Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy Review 2026: A large Bradford secondary with clear improvement momentum

A big 11 to 16 academy serving Buttershaw and the wider south Bradford area, this is a school in the middle of a sustained reset. The recent inspection picture matters here because it captures change in progress rather than a finished product. After being judged Inadequate in February 2023, the school has since moved through monitoring visits and, in April 2025, all key areas were graded Requires Improvement, with inspectors noting improved climate for learning and reduced disruption in lessons.

The feel, as described in official evidence, is of higher expectations becoming more consistent, alongside continuing challenges at social times and with attendance. This combination tends to suit families who want a comprehensive local school with scale, structure, and improving routines, and who are prepared to partner closely on attendance, behaviour standards, and learning habits.

The school frames its day-to-day culture through four simple values, Ambition, Resilience, Courtesy and Kindness, and uses these explicitly as a shared language for behaviour and attitudes. The behaviour system is presented as clear, staged, and designed to protect learning time, with staff recording positive recognition and using a defined escalation route when classroom conduct falls short.

Student leadership is a visible strand. The school parliament is positioned as a genuine contributor, not a token group, with pupils collecting views and feeding them back into leadership decisions, including around behaviour policy refinement.

Leadership stability is also a relevant part of the current story. Andrew Taylor is the headteacher, and was appointed in September 2022, with the trust presenting his brief as a school improvement mission with a strong community focus.

For GCSE outcomes, the school’s performance sits below England average on the FindMySchool measure. Ranked 3584th in England and 32nd in Bradford for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), this places the school in the lower performance band in England overall. The key message for parents is that outcomes have been weaker than they should be, and improvement needs to be judged through current teaching consistency and the trajectory described in recent external evidence rather than historic headline grades alone.

On the available headline measures, Attainment 8 is 33 and Progress 8 is -0.83. The implication of the Progress 8 figure is that pupils, on average, made substantially less progress than other pupils nationally with similar starting points. The EBacc average point score is 2.87, and 7.6% achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects. These are indicators of the scale of the challenge, particularly around securing stronger passes across a broad academic suite.

The most useful way to use this data is comparative shortlisting. Families weighing local options can use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to place this profile alongside other Bradford secondaries, then focus visits and conversations on the practical question, what has changed in classrooms since the recent curriculum and behaviour reforms.

Curriculum and classroom routines are central to the current improvement strategy. Evidence from the most recent inspection describes significant curriculum change across subjects, with increasing consistency in what students learn, and regular revisiting of prior learning now embedded in most lessons. Teachers are expected to check understanding and address misconceptions, and students benefit from clear lesson structures and adult modelling of how to approach tasks.

Reading is treated as a foundational priority, particularly in key stage 3. The school is described as quick to identify students’ reading ability, with targeted support, including phonics for those still in early stages, to close gaps that would otherwise restrict access to the wider curriculum.

A distinctive local flavour comes through in the Business and Enterprise positioning. The school publishes detailed intent around employability skills, practical application, and links between classroom learning and real-world economic awareness, including case studies and current affairs. For students who respond well to applied learning and explicit links to future pathways, this can make learning feel more purposeful, especially in key stage 4 options where motivation can dip without a clear “why”.

As an 11 to 16 school, the immediate destination question is post-16 progression rather than university pipeline. The careers provision is presented as structured and expanding, with a named leadership role for careers and a programme designed to support choices through key stages.

Students have access to Unifrog as the main digital platform for careers information, with provision for parent accounts as well as student use. The school also publishes guidance on post-16 routes, including apprenticeships and technical pathways, which is helpful for families who want parity of esteem between academic and vocational choices rather than a one-track approach.

The practical implication is that families should ask very specific questions in Year 9 and Year 10, for example, how the school supports applications to local sixth forms and colleges, how work experience is organised, and how students who are undecided are guided towards realistic next steps.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated through Bradford Council, with the academy trust as the admissions authority. For September 2026 entry, the standard application deadline was 31 October 2025. Families applying late are directed by the local authority to a late application process.

The school publishes its admissions arrangements for the 2026 to 2027 academic year via Bradford’s schools information portal, which is the right place to check oversubscription criteria and any priority categories that apply.

Transition is also made concrete. The school’s published transition information for the September 2026 intake includes a Year 6 into Year 7 transition day on Wednesday 1 July 2026, plus a transition evening for families, with further information issued in spring 2026. This is useful for parents planning childcare, transport routines, and the early settling-in period.

Pastoral systems are closely tied to behaviour and attendance here, because attendance is explicitly identified as a continuing weakness with real academic consequences. The school describes a structured approach to behaviour and attitudes, with clear expectations and staged sanctions designed to reduce disruption and maintain orderly learning spaces.

Anti-bullying confidence is mixed but improving. The most recent inspection evidence records that students say bullying can occur, but also that it is taken seriously and resolved when reported, with most pupils reporting that they feel safe. The right parental approach is to ask what reporting routes exist, how incidents are logged and tracked over time, and how parents are informed of patterns rather than isolated events.

Support for students with special educational needs and disabilities is an important watchpoint. Recent evidence highlights inconsistency in identifying needs and in the quality of information shared with teachers, leading to uneven support and weaker achievement for some students with SEND.

Extracurricular life is presented less as a glossy list and more as practical opportunities that complement the school’s improvement focus, giving students structured, supervised time for confidence and belonging.

A strong example is the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award offer, launched for Year 9 and described as free of charge for participating students, culminating in a two-day expedition with an overnight camp in the Yorkshire Dales. The evidence-based implication is that this kind of programme can be particularly valuable in a school strengthening routines, because it builds teamwork, responsibility, and persistence outside the classroom, then feeds back into self-management in school.

Music is another clear pillar with specific named options. The school offers instrumental lessons including drums, guitar, and bass, and also references samba club, band club, and the school choir. Students taking lessons are offered performance opportunities through showcases and trust-wide concerts, which can be a meaningful motivator for sustained practice.

Facilities matter because they determine whether clubs are realistic at scale. The school’s published lettings information describes a sports hall equipped with a digital scoreboard and match-play basketball nets, and a gymnasium with a fully sprung floor and a climbing wall. These details suggest indoor sport and physical activity options that can run year-round, not only in good weather.

The school day is clearly set out. Doors open at 8.10am, students move to lessons at 8.30am, and the school finishes at 3.00pm, with a stated 32.5-hour school week.

For travel planning, most families will rely on bus routes serving Buttershaw and links into central Bradford. West Yorkshire’s public transport journey planner is the most reliable starting point for checking current routes and times, particularly if your child will be travelling independently.

• Inspection context and pace of change. The school is past the lowest point, but it is still in build mode. Expect ongoing policy tightening and consistent follow-through as routines bed in across year groups.

• Attendance remains a key risk. Official evidence identifies attendance as too low, with particular concern for some vulnerable groups; missed learning time can undo gains from better teaching structures.

• Behaviour is stronger in lessons than at social times. The climate for learning is described as improved with less disruption in lessons, but social time behaviour is still highlighted as an area needing further work.

• SEND consistency is not yet where it needs to be. Needs identification and classroom guidance are described as uneven; families of students with SEND should probe how plans are shared with staff and how impact is tracked.

This is a large, local comprehensive academy with a clear narrative of improvement, tightening routines, and curriculum redesign, alongside continuing challenges with attendance, social-time behaviour, and consistent SEND support. It best suits families who want a mainstream 11 to 16 school in the Buttershaw area, value structured expectations, and are willing to engage actively with attendance, behaviour standards, and home learning routines. The decision tends to come down to confidence in the trajectory and in day-to-day consistency for your child’s specific needs.