Milford Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Milford Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Milford Primary School is a school at the heart of its community.

Pupils are happy and feel well cared for. They speak highly of the school and say that there is very little bullying.

They are confident that any instances of this would be sorted out quickly.

Pupils get a good education here. They are very positive about their learning and try hard in lessons.

They have excellent manners and treat each other and the school environment with respect.

Pupils appreciate all that their school has to offer. This includes residential trips and clubs, such as draw...ing, athletics and mindfulness.

Pupils are given many opportunities to take on responsibilities. Some of the older pupils help to run lunchtime clubs. Pupils are encouraged to use their 'voice' to help bring about positive change.

For example, pupils reduced the amount of lunchtime plastic waste by writing to the school's catering manager requesting that they stopped using plastic containers, such as yoghurt pots.

Parents are very positive about the school. One typical response was, 'We really appreciate the welcoming, warm and caring approach of all staff at Milford.'



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

Milford Primary School is well led and managed. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils and determined that they achieve their potential. Leaders have made sure that pupils receive a broad and interesting curriculum.

The school is inclusive. Teachers ensure that they support well pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This ensures that these pupils keep up and achieve well.

Pupils of all groups have good attitudes to learning. They are polite and respectful, and do not disrupt lessons.

Almost all subjects have clear plans showing how teachers build up pupils' knowledge over time.

These plans enable pupils to make links in their learning across subjects and ideas. Leaders are working to complete precise plans for some subjects, such as modern foreign languages.

Pupils across the school make strong progress in reading by the end of Year 6.

In every classroom there are well-resourced reading areas. Pupils speak with enthusiasm about the books and authors that they have enjoyed. Teachers encourage pupils to read books from the school's '100 book challenge' list of recommended books.

From the start of the Reception Year, children begin to learn phonics. Leaders have made sure that staff are well trained to teach this. They check pupils' progress regularly and arrange extra help for any pupil who needs to catch up.

Most pupils achieve strong phonics skills. There are occasions when some younger pupils find reading difficult. This is because books that they read do not always match the sounds that they are learning.

Mathematics is well planned and delivered. Teachers know the knowledge pupils need to learn, and lessons build this over time. Young children develop a good early understanding of numbers.

Teachers give older pupils lots of opportunities to practise their arithmetic and to learn multiplication tables. This helps pupils to recall their knowledge with speed. Lots of problem-solving allows pupils to show their skills well.

Pupils say that work is challenging. They explained to us how staff will help them if they find something difficult.

The local area is used well to enrich the history curriculum.

For example, pupils study the history of the local cotton mill when they learn about the Victorian period. Occasionally, in lessons, teachers do not make the key knowledge they are teaching pupils explicit enough. Pupils sometimes remember the fun activity more than the concept they are learning.

The school supports pupils' personal development well. The curriculum shows them how to become resilient, confident and healthy. Pupils develop an understanding of the range of faiths and cultures in modern Britain.

Pupils also get involved in the local community. For example, on the day of the inspection, children in the Reception Year went to sing and perform dances to residents in a local home for the elderly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The culture of safeguarding is consistent with the caring ethos of the school. Staff receive regular training and are vigilant. They identify pupils who may be at risk and take appropriate action when required.

Leaders follow up safeguarding issues appropriately. They work well with external agencies and families to support pupils who need help.

Pupils are taught how to stay safe in a range of circumstances.

This includes when using the internet and road safety.

What does the school need to do to improve?

The reading books that the youngest pupils are given do not always match precisely to their phonics knowledge. As a result, pupils sometimes need to guess some words rather than having sufficient phonics skills to read them.

Leaders need to make sure that the books children read in school and take home enable them to practise the phonics they are learning in school. . Occasionally, teachers' focus on ensuring that the curriculum is exciting means they do not place enough focus on the precise knowledge they deliver.

This risks pupils not knowing some elements as well as they could. Leaders need to check that all colleagues teach curriculum content consistently effectively across all subjects so that pupils remember as much as possible.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 7–8 June 2016.

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