Helme Church of England Academy
General Information
- Address: Helme, Meltham, Holmfirth, HD9 5RW – View on map
- Phone: 01484854524
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Ms Gillian Spooner
- Age range: 4-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 14 families put it first for 16 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 11 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 23
- % eligible for free school meals: 16.9%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Kirklees average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 14% a year (Kirklees 13.8%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 67% moved to another school, 33% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Kirklees: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 8 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 13 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Kirklees, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 4.2%
- Persistently absent pupils: 10.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 29.4%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 8.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Other difficulty or disability: 11 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 5 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
- Hearing impairment: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 77% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 16 percentage points above the Kirklees average (61%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 52% against an expected 62%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 52%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 92% · Writing 85% · Maths 92% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 100%
- Average test scores: reading 110, maths 105
- Based on: 13 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 8th of 98 junior and primary schools in the area
- =8Brockholes Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School77%
- =8Field Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School77%
- =8Helme Church of England Academy77%
- =8Nields Academy77%
- =8Ravensthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School77%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
23rd of 85 primary schools in Kirklees for Ofsted rating
- #21Hartshead Junior and Infant SchoolGood
- #22Healey Junior Infant and Nursery SchoolGood
- #23Helme Church of England AcademyGood
- #24Hepworth Junior and Infant SchoolGood
- #25High Bank Junior Infant and Nursery SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,534 (2024-25)
34th of 106 primary schools in Kirklees for spending per pupil
- #32Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School£7,649
- #33Howard Park Community School£7,579
- #34Helme Church of England Academy£7,534
- #35Scholes Village Primary School£7,530
- #36Westmoor Primary School£7,446
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)