Buckingham Primary Academy

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Buckingham Primary Academy Buckingham Street, Hull HU8 8UG

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Outcome

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

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Outcome

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.

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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 safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for what pupils can achieve. Pupils respond well to these high expectations. The majority of pupils achieve well. 7 and 8 January 2025

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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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 7 and 8 January 2025

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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.

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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.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(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.

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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.

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Background

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. 7 and 8 January 2025

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

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 7 and 8 January 2025

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School details

Local authority Kingston Upon Hull City Council

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School details

Website www.buckinghamprimaryacademy.net

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 November 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of The Enquire Learning Trust.  Since the previous inspection of the school, it has expanded the age range of its early years provision to include two-year-old children.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for support through pupil premium funding is above the national average.  The school uses one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 7 and 8 January 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector met with members of the trust board, the local governing board and the trust’s CEO.  During the inspection, the inspector met with the principal. He also met with other senior and middle leaders, including those responsible for safeguarding, behaviour, attendance, early years provision and personal development.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning

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and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector looked at a range of documents regarding the support pupils with SEND receive. He looked at the quality of the provision for pupils with SEND in lessons.  The inspector scrutinised a range of documents, including minutes from governing board meetings as well as the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans.  The inspector looked at a range of information regarding behaviour. He observed the behaviour of pupils in classrooms and at social times.  The views of pupils and staff who responded to Ofsted’s surveys were considered.  The inspector considered the views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Thomas Wraith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 January 2025

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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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