Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School
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Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Huddersfield for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 189 pupils and room for 191. About 45 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 6 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 6% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Rawthorpe Lane, Rawthorpe, Huddersfield, HD5 9NT01484 226601nlconline.org.uk/infantMrs Kirsty McGrath principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 20 June 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 5 March 2020 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
79 places were empty (32% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 12% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
In 2024 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2024. Every child who applied got a place (55 offers for 55 places).
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Primary | 55 | 55 | – all offered | LA |
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.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 15 pupils, for speech, language and communication.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Kirklees with speech, language and communication provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (40), emotional and mental health (27), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (9), Moderate learning difficulty (8), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (4).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 189 | 194 | 220 | 215 | 215 | 206 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 39% | 40% | 38% | 43% | 46% | 51% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 38% | 31% | 37% | 33% | 36% | 38% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 24% | 13% | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 12% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 4% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.4% 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 | 9.6% | 8.0% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 5.6% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.5% | 5.7% | 5.1% | 5.0% | 3.7% | 3.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 21.6% | 25.6% | 23.0% | 23.8% | 19.4% | 19.8% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 5.7 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | – | – |
| 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 council school accounts, year to March 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherhall Learning Campus Junior School | Council | 310 m | 250 | Good 2023 | 8 | Compare |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy | Academy | 990 m | 310 | Not inspected | 28 | Compare |
| Moldgreen Community Primary School | Council | 0.7 miles | 338 | Good 2022 | 29 | Compare |
| Dalton School | Council | 0.7 miles | 487 | Report card 2026 | 20 | Compare |
| Hill View Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 216 | Good 2023 | 37 | Compare |
| Birkby Junior School | Council | 1.1 miles | 541 | Good 2023 | 42 | Compare |
| Christ Church CE Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 194 | Report card 2026 | 16 | Compare |
| Lowerhouses CofE Primary School | Academy | 1.3 miles | 199 | Not inspected | 74 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School 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 Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkstall Valley Primary School | Council | 12.8 miles | 221 | Report card 2026 | 50 | Compare |
| Oakwell Rise Primary Academy | Academy | 13.9 miles | 236 | Report card 2026 | 83 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 6 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 6% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 3 to 15. 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 | 20% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.2 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well below | -0.44 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.44 | 2024/25; 111 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 Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School a good school?
The figures are weak. Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School scores 6 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 6% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 3 to 15, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School good at its last full inspection on 20 June 2023.
How many pupils does Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School have?
189 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 191 places, so it is 99% full.
Is Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 79 places were empty in 2024/25 (32% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School?
Pupils were in school 90.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 22% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School?
The average class had 24.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does Netherhall St James CofE (VC) Infant and Nursery School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for speech, language and communication. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Rawthorpe Lane, Rawthorpe, Huddersfield, HD5 9NT
- Telephone
- 01484 226601
- Website
- www.nlconline.org.uk/infant
- Principal
- Mrs Kirsty McGrath
- Type of school
- Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Leeds (ce)
- Local authority
- Kirklees
- Ward
- Dalton
- Constituency
- Huddersfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 107700 · LAESTAB 3823002 · UKPRN 10078346
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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Kirklees council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024.
- 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.