Buttsbury Primary School

Inspection of Buttsbury Junior School Norsey View Drive, Billericay, Essex CM12 0QR

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 26–27 November 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Buttsbury Junior is a particularly happy and positive school. Leaders and staff have very high expectations of and for pupils. Pupils achieve very well and reach high standards by the time they leave Year 6. These high standards are not only in English and mathematics, but in a wide range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher is a charismatic, energetic and inspiring leader. However, she is by no means a ‘one-man band’. Her very clear vision for the school is shared by the deputy and assistant headteachers, and everyone who works at the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love their school. Parents and carers too are overwhelmingly positive. Every one of the many parents who responded to Parent View said they would recommend the school to others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are given an exceptionally wide range of experiences. An enormous number of clubs are provided, before school, at lunchtime, and after school. The school goes out of its way to make sure that there is something for everyone. As a result, almost every pupil attends at least one club.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable, both in their classrooms and as they move about the school. Bullying is something that is extremely rare and is not something that pupils worry about.

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better?

One of the school’s greatest assets is the strength of its systems. All aspects of the school are highly organised. Procedures are clear, known and understood. This means that the school runs very smoothly, and there is great consistency. Pupils get just as great a deal, no matter which class they are in.

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better?

The school says that it has a ‘mastery’ approach to its curriculum. Leaders have a particularly clear understanding of what this means to them. They say that, ‘it’s not about racing through the curriculum; it’s about children developing a deep understanding.’ This is clear throughout the school and in all subjects. Pupils achieve exceptionally well as a result.

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better?

Pupils are taught reading skills systematically. Each skill is built on, step by step. Where pupils still need help with phonics, this is provided in a similarly systematic way. This means that all pupils are competent readers by the time they leave the school. Most pupils become highly competent readers.

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better?

The school encourages pupils to develop a love of reading. The library is a welcoming and inviting space that is always available to pupils. They choose to come in and read during their breaktimes. Pupils have a huge range of books to choose from. They enjoy lunchtime book clubs, some run by parent helpers and others by 26–27 November 2019

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The school has thought very carefully about its curriculum. Pupils learn about the subjects in the national curriculum. Knowledge and skills are built gradually, layer upon layer. However, the school’s curriculum is about much more than this. For example, all pupils undertake first-aid training. Pupils are given a wide range of opportunities to take responsibilities, such as being a monitor or a member of the school council. The school has a well-established link with a school in Kenya, whose teachers have visited Buttsbury several times.

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Teachers know a great deal about the subjects they teach. They continually work on improving their knowledge about how best to teach subjects. This means that teachers explain things extremely clearly to pupils. Staff are particularly effective in helping pupils to become effective learners. For example, pupils are taught to use ‘the four Bs’, if they get stuck. That is, first they think, or use their own brain. Next, they use the boards around the classroom to help them. Then they ask a friend or buddy. Finally, if they still are still stuck, they ask the teacher (the ‘boss’). Inspectors found that pupils routinely use this approach and are eager, independent learners.

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Leaders ensure that ‘quality first teaching’ is in place throughout the school. They make sure that the teaching in each classroom meets the needs of every pupil as well as possible. This approach is highly successful. It has ensured that all pupils achieve very well, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are exceptionally strong. A key reason for this is the regular and highly effective training that staff are provided with. For example, every month leaders give staff a quiz to complete on aspects of safeguarding practice. These quizzes are done using online survey software. This enables leaders to easily identify where staff have strong safeguarding knowledge and where they need further training. As a result, staff are extremely well trained to identify possible signs of abuse and neglect. Concerns about child protection are reported promptly. The school’s designated safeguarding leads take appropriate action, where necessary, to protect pupils.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 26–27 November 2019

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10083940 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 September 2018

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Information about this school

 Buttsbury is a larger-than-average junior school, with four classes in each year group.  The school is a ‘standalone’ converter academy. It is not part of a multi-academy trust.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average. However, the proportion who have an education, health and care plan is above average.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with: the headteacher and other senior leaders; leaders responsible for individual subjects; teachers and pupils; and the governing body.  In order to check the effectiveness of safeguarding, we: checked the school’s single central record of pre-appointment checks; met the school’s designated safeguarding leads; spoke with staff and pupils; and checked the school’s child 26–27 November 2019

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protection records.  We observed pupils during their breaktimes and as they moved about the school.  We considered a range of school documents.  We spoke to parents as they brought their children to school. We took account of 92 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and 48 responses to the staff survey. We also considered 194 responses to Parent View, 191 free-text comments from parents, and three letters from parents.  We looked in depth at the following subjects: reading, mathematics, writing, science, music and history. We met with the leaders of these subjects, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work, spoke with pupils about their work, spoke to teachers, and listened to pupils read.

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Inspection team

Wendy Varney, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie Harrison Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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