Buckingham Primary School

Buckingham Primary School is a community primary school with 359 pupils. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first since 2014, when it was exempt because of a previous outstanding judgement. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. Inspectors found that pupils love the school, feel safe and loved, behave exceptionally well and show a strong culture of kindness, respect and fairness. The school has an ambitious curriculum with knowledge carefully sequenced from Reception, effective support for pupils with SEND, strong reading provision and improved attendance. Personal development is a clear priority, leadership is effective and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that, in some wider subjects, checks on pupils’ prior learning are not rigorous enough, so gaps or misconceptions are not always noticed and pupils do not consistently remember key content.

Strengths

• Pupils love the school and feel safe, cared for and respected.
• Behaviour and attitudes are exceptional, with pupils showing consistently high respect and politeness.
• The school has a strong culture of kindness, fairness and open acceptance.
• The curriculum is ambitious and knowledge is precisely identified and logically ordered from Reception onwards.
• Pupils with SEND are swiftly identified and effectively supported, and they achieve well.
• Reading is a strength, with a clear phonics programme and swift support for pupils who need it.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips and lunchtime opportunities without barriers for disadvantaged pupils.
• Attendance is strong and has improved significantly, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Personal development is prioritised, including citizenship, welfare, safety and leadership opportunities.
• Leadership is effective, with well-informed governors, strong staff development and positive relationships with most parents.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some wider subjects, staff do not check pupils’ prior knowledge with enough rigour.
• Some gaps or misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge are not noticed or addressed.
• Pupils do not consistently remember key content the school expects before new content is introduced.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Buckingham Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.1% of pupils at Buckingham Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Buckingham Primary School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.1% of pupils at Buckingham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Buckingham Primary School received £9,576 and spent £9,736 for each of its 354 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £230,000 (-£651 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Buckingham · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Buckingham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Buckingham Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Buckingham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Buckingham Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Buckingham Primary School have?

Buckingham Primary School has 354 pupils on roll.

What age range does Buckingham Primary School cover?

Buckingham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Buckingham Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Buckingham Primary School?

Buckingham Primary School is at Foscott Way, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 1TT.