Airedale Infant Academy with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Airedale Infant Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royston St John Baptist CE Primary | Academy | 10.1 miles | 162 | Good 2022 | 42 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 19 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 19% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 8 to 44. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 11% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 6.9 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.09 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.35 | 2024/25; 121 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Airedale Infant Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Airedale Infant Academy scores 19 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 8 to 44, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Airedale Infant Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Airedale Infant Academy good at its last full inspection on 5 November 2019. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does Airedale Infant Academy have?
206 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 114% full.
Is Airedale Infant Academy oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Airedale Infant Academy?
Pupils were in school 92.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 23% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Airedale Infant Academy?
The average class had 31.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 33% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Poplar Avenue, Airedale, Airedale Junior School, Castleford, WF10 3QJ
- Telephone
- 01977 519281
- Website
- www.airedaleinfants.com
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kirsten Mckechnie
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Castleford Academy Trust (9 schools)
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Ward
- Airedale and Ferry Fryston
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 November 2014 (academy converter)
- URN
- 141522 · LAESTAB 3842172 · UKPRN 10047907
- Formerly
- Airedale Infant School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.