Buckshaw Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

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.

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. P...upils understand the relevance of the school's values to their everyday lives.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(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 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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