Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 April 2025

Over time, pupils have not achieved as well as they should. The school has made some changes to improve the learning and behaviour that pupils experience at the school. There remains more to do. Pupils recognise that the climate for learning has improved in lessons. There is less disruption to their learning. As a result, pupils are more able to meet the high expectations the school has for their achievement. Many pupils are rising to the high expectations the school has for their behaviour. Pupils who have had suspensions recognise the support school gives them to improve their behaviour. This helps pupils to make changes so that they can access their learning. However, there is still further work to do to improve behaviour. This is particularly the case during social times. Pupils say that bullying can occur. They say when this happens, the school takes it seriously and helps resolve it. As a result, most pupils feel safe in the school. Pupil leaders take pride in their roles. The school parliament is enthusiastic about the contribution it makes to the school. These pupils help to collect the views of other pupils and feed this back to the school leaders. For example, this group gathered views that informed changes to the behaviour policy. Such responsibilities help pupils to develop valuable leadership and communication skills.

What the school should improve

• Sometimes, the school does not accurately identify the support that would best meet the needs of some pupils with SEND. When this happens, staff do not put appropriate support in place for these pupils. The school should ensure that it develops effective strategies to accurately identify pupils' needs and guide staff on how to meet these needs.
• The school's strategy to improve attendance is not reaching some pupils, especially those with SEND or in receipt of the pupil premium. Pupils miss vital learning, develop gaps in their knowledge and do not achieve as well as they could. The school should intensify its actions to improve attendance.
• The school is still implementing its new behaviour policy. This policy has not impacted on the poor behaviour of a small, but significant, cohort of pupils. The school should intensify actions to ensure that the behaviour policy is applied consistently well, particularly social time.
• The school's personal development programme does not provide pupils with sufficient knowledge of protected characteristics. This limits pupils' ability to show respect for difference in school and in wider society. The school should ensure that they develop strategies to help pupils engage with, value and remember their learning so that they are prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The significant changes that school has made are still yet to impact fully. There is variability in the experience of pupils at the school. The school should rapidly review the impact of changes made so that adaptations can be made and the pace of change intensified in some areas.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)