Hello, my name is Beverley Clay and I have been the Headteacher of Kirkstall
Valley Primary School, here in Burley, Leeds 4 for the last eleven years. On behalf of all the
children, staff and governors at Kirkstall Valley, I would like to extend a warm welcome to
you. Thank you for visiting our website.
 
Kirkstall Valley is a very special place where a ‘big’ family of children, staff, parents and
governors work and learn together. We have children as young as three up to our
confident eleven years olds. We have a highly dedicated, motivated and caring staff and
we enjoy a supportive and active relationship with our parents, the local community and
our cluster of schools.
 
In March 2009, OfSTED stated Kirkstall Valley ‘is a good school with some
outstanding features’. 
 

Inspectors also said: 
 

Kirkstall Valley:
‘greatly enhances their (the children’s) enjoyment of school through the provision of a
very high quality curriculum’.
‘Parents, pupils, staff and governors declare this is a happy place in which to learn, work
and grow.’
‘Parents readily acknowledge’….’The school goes the extra mile for us’…..’I am forever
grateful to the school, they have saved us’.
 
Kirkstall Valley has:
‘First class pastoral care, personal support and academic guidance which enables pupils
to enjoy every aspect of school life and to establish a strong foundation for future
success’.
‘A keen sense of community unifies the school and pupils from 14 nationalities learn
harmoniously, side by side’.
‘The Headteacher shows clear commitment to school improvement and provides
excellent vision and aspiration for the school’.
‘All pupils achieve well.’
‘All adults take their duty of care very seriously. The safeguarding of pupils meets the
current legal requirements’.
‘There is high quality support for children who speak English as an additional language
and this stands them in good stead for their future learning’.
‘The Headteacher establishes excellent partnerships with local agencies, schools and
organisations. These enrich pupils’ learning and provide a varied range of extracurricular
and other opportunities. International weeks improve pupils’ and parents’
global awareness and the school actively participates in a jointly planned programme of
local initiatives to cement community cohesion’.
 
Of our Early Years:
‘Children achieve well in all areas of learning due to consistently good quality provision
in both Early Years Foundation Stage classes’.
‘Children flourish here because adults meet their welfare needs exceptionally well’.
‘Parents describe the school as a hive of happy activity’.
 
At Kirkstall Valley, we provide a well structured, fun, interesting curriculum tailored to the
needs of our children so all can reach their full potential during these important primary
school years and beyond. We create a safe environment where children feel valued and
special, where they are supported in their learning, are encouraged to persevere and do
not fear making mistakes. Each and every one of our children is valued – they learn to
respect each others’ similarities and differences and know we can all make a valuable
contribution to our school community, our homes and our wider community. This October,
2012, school has been awarded Level 3 of The Stephen Lawrence Education Standard and
we are very proud of our racial harmony within our school community.
 
We are very much a Healthy School, having just revalidated our Level 3 Advanced
Status within the Leeds Authority and having gained National Status and been a key
player in Education Leeds’ successful bid for Beacon status as a healthy authority. For a
child to be healthy at Kirkstall Valley, we ensure they understand how to achieve a
healthy, active lifestyle, how to make safe choices within school, outside and on the
internet and how to feel proud of themselves and emotionally healthy. Children are at
ease with staff and know who to turn to if they encounter a problem along the way.
We are proud of our school, our standards, our achievements, our staff, our parents, our
governors and, of course, our children.
Please come and visit us and see for yourself!
 
Yours Sincerely,
Beverley Clay.