Shelf Junior and Infant School
Shelf Hall Lane, Shelf, Halifax, HX3 7LT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jill Elam
- Constituency
- Halifax
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 221
- URN
- 107513
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01274676782
About this school
Shelf Junior and Infant School is a community primary school in Halifax. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 221 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Shelf Junior and Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 43 | 29 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 45% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 3% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 76% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 52% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 53% | 62% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Shelf Junior and Infant School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Calderdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 57.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 60.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 250 |
| 2023/24 | 235 |
| 2024/25 | 229 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Shelf Junior and Infant School compares
Shelf Junior and Infant School ranked 63rd of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 4.9% | 11.8% | 221 | — |
| St Michael and All Angels CofE Primary & Pre School | 60% | 4.5% | 18.2% | 192 | 0.6 miles |
| Northowram Primary School | 70% | 4.2% | 12.8% | 451 | 0.8 miles |
| Home Farm Primary School | 57% | 5.9% | 34.9% | 456 | 1.2 miles |
| Salterlee Primary School | 42% | 6.3% | 16.9% | 74 | 1.2 miles |
| Farfield Primary and Nursery School | 79% | 8.2% | 49.2% | 384 | 1.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report27 November 2024
- 21 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.79%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.85%
- Persistent absence
- 11.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Michael and All Angels CofE Primary & Pre School0.6 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Northowram Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Home Farm Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Bradford
-
Salterlee Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Farfield Primary and Nursery School1.3 miles
Primary · Bradford
Other schools in Halifax
Shelf Junior and Infant School ranks 36th of the 41 ranked primary schools in Halifax.
- Abbey Park Academy Primary
- All Saints' CofE Primary School Primary
- Ash Green Community Primary School Primary
- Barkisland CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill School Primary
- Bowling Green Academy Primary
- Bradshaw Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Pellon CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Cliffe Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Copley Primary School Primary
- Dean Field Community Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Primary School, A Church of England Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Shelf Junior and Infant School teach?
- Shelf Junior and Infant School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Halifax.
- Who is the headteacher of Shelf Junior and Infant School?
- The headteacher of Shelf Junior and Infant School is Mrs Jill Elam, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Shelf Junior and Infant School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Shelf Junior and Infant School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Shelf Junior and Infant School?
- Shelf Junior and Infant School has 221 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Shelf Junior and Infant School full?
- Shelf Junior and Infant School has capacity for 315 pupils and 221 on roll (70%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Shelf Junior and Infant School a faith school?
- No. Shelf Junior and Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Shelf Junior and Infant School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Shelf Junior and Infant School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Shelf Junior and Infant School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Shelf Junior and Infant School compare with other schools in Calderdale?
- Shelf Junior and Infant School ranked 63rd of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Shelf Junior and Infant School's absence rate?
- Shelf Junior and Infant School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Shelf Junior and Infant School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Shelf Junior and Infant School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.