The Butts Primary School

The Butts Primary School is a happy, inclusive primary school where pupils are confident, articulate and proud of their achievements. Inspectors found strong relationships between pupils and staff, calm and positive behaviour, and high expectations that pupils meet across the curriculum. Pupils achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and benefit from a broad, interesting curriculum, a successful early reading programme and a wide range of extra-curricular and community opportunities. Personal development is a notable strength: pupils show empathy, understand diversity and democracy, and contribute thoughtfully to discussions. All key judgements — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — were good, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leadership is well regarded: governors have a clear strategic understanding, staff feel supported, and subject leaders help teachers develop strong subject knowledge. Early years children settle quickly and the curriculum builds well from their interests. The main area for improvement is assessment in some subjects. Leaders do not always have a precise picture of how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum, which means gaps in understanding are not fully identified and addressed. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it is a community primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 and uses three unregistered alternative provisions.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, confident and proud of their achievements.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff help pupils feel safe and well cared for.
• Pupils meet high expectations for behaviour and achieve well across the curriculum.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well adapted for pupils with SEND.
• Reading is taught consistently and successfully from early years, with effective support for pupils who need extra help.
• Teachers use questioning and regular recap to check and consolidate pupils’ learning.
• Subject leaders support teachers well, and pupils develop strong subject-specific vocabulary.
• Personal development is strong, including pupils’ understanding of diversity, equality and democracy.
• Governance is robust, and staff feel well supported in workload and well-being.
• Early years provision is carefully shaped around children’s interests and helps them settle quickly.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, leaders lack a precise picture of how well pupils learn the intended curriculum, so gaps are not fully identified and addressed.

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 The Butts Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.9% 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, 1.2% of pupils at The Butts 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 The Butts Primary School had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.6% 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, 12.9% of pupils at The Butts Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 The Butts Primary School received £6,253 and spent £5,990 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £255,000 (£714 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 Alton · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Butts Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was The Butts Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Butts Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does The Butts Primary School have?

The Butts Primary School has 357 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Butts Primary School cover?

The Butts Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Butts Primary School?

The Butts Primary School is at Bolle Road, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 1PW.