Milford Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Milford Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Milford Primary is a kind and caring school at the heart of its community.

Pupils are friendly and polite. They respect each other, the adults and the strong culture of learning that pervades the school. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

They listen carefully to their teachers and are eager to learn.

The school's 'learning heroes', for example Wally the resilient walrus, help pupils develop the skills they need to become effective learners. These help the children in the early years understand and remem...ber these learning characteristics.

The school has high expectations for every pupil. Pupils rise to these expectations and typically achieve well across the curriculum.

Staff build warm and trusting relationships with children right from the start of the Reception Year.

Pupils know that trusted adults will help them if they need it. They understand the school rules and high expectations for behaviour. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is settled and harmonious.

As a result, pupils feel happy and safe in school.

The school is keen to extend pupils' experiences beyond the small community where they live. They enjoy trips to the theatre, Yorkshire Wildlife Park and the National Space Centre.

Pupils particularly relish regular opportunities to learn outdoors in the forest school, which helps them to develop their self-confidence and teamwork skills.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school provides an ambitious curriculum that builds pupils' knowledge from the early years to Year 6. The school has thought carefully about the important information and skills that pupils need.

Teachers present information clearly using high-quality resources. However, in a small number of subjects, the structure of the curriculum means that sometimes key knowledge is not revisited frequently enough. Where this is the case, pupils find it difficult to remember some of the knowledge that is needed as a basis for new learning.

The school identifies pupils' additional needs early. It has effective strategies to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This includes working closely with a range of external professionals.

Pupils benefit from relationships with caring staff, who help them to self-regulate their emotions. Staff help pupils to be ready to learn through activities, such as sensory circuits and small group support in the nurture classroom when appropriate.

Reading is prioritised.

Interactions between adults and children in the early years focus sharply on developing children's language and communication. Starting in the Reception class, children quickly acquire strong phonics knowledge. Pupils practise their reading by using books that contain the sounds that they already know.

Where pupils need help to keep up with phonics, effective additional support is provided. This helps pupils to develop into confident and fluent readers. Pupils develop a love of reading.

The school ensures that they are exposed to a wide range of high-quality texts, which also reflect diversity in society. Pupils delight in the books read to them by their teachers. They enjoy author visits.

Behaviour around the school is calm and classrooms purposeful. Pupils fully reflect the school values of 'care, share, respect and learn'. For example, at breaktimes older pupils set up a range of equipment for younger children to play with.

Pupils love playing together outside and get on with each other extremely well. Children in the Reception Year consistently demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. The curriculum and provision promote both children's emotional security and their character development.

For example, in writing, children describe they are concentrating like the heroine 'Caroline, the concentrating chicken'.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities on offer to develop character and nurture their interests. These enhance the curriculum and give pupils experiences that broaden their horizons beyond it.

For example, the termly learning heroes 'have a go' challenges and participating in 'The Guinness Book of World Records' poetry lesson and sports competitions. Pupils develop a strong understanding of fundamental British values. For example, all pupils vote on the stories they want to read in class.

The school has a wide range of texts pupils enjoy to develop their understanding of different cultures.

The school is successfully driving improvement, which is reflected in the school's improving outcomes. However, subject leaders have not fully evaluated how well the curriculum has been implemented and how well pupils are achieving.

This means pupils have gaps in learning, and pupils who are ready to access learning to a greater depth are not always identified and addressed quickly enough.

The governing body works well with the school. It provides effective support and challenge, with a shared focus on continuing to improve the quality of education that the school provides for pupils.

Staff know that the school considers their workload and well-being. They are proud to work in this school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the structure of the curriculum means that sometimes key knowledge is not revisited frequently enough. Where this is the case, pupils find it difficult to remember some of the knowledge that is needed as a basis for new learning. The school should ensure that important knowledge is revisited more frequently in these subjects so that pupils can build new learning on what they already know.

• Subject leaders have not fully evaluated how well the curriculum has been implemented and how well pupils are achieving. This means pupils' gaps in learning, and pupils who are ready to access learning to a greater depth, are not always identified and addressed quickly enough. The school should ensure that subject leaders are provided with support to enable them to fully evaluate the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in June 2016.

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