Milton Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this wonderfully inclusive school. Staff have created a nurturing environment, so pupils feel safe and listened to.

Pupils understand their emotions and staff help pupils to feel calm and ready for learning. Pupils' achievement is improving each year because staff focus well on the areas that make the most difference to pupils' understanding.

The school has high expectations of behaviour, based around their three simple rules: be safe, be respectful and do your best.

Pupils play together well on the playground, showing tolerance and respect for one another. They feel truly listened to through the many ways the school seeks pupils' views.... As a result, pupils behave well and low-level disruption to learning is rare.

Pupil leaders make a highly effective and positive contribution to the school community. Leadership opportunities include roles such as prefects and eco-champions. Well-trained pupil anti-bullying ambassadors help promote positive relationships across the school.

These opportunities develop pupils' resilience and compassion. Pupils also benefit from a rich set of experiences that develop their understanding of the world around them. These include visits to local museums and the seaside.

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

The school recognises that pupils did not achieve as well as they could in the 2023 national tests, and leaders have acted decisively to address these areas. The school has a strong ambition for all pupils to achieve well. Many children arrive in school at various times of the year from other countries; they speak English as an additional language or are service children.

The school supports these pupils to make strong progress through the curriculum from their different starting points. The school has designed a well-sequenced curriculum to meet pupils' needs, including the high levels of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils will learn at each stage, including in the early years.

Staff's subject knowledge is strong. Pupils benefit from opportunities to discuss learning with each other, as it deepens their thinking. Staff make precise adaptations for pupils with SEND and, as a result, these pupils achieve well.

In most subjects, staff use assessment to check pupils' understanding in lessons effectively and quickly address their mistakes or misunderstandings. This is strongest in reading, writing and mathematics. However, in some subjects, teachers' strategies do not always ensure that pupils remember previously taught knowledge and connect it with new learning.

This means some pupils in these subjects do not achieve as well as they could.The school's approach to phonics and early reading is a strength. From the beginning of Reception, pupils learn to read well.

Reading books are matched closely to the sounds that pupils have learned. Staff closely follow the school's chosen phonics scheme and provide effective support for pupils who need more practice. Staff choose diverse texts to share and discuss with pupils.

Consequently, pupils develop an appreciation of the differences between cultures and a love of reading.In the early years, children get off to an excellent start. Many children enter the school with significant needs.

The school identifies these needs, often before children start in the Reception classes, and extra support is provided so that they catch up to their peers and get a flying start to their education. Expertly trained staff support pupils extremely well to develop their early reading and writing skills. As a result, children read and write with confidence and growing proficiency by the end of their time in Reception.

Pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning and behave well. They try hard, and low-level disruption is a rarity. Pupils show resilience when something is difficult.

They use prompts to help them, such as discussing their thoughts with a partner.Pupils' personal development is exceptional. The school provides extremely strong welfare and pastoral support, steered by the school's values.

The school's extensive nurture provision identifies and addresses the social and emotional needs of each child effectively. This has led to pupils' attendance being strong and improving further over time. Pupils celebrate their differences and show this through their strong understanding of the protected characteristics.

Leaders are highly ambitious for all pupils, staff and the community that they serve. A well-structured programme of training, focused on staff reflection, supports strong teaching. The school prioritises staff's workload and well-being.

Staff value the collaborative working within the trust schools, which supports their teaching. The trust and local governance committee fulfil their statutory duties with expertise, ensuring a strong and ever-improving partnership across the growing trust.

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, teachers do not always use assessment well enough. Where this is the case, some pupils do not remember what they have learned before in sufficient detail. The school must ensure that teachers in all subjects assess what pupils know equally effectively.

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