Burford Primary and Nursery School

Burford Primary and Nursery School is an inclusive, warm and welcoming school where pupils feel safe and happy and staff build positive relationships with pupils and families. Inspectors found the school good in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Pupils generally achieve well, behave calmly, benefit from a broad range of experiences, and are well supported, including pupils with SEND. Safeguarding is effective. The main area needing improvement is early years provision, where the curriculum is not consistently well designed or taught, so children do not always build knowledge securely or arrive in Year 1 as well prepared as they should be. In phonics, staff do not always check pupils' understanding, which can slow progress for some, and in a minority of foundation subjects pupils are not given enough opportunity to revisit and recall prior learning. Attendance remains a concern for some pupils, although leaders' tenacious work is reducing persistent absence. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The school is part of Transform Trust, and the headteacher took up post in September 2023.

Strengths

• Inclusive, warm and welcoming culture with pupils' well-being at the core
• Pupils feel safe and happy and trust adults to help with worries
• High expectations and pupils generally achieve well across the school
• Pupils behave well and disruption to lessons is rare
• Pupils take on leadership responsibilities such as safety and eco crews
• Broad range of trips, clubs and extra-curricular experiences
• Recently revised curriculum sets out important knowledge clearly in most subjects
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and usually check understanding and address gaps
• Reading is prioritised and books are matched to pupils' understanding
• Phonics programme helps early readers identify and blend sounds
• Pupils with SEND are promptly identified, closely monitored and well supported
• Personal development promotes safety, healthy relationships, British values and respect
• Governors and trustees know the school well and hold leaders to account
• Staff value trust training and leaders consider workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Leaders' work to improve attendance is having a positive impact

Areas for Improvement

• Early years provision requires improvement
• Early years work is not always focused on the important knowledge in the curriculum
• Children in early years do not consistently build knowledge or are as well prepared for Year 1 as they should be
• Staff do not always check pupils' understanding during phonics, so some pupils do not get support quickly enough
• In a minority of foundation subjects, pupils lack opportunities to revisit and recall prior learning
• Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should, although persistent absence is decreasing

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 Burford Primary and Nursery School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.9% 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, 1.8% of pupils at Burford Primary and Nursery 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 Burford Primary and Nursery School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Burford Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Burford Primary and Nursery School received £7,803 and spent £7,655 for each of its 218 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £87,000 (£401 per pupil).

Across all 26 schools of Transform Trust, income was £7,034 and spending £7,060 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.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Nottingham · Nottingham local authority: places and applications

Burford Primary and Nursery School is part of Transform Trust, which runs 27 schools. The nearest others:

• Cantrell Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Bulwell St Mary's Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Rosslyn Park Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Robert Shaw Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Edale Rise Primary & Nursery School Nottingham
• Sneinton St Stephen's CofE Primary School Nottingham
• Parkdale Primary School Nottingham
• William Booth Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Brocklewood Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Holgate Primary and Nursery School Hucknall

What is Burford Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Burford Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Burford Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Burford Primary and Nursery School have?

Burford Primary and Nursery School has 226 pupils on roll.

What age range does Burford Primary and Nursery School cover?

Burford Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Burford Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Burford Primary and Nursery School?

Burford Primary and Nursery School is at Oxclose Lane, Arnold, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 6FX.