News Extra

A new community garden has opened at Burton Green Primary School, despite a number of delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The community garden project at Burton Green Primary School in Clifton, which was partly funded through a grant from the Clifton Ward, provides a peaceful, natural space for pupils, parents and staff. Members of the Clifton Residents Association worked with the school to help them submit a grant application to the Ward on the school’s behalf.

The community garden, which has been planted and tended by some of the children at Burton Green, has already been used extensively by staff, parents and pupils. Headteacher at the school, Mrs Atherton said:

“We’re so pleased with the end result and are hugely grateful to the Clifton Residents’ Association and the Clifton Ward, without whom we couldn’t have completed the project. Our pupils and parents love the garden! Staff have used the space to meet with parents in a relaxed environment, parents use the garden while waiting to collect their children at the end of the day and it is also used as an area where we can display any items that can be taken by parents for example food boxes, clothing, books and lost property.”

The work was delayed slightly due to Covid 19, but the groundworks were finally completed during the summer holidays by York Gardens Ltd and Site Manager, Merv Bradish, also contributed to the work done. A pergola has now been erected and the garden planted with shrubs and bulbs.

The school were unable to hold a large-scale grand opening of the community garden, due to the current situation, but they did welcome Clifton Councillors Danny Myers and Margaret Wells and two members of the Clifton Residents’ Association, Jennifer Carter-Shaw and Marjorie Sharp, to a small, socially-distanced gathering.

Cllr Danny Myers said “The community garden at Burton Green looks great and is a superb addition to the school. It creates a welcoming atmosphere at the entrance to the school and a pleasant space to meet with each other and enjoy the outdoors.”

Cllr Margaret Wells added “It’s always lovely visiting Burton Green. Following on from the school’s library that was opened last year, we’re keen to continue working closely with the school to target ward funding at our children and young people in Clifton.”

In the future, the school hopes to grow vegetables in the garden and use the space for community events such as fayres and parent workshops.

Jennifer Carter-Shaw of the Clifton Residents’ Association is looking forward to using the garden. She said: “I was so impressed with what had been achieved, and the difference the community garden has made to the ambiance of the school. It is a very welcoming space to be enjoyed by everyone, I hope to make use of it next summer.”

16 October 2020

There’s no need to book, just come along. All welcome!

Further information

Pupils from Burton Green have been busy creating posters and adding sentimental personal items to a time capsule that they will bury in the grounds of new care home in the city.

Handley House’s registered manager Rachel McNally and general manager, Michael Gledhill, wanted to commemorate the completion of the £10 million home’s build and so invited children from Burton Green Primary School to be part of a project which they hope will have a lasting legacy for years to come.

29 May 2019

Pupils and staff at Burton Green Primary School are celebrating the results of a recent Ofsted inspection which deems the school as ‘good’.

Burton Green Primary School in Clifton, which is part of the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, has been judged as good at their first inspection since they were last graded in March 2014, when they also received a good rating.

Inspector Diane Buckle praised the work of headteacher, Mrs Ash Atherton, who has only been at the school since September 2018, stating “Your determination to turn around the fortunes of the school and your enthusiasm and commitment to the pupils and staff of Burton Green shine through everything you do.”

The report also recognises the leadership team’s “determination to provide the very best education” for pupils; their “strong vision for excellence” which continues to transform the school; and the physical transformation of the school which provides a “welcoming and homely place to be” resulting in an “enormous impact on pupils’ well-being”. The inspector also added “Pupils’ sense of pride and belonging is tangible and they are thriving as a result of your leadership.”

The report goes on to commend the “exemplary” levels of pupil behaviour, how the staff team bring learning to life and that classrooms are “a hive of purposeful activity, with pupils highly engaged and keen to contribute”. The inspector reports Burton Green Primary to be “a happy school, where staff morale is high.”

Mrs Atherton said “I am over the moon with the outcome of this latest Ofsted report and couldn’t be prouder of my team and the children.

“The school has been through a difficult few years since the last inspection, with children’s results really suffering in 2015. When the school joined the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust in 2016, collaborative work began on the process of improvement, and in 2018 pupils’ outcomes at the end of key stage 2 improved markedly to be above the national average in combined reading, writing and mathematics. Raised expectations for acceptable levels of pupils’ behaviour were also established.

“I love this school and am determined to continue doing everything I can to continue improving the fortunes of the school and our wonderful children.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, Brian Crosby said “We are all delighted for Ash and the team at Burton Green, but we are even more thrilled for the school community, the parents, families, governors and the children themselves. A school’s success is dependent on everyone working together and we are incredibly lucky to have Mrs Atherton and her team at the helm of this magical school, which provides a real oasis for learning for its children.”

“We all know that we still have work to do, but I have no doubt that with this level of determination, commitment and dedication, we will continue on a very successful journey.”

Hope Sentamu Learning Trust’s Primary School Improvement Lead, Shan Brough Jones, added “This is such fantastic news for Burton Green, but to me it is not a surprise! This well-deserved outcome is thanks to the relentless determination of the school’s leadership team, their meticulous attention to detail and their passion for their work. Over the last 18 months, the Trust and the school have worked successfully with the Primary School Improvement Team at City of York Council, establishing strong links with them, so I would like to extend thanks to them too for all their hard work and input.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work closely with the school, watching it transform before my eyes, and I know the journey from here is going to be an exciting one!”

The report identifies a number of next steps for the school, which include:

• Ensuring pupils, particularly the most able pupils, are challenged to think hard about their learning and access more demanding activities, so that more pupils are able to attain at the higher standard in mathematics.
• Putting greater emphasis upon developing pupils’ mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills so that they become increasingly self-assured to explain their thinking and to have a range of skills that they can deploy when completing extended mathematical problems.
• Continuing their efforts to reduce pupil absence in general and reduce the number of pupils regularly and persistently away from school so that both figures are at least close to the national average.

Burton Green Primary belongs to the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, a successful, growing Church of England multi-academy trust, which was initially founded by Manor CE Academy and Poppleton Ouesbank Primary. It now includes nine schools: Manor CE Academy, Vale of York Academy, Barlby High School, Poppleton Ouesbank, Burton Green Primary, Forest of Galtres Anglican Methodist Primary, Baldersby St James and Scarborough secondary schools, George Pindar and Graham Schools which joined the Trust on 1 March.

7 May 2019

We are delighted to announce that our school has been named ‘School of the Year’ at the 2018 York Community Awards. The announcement was made at a special event held at York Racecourse. Staff were both proud and very emotional – not only be nominated – but to actually win. Mr Bradish gave an outstanding speech in accepting the award and we would all like to thank parents, staff, members of the community but most importantly our fantastic children, for their invaluable contribution to this achievement. This award was very well deserved and we are all proud to be part of the team!

This accolade comes after a truly amazing week for Burton Green Primary School. We’ve had some important visitors who recognised how amazing our children and staff are, were blown away by the standard of work produced, were extremely complimentary about the consistency throughout the whole school and described behaviour as ‘exemplary.’ #teamBG