Come and live near me! I'm about 30 mins/20 miles from Normanton, road traffic hugely improved by the new M1 Smart Motorway around Wakefield. I travel east past Normanton on the M62 several times a week.
I'm in the countryside between Wakefield/Barnsley/Huddersfield - all about 8 miles away, with lots going on for children and families (and adults!) in each (my DC are 4 and 7). 3 tier (First, Middle, High) school system, of which the schools involved are largely Outstanding or Very Good. No pressure on places either (DD's incoming Reception class has spare places); reasonable house prices (you'll easily get 3 beds for £200K, and 4 bed at a stretch); its really a string of villages, some quite large (Denby Dale, Skelmanthorpe) which all have lots going on (we are never at a loss of things to do, DS does different activities every night!); easy access to countryside if that's your things - bike rides, walks, exploring the woods etc) and easy access (by car at least. public transport exists but isn't great, although do-able to some places) to the towns I mentioned and a but further to Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester too. Also Penistone (Tesco, Cinema, Grammar School) and Holmfirth (slightly hippy, lots of independent shops) - smaller market towns, locally.
We came here as a stop gap 16 years ago, and now can't imagine living anywhere else.
Anyway, it's the HD8/WF4 postcode around Denby Dale/Clayton West/Skelmanthorpe/Shepley I am urging you to look at.