Buckshaw Primary School

Inspection of Buckshaw Primary School Chancery Road, Astley Village, Chancery Road, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 1XP

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 13 and 14 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Buckshaw is a happy and welcoming school. Staff forge supportive working relationships with pupils and their families. The school has a solid understanding of pupils’ needs and pupil well-being is a high priority. It teaches pupils how to be safe, maintain positive mental health and stay active.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school manages pupils’ behaviour well. Pupils behave sensibly in lessons and during social situations. When pupils struggle with their emotions, staff take effective and supportive action. This enables pupils to get back to their learning. Pupils learn about kindness, courage, determination and responsibility, which are some of the school’s core values. Pupils understand the relevance of the school’s values to their everyday lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. The majority of pupils reach these expectations by the time that they leave the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in opportunities such as baking, dance and art. These activities help develop pupils’ interests and talents. Pupils receive awards like Star of the Week, Active Learner and Attendance Champion, during weekly celebration assemblies. This helps to prepare pupils for future learning and supports them in becoming well-rounded citizens.

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

The school has a well-thought-out and ambitious curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge logically from early years upwards. It provides effective professional development for staff, so that the curriculum is typically delivered effectively. Teachers explain new concepts well. However, some teachers’ expectations of what pupils should and can do are not high enough. This hinders some pupils from achieving as well as they could.

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

Children in the early years get off to a flying start. They settle quickly. Staff carefully select activities and check children’s understanding. Reading is a high priority from the start. The phonics curriculum is taught as it is set out. Staff have the appropriate knowledge to teach phonics. Pupils who need to catch up with their reading knowledge receive extra help. Books are well matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge.

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

A love of reading is encouraged through the use of school’s ‘100 Book Challenges’ and regular author visits. Current pupils typically learn to read fluently so that they are prepared well for future learning. However, this is not reflected in the published data. In 2024, the proportion of Year 1 pupils who met the expected standard in the phonics screening check was significantly below average. This was mainly due to weaknesses in the design and delivery of the previous curriculum, which have since been addressed.

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

The school quickly identifies pupils with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school works in partnership with a range of external agencies who provide specialist support when needed. This work, and teachers’ adaptation of learning activities, helps pupils with SEND to achieve well. 13 and 14 May 2025

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Children in the early years show sustained levels of concentration. They learn to share and collaborate well with each other. Older pupils continue to focus well on their learning and take pride in their work. Most pupils attend school regularly. The school takes effective action to promote positive attendance and it is thorough in following up where pupils do not attend as often as they should.

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The school has recently introduced new approaches to checking pupils’ learning. They use the information effectively in order to identify and address misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This is having a positive impact, as pupils are now remembering more of their key knowledge over time. However, these approaches are not fully embedded across the whole curriculum. This means that, in a few subjects, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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The school has carefully considered pupils’ personal development. Pupils benefit from leadership roles, for example reading ambassadors and school councillors. Pupils learn about responsibility through these roles. Their recent fundraising events have helped to refurbish the school toilets. These opportunities, and others, prepare pupils well for their future lives in modern Britain.

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Parents and carers are positive about the school’s work. They appreciate the improved communication that leaders have put in place in recent years. Parents feel well informed about school life. There are opportunities for parents to work with the school through learning workshops and celebration events.

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The governing body uses its strong knowledge of the school to carry out its statutory duties effectively. Leaders consider the impact on staff’s workload when making changes. For example, improved teaching resources are helping to reduce staff’s workload. The sense of teamwork in the school is tangible. Staff morale is high because they feel well supported.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve are not high enough. As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that teachers expect the same high standards from pupils to ensure that they progress well through the school curriculum.  The school’s approach to checking pupils’ learning in some subjects is not embedded. This limits teachers’ ability to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge in these subjects. The 13 and 14 May 2025

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school should make sure that staff are fully equipped to check that pupils know and remember more across all areas of the curriculum.

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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). 13 and 14 May 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 March 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has appointed a new headteacher and deputy headteacher since the previous inspection.  The school has provision for two-year-old children.  The school currently uses one registered alternative provision.  The school runs a breakfast and after-school club.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth-form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 13 and 14 May 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and with other school leaders. The inspectors also met with governors, including the chair of governors, and spoke with representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited some lessons, reviewed pupils’ work and spoke with staff and pupils.  Inspectors discussed pupils’ learning in other areas of the curriculum.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders and staff; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and around school.  The inspectors spoke with pupils, in meetings, at playtime and at lunchtime, about their wider experience of school. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.  The inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and documents relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  The inspectors spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. The inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.

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Inspection team

James Marsh, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Morris Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 May 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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