Bushfield School

About Bushfield School

Bushfield School, a state primary for pupils aged 7 to 11 in Milton Keynes, sits firmly in the middle of the pack when compared with its local authority peers. Its headline Key Stage 2 metric — the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths — stands at 58%, which is four percentage points below the Milton Keynes average of 62%. That places the school 38th out of 54 primaries in the LA, putting it in the bottom half locally and the bottom 50% nationally. However, the picture is more nuanced than a single ranking suggests. The school's maths average score of 103 and reading average score of 105 are both above the national baseline of 100, and its maths expected standard attainment of 81% is notably strong. Where Bushfield really falls short is at the higher standard: only 3% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, compared with a more typical local picture.

The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2022, awarded an overall Good rating, consistent with its previous inspection in 2015. What stands out in the breakdown is that leadership and management, along with personal development, were both judged Outstanding — the latter being a particularly strong signal for parents concerned about pastoral care and character education. Behaviour and attitudes, and the quality of education, were both rated Good. This suggests a school that is well-led and focused on developing the whole child, even if academic outcomes at the highest level are not yet matching that ambition. The Progress 8 scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is difficult to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points, but the average scores themselves are solid.

Bushfield is a mid-sized school with 373 pupils against a capacity of 480, so there is some room for growth, and a third of its pupils are eligible for free school meals, reflecting a relatively disadvantaged intake. The school offers a broad range of facilities including a gymnasium, library, playing fields, sports hall, forest school and even a chapel, and runs clubs in drama, book club and art club. Sports provision is strong, with gymnastics, football, cricket, swimming, athletics, netball and cross country on offer. SEND support covers specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, and social and emotional mental health. For families seeking a well-led, inclusive primary with strong pastoral care and decent core results, Bushfield is a solid, if not standout, option within Milton Keynes.

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