Progress made at school but more work still necessary

Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College (BBEC), on Reevy Road West, received the lowest Ofsted rating last June.

The watchdog completed a monitoring visit at the school, which has more than 1,400 pupils and is part of the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT), on January 31.

Headteacher Andrew Taylor with pupils (Image: BBEC)

What the Ofsted monitoring report said

Inspectors found: "Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is necessary for the school to be no longer judged as having serious weaknesses."

Ofsted said since its last inspection there had been a "significant number of changes to the school’s staff".

This included "new leaders with responsibility for behaviour" - one of the major issues at the school.

The report added: "The school has a new, clearer behaviour policy that pupils understand. Staff have placed additional focus on teaching pupils how to behave."

Although there are signs this is working for most pupils, inspectors said the number of pupils receiving a suspension for poor behaviour "remains too high and for some groups of pupils, has increased".

Attendance also remains a problem with "too many pupils miss school regularly".
Inspectors commended the school for acting “quickly to review how the school uses alternative provision.”

They said: “New leaders have brought increased rigour to the school’s systems” and “provide assurances that pupils accessing alternative provision are effectively safeguarded.” 

The report added: "The school’s personal, social and health education lessons are used to teach pupils how to keep safe from potential risks, including county lines."

Mr Taylor says the report is a positive stepping stone (Image: BBEC)

Leaders at BBEC react to the report

Andrew Taylor, headteacher at Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College, said: “We were pleased to welcome Ofsted back into school to demonstrate the robust improvement plans we have in place and show how they are already achieving impact.

"These include a variety of measures to improve capacity, increase expectations with our new behaviour policy and ultimately ensure our teachers and pupils have all the resources and support they need to reach their potential.

“This report is a positive stepping stone for us in our school improvement journey, and it is encouraging to see our progress recognised by Ofsted."

Carol Dewhurst, chief executive at BDAT, said: “It is encouraging to see Ofsted commend the hard work of the Buttershaw team and their commitment to implementing and embedding real change and school improvement.

“I am confident that together as a school and trust, Buttershaw will continue to go from strength to strength and provide the high-quality and nurturing learning environment that ensures our pupils can reach their potential.”