About Us
Ofsted Report 2025
Mrs Hopkinson is pleased to share our report from the recent Ofsted inspection.
A letter with more information will be sent home today!
A note from Mrs Hopkinson:
As you know, we were inspected on 24th and 25th June, and I am delighted to share with you our final inspection report, which I have just received for publication. We are delighted and extremely proud of this positive outcome which is a testament to the care and commitment of our staff, the support of our parents and carers, and, of course, a celebration of our wonderful children.
At Burley, we pride ourselves in putting the children at the heart of everything we do. Visitors to the school leave with the strong impression of both the children’s and staff’s enthusiasm, happiness, supportiveness, and kindness and recognise that the children enjoy being at Burley. This was captured in our report with the very first line “A sense of kindness permeates through this school.”
This was a full graded inspection. Two inspectors visited the school over two days and investigated all aspects of provision. It was a rigorous process: the inspection team observed lessons, studied data, met with school leaders, spoke with pupils, staff and governors, and drew on feedback from parents.
We are very pleased with the outcome of our inspection and you will be able to read more about the inspector’s judgements in the published report. We would like to thank every member of the school who are working tirelessly to ensure Burley remains a great place for children to learn. We would also like to thank parents and carers for your ongoing support.
Burley St Matthias Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School: Ofsted Report 2025
Welcome to Burley St Matthias!
At Burley St Matthias C of E Primary school, we strive to provide our children with a bespoke enriched curriculum to ensure they can be successful in whatever they aspire to do. We encourage everybody to believe in themselves and welcome new challenges so they can achieve in life, now and in the future.
Burley St Matthias is a place where there are no limits on learning
A warm welcome from our Headteacher - Mrs Hopkinson
A very warm welcome to our school website – we hope you find all the information you need. If not, please give us a ring. We are always more than happy to arrange visits to come and see the school, so please let us know if you’d like to have a look around. Our visitors often comment on how friendly the atmosphere is here, so come along and experience it for yourself.
Burley St Matthias serves a very diverse population in the heart of the city and not far from Headingley Stadium. We are very proud of the fact that you can meet people here from all walks of life and from all around the world. The globe on our school logo helps to sum that up and the thumbprint on it shows how we value each and every person’s uniqueness – “Everyone Is Special”.
With our high expectations, our inclusive approach to special needs, our broad range of enrichment opportunities, a very committed and caring staff and our superb outdoor space, Burley St Matthias offers a wonderful learning environment for everyone who comes here.We look forward to meeting you!
Allie Hopkinson
Headteacher
Our School
Burley St Matthias is a 210 place Church of England Primary School, one mile from the city centre in North West Leeds. Overlooking the rich industrial landscape of the Kirkstall Valley, we are within walking distance of a Nature Reserve, Kirkstall Abbey, Armley Mills Industrial Museum, Burley Park, the River Aire, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and Leeds City Centre itself.
We cater for 4 – 11 year olds in two Victorian buildings, which have undergone extensive internal refurbishment to offer modern facilities for our learners. The North Building houses the younger children from Reception to Year 2 and the South Building accommodates children from Years 3 to 6. Each building has a playground and a field. There are two spacious halls and all the classrooms are light and airy.
All classrooms have interactive white boards and access to banks of laptops which are used to deliver learning in all areas of the curriculum. In Key Stage 2, our pupils are allocated a Chrome Book, which they can use at home and at school for their learning.
We provide a calm, caring and stimulating environment, where children learn through a wide variety of first-hand experiences. Our children are taught to value and respect the diversity of religions, cultures and customs and to value one another. The last Ofsted Inspection Report found that pupils make good progress from their different starting points, including disadvantaged pupils and that the quality of care, nurture and support that is provided enables pupils to feel safe, attend regularly and achieve well.
Whether you are considering our school as a new place for your child or have children already with us, we hope you will find our website a good source of information and that it helps you get a 'feel' for what it is like to be part of our community. Please get in touch if you need any more information or have any further feedback. We would love to hear from you!
We are committed to ensuring all visitors have a welcoming and accessible experience at our school. If you require any support during or before your visit, please don't hesitate to reach out to our staff for assistance. Should you require paper copies of any of the information on our website, please contact the school office at