Milford School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Milford are happy and positive about their learning.

The school's warm, nurturing ethos enables them to thrive and be successful. Parents are unanimous in how highly they value the school. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are carefully looked after and closely supported.

Pupils are kind to each other as they learn and play. They are thoughtful and provide help to one another. Pupils enjoy celebrating everyone's achievements.

The youngest children settle quickly when they join Reception and follow the school's expectations and routines very well. In lessons, staff ensure that pupils work hard and try ...their best.

The school sets high standards for pupils academically and personally.

Pupils learn the literacy and numeracy skills they need. Pastoral support helps them to develop into responsible and well-rounded children. Also, pupils are enthused by regular outdoor learning opportunities.

The school's educational offer helps pupils successfully move on to the next stage of their education.

Trips are popular, as well as the enriching experiences that staff organise. Pupils visit the farm and local green areas and welcome visitors such as the fire brigade and sportspersons into school.

Year 2 loves their swimming lessons. Pupils take pride in the school environment and do their best to keep it tidy and clutter free.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious, and pupils learn across a broad range of subjects.

In subjects such as reading, writing and mathematics, pupils achieve generally in line with current national expectations. In each year group, including Reception Year, there is an overview of what pupils need to know and learn. However, at times, the planned curriculum is not outlined as clearly as needed.

This makes it harder for staff to know the most important knowledge for pupils and the best order to learn this. Generally, key knowledge is mapped out but there is further work to do with sequencing this logically in some subjects.

Following a period of leadership changes, the new leaders have put the school firmly on a path of rapid improvement.

Staff are supportive of this and welcome a clearer direction. The school has focused on strengthening its provision for pupils with SEND. Teachers are now better skilled in teaching and supporting a range of pupils' needs in their classes.

Effective professional development for staff is ensuring that pupils with SEND have the tools and resources they need to learn well across the curriculum. The school has set up its own specialist provision to provide important therapy to help pupils with complex needs. Identifying possible additional needs in pupils is a strength, and staff work exceptionally well with parents.

Reading is well promoted in the school. The school has planned a wonderful selection of high-quality stories and picture books that all pupils will encounter. The school's phonics programme and its matched books help pupils learn to read well by the end of Year 1.

This is reflected in high published phonics outcomes. In early years, staff prioritise gaps in children's speaking and listening skills. They build in regular opportunities during the school day to support children to accurately hear sounds in words.

This helps children to keep up with reading and writing expectations of the phonics programme in Reception Year.

Teachers explain key messages and ideas simply to pupils. They check carefully how well pupils remember what they have learned.

Lessons make time for pupils to reinforce important information as well as practise key vocabulary. Beyond this, the work set for pupils is variable. Some activities do not always help pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding.

In addition, in some subjects, pupils do not get enough opportunities to apply their writing skills in explaining what they know.

Behaviour expectations are taught well to pupils. At lunchtimes, pupils eat and chat cheerily in the dining hall.

They are polite and well mannered to each other. The school communicates to parents clearly about the importance of regular attendance. Pupils enjoy coming to school with a thirst to learn more.

Fitness is successfully promoted and pupils know that an active lifestyle can make them feel good. The school's environment promotes these opportunities effectively. Pupils love receiving leadership opportunities to make a difference.

Pupils know their voice matters. They make others feel welcome and enjoy learning about people from around the world.

Governors know the school well and have steered it through challenges along the way.

The team brings strong skills to both challenge and support the school to aim high. Governors ensure they keep up to date with training to help them hold the school to account effectively for pupil outcomes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects and areas of learning, the knowledge that pupils will learn is not always clearly defined. This impacts upon teachers being fully informed of what pupils should know and remember. The school should continue to develop the curriculum in these subjects so that all essential knowledge is set out and coherently sequenced.

• Some activities that staff set pupils can lack ambition and clarity in what pupils need to know and practise. In some foundation subjects, there can be fewer opportunities to enable pupils to develop their writing skills. The school needs to continue its work to enable pupils to achieve highly across the curriculum.