Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a small, family-like village school where pupils are happy, safe, kind and respectful. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found behaviour, attendance, early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing at the expected standard. Pupils benefit from strong pastoral care, an excellent outdoor environment, trips, clubs and leadership opportunities. Reading and mathematics outcomes are above national averages, and pupils leave emotionally and academically ready for secondary school. However, achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance need attention. Teaching quality is too variable, and some pupils have not secured foundational skills in handwriting, spelling and basic grammar by the end of Year 4. This leaves too much catch-up in Years 5 and 6 and contributes to too few pupils reaching the higher standard in writing. The wider curriculum is broad and well designed, and phonics and reading are well taught, but gaps in pupils' knowledge of the basics are not routinely identified and plugged. Leadership has been affected by a past lack of capacity, which slowed improvement, although firm plans and increased leadership capacity are now in place. Governors meet their statutory duties and are strengthening challenge and monitoring, but some systems are new. The school is part of the Bugthorpe and Sutton upon Derwent C of E Federation, and leaders know the priorities. Next steps focus on securing pupils' foundational knowledge, improving accuracy and precision in extended writing, and ensuring increased leadership capacity improves the quality of education and rate of improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils' behaviour is a significant strength; they are kind, respectful and follow the school rules.
• Pupils are keen to attend, attendance is at least in line with national averages, and few are persistently absent.
• Early years provision is purposeful, with strong language modelling, well-taught phonics and a broad curriculum.
• Inclusion has a high priority, with quick identification of SEND and effective support for vulnerable pupils and families.
• Personal development and wellbeing are prioritised through enrichment, trips, clubs and leadership opportunities.
• Pupils' spiritual and moral development is strong, including reflection, respect and a clear moral compass.
• Reading and phonics are well taught, and reading outcomes are above national averages.
• Mathematics outcomes are above national averages.
• The outdoor environment and curriculum focused on nature, gardening and enterprise are notable strengths.
• Relationships with parents, carers and the local community are excellent, and staff and parent views are very positive.
• Pastoral support for social and emotional needs is effective, including emotional literacy programmes.
• Governance meets statutory duties and has recently increased leadership capacity.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of teaching is too variable across the school.
• Some pupils have not mastered basics in handwriting, spelling and basic grammar by the end of Year 4.
• Too few pupils reach the higher standard in writing by the end of Year 6.
• Gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge are not routinely identified and addressed.
• Writing attainment has been below national average in some recent years, with too much catch-up required in Years 5 and 6.
• A past lack of leadership capacity hindered the rate of school improvement, and some improvements have been too slow.
• Monitoring systems are in place but some are new, and governance challenge and use of data need continued development.

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 Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.8% 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, 6.2% of pupils at Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School received £7,834 and spent £7,572 for each of its 94 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £55,000 (£591 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).

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All schools in York (East Riding Of Yorkshire) · East Riding of Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

What is Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 97 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School cover?

Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is at Bugthorpe, York, North Yorkshire, YO41 1QQ.