Buckingham Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Buckingham Primary Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

The principal of this school is Paula Hillman.

This school is part of The Enquire Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Darren Holmes, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Delyse Turrell.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning in the company of their friends at Buckingham Primary Academy.

Staff care for pupils, providing them with the support that they need to succeed. This helps pupils to feel sa...fe.

Pupils are polite and friendly.

They interact well with one another and are welcoming to visitors. They discuss their interests and their learning maturely, expressing themselves confidently. Staff teach pupils to construct discussions with one another respectfully.

This is reflected in most pupils' conduct, which meets the school's high expectations consistently. When a pupil struggles to meet the school's expectations, staff help them to understand how to improve their behaviour.

Pupils experience a range of opportunities that go beyond the curriculum.

Some pupils enjoy the school's range of clubs, with sporting clubs particularly popular. The school celebrates pupils' participation in these activities. They are recognised for their efforts and successes regularly, recording these experiences on their 'skills for life passport'.

Pupils enjoy educational visits, many of which are used to reinforce what they have learned previously.

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve. Pupils respond well to these high expectations.

The majority of pupils achieve well.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils learn an ambitious and interesting curriculum. The school keeps the curriculum under review, making regular improvements in the interests of pupils.

For example, in English, the school has introduced a range of e-books to enhance the reading opportunities available for pupils. In national tests, most pupils achieve well. However, the improvements that the school continues to make, for example in improving pupils' reading fluency, are still to be fully realised.

Teachers have strong knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They use this to explain new information clearly. They model accurate, subject-specific vocabulary well.

The school has provided staff with effective training on how to teach the curriculum. Staff value this training and apply it effectively in lessons. They check pupils' learning to identify any gaps and adjust their teaching if needed.

They help pupils to connect new knowledge to what they have learned previously.

The school places high importance on supporting pupils to learn to read. Staff teach the school's phonics scheme with consistency.

They teach pupils to use the sounds that they know to segment and blend unfamiliar words effectively. Some pupils struggle to read fluently. The school has taken steps to address this.

Pupils who need additional support receive the extra help that they need to catch up.

Children in the early years receive high-quality support. This provides them with a strong start at school.

Leaders have planned the curriculum carefully to ensure that children's knowledge builds over time. Adults take opportunities to maximise the impact of activities on children's learning. For example, in Reception, while using objects to teach children about number, staff skilfully reinforce expectations around taking turns and how to speak politely to peers.

As a result, children are well prepared for key stage 1.

The school has effective systems for identifying and supporting pupils with additional needs, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It works alongside external agencies, such as speech and language therapists, to provide pupils with additional support.

Staff understand the needs of these pupils. Teachers adjust their teaching, where appropriate, to help these pupils access the curriculum.

The school analyses patterns in pupils' behaviour and attendance.

The proportion of pupils who are absent from school has been higher than local and national averages in recent years. The school has taken steps to address this. It now implements systems to improve attendance more rigorously.

This has resulted in more pupils attending frequently this academic year. These early improvements need to be sustained so that pupils consistently benefit from the education offered by the school.

During personal, social and health education lessons, pupils learn about important issues such as how to keep safe online.

They understand about the protected characteristics and the importance of not discriminating against others, for example because of their race. The school provides pupils with a range of wider opportunities. Many pupils hold positions of leadership responsibility on one of the school councils.

Their peers value the contribution that they make in these roles. The school ensures that educational visits, such as the residential visit to Whitby, are accessible to all pupils.

Those with responsibility for governance have a secure understanding of the school's work.

They use the trust's enquiry model to check on the progress of the school. The school, with support from the trust, provides staff with additional training based on what these checks identify. Staff appreciate the support that they receive.

Leaders are considerate of the impact of actions on the workload of staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some improvements to the school's curriculum are still becoming fully established.

The impact of these is not consistently realised, including in national assessments. The school should ensure that improvements in the curriculum are sustained so that pupils achieve consistently highly across all areas of the curriculum. ? The school's work to increase rates of attendance is at a relatively early stage.

Rates of absence remain higher than local and national averages. These pupils who are absent miss important learning. The school should embed recent improvements to ensure that early reductions in absence are sustained and built on.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in November 2019.