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Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ruth Hartley Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy Reevy Road West Buttershaw Bradford West Yorkshire BD6 3PX

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Ofsted visit to Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy

Following my visit with Jenny Thomas, Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI), to your school on 9 December 2020, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to confirm the visit’s findings. Thank you for the time you made available to discuss your actions since September 2020, when the government expected all schools to open fully to all pupils.

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Ofsted visit to Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy

This visit was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended) and in accordance with Ofsted's published procedures for visiting schools while routine inspections are temporarily suspended.

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Ofsted visit to Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy

Ofsted’s visits to schools during the autumn term are not inspections. We are not giving graded judgements. We did not undertake the usual range of inspection activities and were unable to check other sources of evidence, such as visits to lessons or looking at pupils’ work. The content of this letter gives an overview of our discussions about what has happened in your school this term.

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Ofsted visit to Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, senior leaders and the senior leader responsible for safeguarding. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

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Context

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s education system is managing the return to full education for pupils, following an extended break in formal schooling due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. In undertaking this focused work, HMI are visiting a broad range of schools. HMI will visit a sample of:

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Context

 approximately 1,200 schools across all Ofsted grades (outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate)  maintained schools, academies and free schools, special schools and centres of alternative provision, including those in cities, and coastal, town or rural communities.

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Context

The information from this visit will feed into Ofsted’s national reporting so that the insights can be shared with the government and the education sector. We did not find any significant concerns during the visit. In such a case, an inspection report would be published on our website and available to parents and carers.

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Context

We did not consider your response to COVID-19 during the spring and summer terms 2020, when the school was not open to all pupils.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Some ‘bubbles’ of pupils in Years 9 and 10 were isolating at the time of the visit. Approximately three quarters of pupils have had to work from home since the start of term, with some on more than one occasion.  Pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. Access to specialist equipment and teaching spaces for key stage 3 pupils has been hampered for some practical units of work, such as those in music, science, and design and technology. These units have either been adapted or are planned to take place later in the school year.  In all year groups, teachers have identified aspects of the curriculum which have been missed. They recap any necessary prior learning at the start of each unit of work as necessary. Teachers are using ongoing checks of pupils’ learning in class to make adjustments to their teaching. Tests, in the second half of the autumn term, have also been used to establish pupils’ new starting

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

points.  In Years 7 to 9, pupils have not been able to access specialist facilities easily. There has been a focus on the theoretical aspects of more practical subjects.  In Years 10 and 11, the curriculum in some subjects has been tailored due to changes in exam specifications or the need to emphasise missed content.  At the start of each week, teachers make online tasks available to all pupils, should they need to work remotely. The tasks aim to reflect the curriculum for the week. Some teachers are trialling recorded teaching inputs to accompany the activities. Laptops are provided for some pupils who do not have access to the necessary equipment at home. Thank you again for contributing to this important national work. The views and experiences you have shared will help to inform future policy.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of Bradford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Bradford. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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