Buckton Fields Primary School

Buckton Fields Primary School, which opened in 2021, has rapidly established a nurturing and inclusive environment, earning a 'Good' rating across all inspection domains. Pupils feel safe and develop positive relationships, contributing to a calm and respectful atmosphere. With a curriculum focused on creativity and achievement, the school has demonstrated high expectations and effective support, especially for those with special educational needs. Despite facing challenges related to building relocations, the school has continued to thrive, supported by the Preston Hedges Trust.

Strengths

• Strong focus on a broad and ambitious curriculum.
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Caring and inclusive school culture.
• Effective support mechanisms for struggling readers.
• Positive pupil attitudes towards learning.
• Rich extra-curricular opportunities enhance learning experiences.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding in lessons.
• Missed opportunities to address gaps in pupils' knowledge quickly.

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 Buckton Fields Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.7% 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 Buckton Fields 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 Buckton Fields Primary School had 24.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.9% 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, 7.3% of pupils at Buckton Fields Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.3% 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 Buckton Fields Primary School received £7,019 and spent £6,602 for each of its 221 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £176,000 (£797 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Preston Hedges Trust, income was £6,001 and spending £5,913 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 Northampton · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

Buckton Fields Primary School is part of Preston Hedges Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Parklands Primary School Northampton
• Pineham Barns Primary School Northampton
• Preston Hedges Primary School Northampton
• Broughton Fields Primary School Milton Keynes
• Holne Chase Primary School Bletchley

What is Buckton Fields Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Buckton Fields Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Buckton Fields Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Buckton Fields Primary School was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Buckton Fields Primary School have?

Buckton Fields Primary School has 289 pupils on roll.

What age range does Buckton Fields Primary School cover?

Buckton Fields Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Buckton Fields Primary School?

Buckton Fields Primary School is at Home Farm Drive, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN2 8ES.