Bourton Meadow Academy

Bourton Meadow Academy is a highly effective primary school where pupils achieve well and behave exceptionally. Inspectors found an ambitious curriculum, very strong early years provision and expert teaching of reading and early mathematics. Pupils are proud of their school, understand its values deeply and treat each other kindly; they feel safe and attendance is high. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve well, and the school provides a wide range of enriching trips and activities. The school’s main areas for development are in some wider-curriculum subjects. In a small number of subjects, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is not yet clearly identified and sequenced, and assessment is not used consistently enough to check how securely pupils understand the intended curriculum. This means pupils’ understanding is deeper in some subjects than others. Leaders, governors and trustees know these priorities and are working on them. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, when it was judged outstanding and then exempt from routine inspection. It is part of the Campfire Education Trust. Under the arrangements in place from September 2024, the school received graded judgements for each area but no overall effectiveness grade. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• High expectations from early years help pupils achieve strongly in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils behave impeccably and cooperate harmoniously in lessons and on the playground.
• Pupils understand and value respect, resilience, curiosity and integrity.
• Pupils feel safe, are happy and have strong relationships with staff and each other.
• The early years provision is outstanding, with expert teaching of early reading, mathematics and language.
• Reading is taught robustly, and pupils who fall behind receive effective support to catch up.
• Disadvantaged pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well and benefit from enrichment opportunities.
• The curriculum is ambitious, with particularly strong provision in English, PE and Spanish.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of trips, clubs and musical instrument lessons.
• Attendance is high, and the school works successfully with families where attendance needs improvement.
• Governors and trustees know the school well and provide effective support and challenge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some wider-curriculum subjects, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is not yet clearly identified or sequenced.
• Assessment is not consistently used in some subjects to check whether pupils have developed deep and secure understanding.
• Pupils’ understanding is deeper in some subjects than in others because curriculum and assessment practice are uneven.

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 Bourton Meadow Academy attended 95.4% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Bourton Meadow Academy 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 Bourton Meadow Academy had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.0% 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, 10.9% of pupils at Bourton Meadow Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 2024–25 Bourton Meadow Academy received £6,742 and spent £6,359 for each of its 583 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £145,000 (£248 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Campfire Education Trust, income was £7,332 and spending £7,200 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Bourton Meadow Academy is part of Campfire Education Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• George Grenville Academy Buckingham
• Lace Hill Academy Buckingham
• Moorland Primary School Milton Keynes
• Spring Lane Primary School Northampton
• Lumbertubs Primary School Northampton

What is Bourton Meadow Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bourton Meadow Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Bourton Meadow Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Bourton Meadow Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Bourton Meadow Academy have?

Bourton Meadow Academy has 571 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bourton Meadow Academy cover?

Bourton Meadow Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Bourton Meadow Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bourton Meadow Academy?

Bourton Meadow Academy is at Burleigh Piece, Linden Village, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 7HX.