Milwards Primary School and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is at the centre of the community. Adults know pupils and their families well.

The community ethos of the school enables new pupils to settle quickly. Pupils say it is easy to make friends. They feel looked after as adults provide well-thought-out care.

Pupils like the 'little extras' leaders provide, such as daily bagels for everyone. They know adults will help them if they have worries.

Pupils behave well.

They rise to the school's high expectations, being polite and showing good manners throughout the school day. Pupils stay focused as they enjoy their lessons. This is because adults adapt the curriculum to make learning manageable and ...accessible to all pupils.

Pupils receive the support they need at the right time.

Pupils appreciate the many opportunities they have to learn new things. This may be through having mental health sessions and learning how to breathe properly or looking after the rescue chickens.

They feel prepared for life's challenges. Pupils know how to keep safe online and outside of school.

Pupils enjoy sharing their learning in weekly assemblies.

They are proud to be selected as 'star of the week' for excellent work.

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

The school has an ambitious curriculum. It equips pupils with the most important knowledge they need to learn.

The curriculum planning is broken down into small steps which build lesson by lesson. This helps pupils to succeed at school. The emphasis on subject-specific vocabulary means that pupils use this with precision, explaining complex ideas in a simple way.

The school provides ongoing training for teachers in all subjects. Staff know the school's curriculum and the best ways to teach the content. Teachers check pupils' understanding of what they have learned.

They address misunderstandings effectively and help to move pupils quickly on. Teachers look closely at where pupils have gaps in their knowledge and address these. As a result, pupils succeed in their learning, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Since the last inspection, leaders have raised the profile of reading in school. They promote a love of reading through events such as the parent and child reading café and virtual library. Pupils love reading and borrowing books from the redeveloped library.

They enjoy talking about their class reading books. Children start to develop the skills they need to learn to read in Nursery. For instance, listening closely to rhymes and songs.

Daily phonics sessions enable most pupils to develop as confident readers. A very small number of pupils are not given the right books to help them learn to read. This hampers their development as readers.

Parents, justifiably, hold the school's SEND provision in high regard. Staff have high aspirations for what pupils with SEND can achieve. Adults receive effective training so they can help identify pupils' needs.

They also use pupils' support plans well, providing helpful ways for pupils to access their lessons. Subsequently, pupils with SEND access the same, ambitious, curriculum as their peers. They make good progress and enjoy their learning.

The school's early years provision has improved. Engaging resources provide children with meaningful opportunities to develop their learning and curiosity. This ensures all children make progress in all areas of learning.

Robust transition arrangements support children to settle quickly when they start school. Skilled adults identify children's needs and ensure children are ready for Year 1.

Most pupils attend school on a regular basis.

The school provides a wide range of support to help pupils attend, including an early morning running club. Pupils are polite around school and are courteous towards each other. They show genuine interest in each other's ideas and enjoy talking to visitors.

The school has clear behaviour expectations. This includes the use of rewards and 'consequences'. In some lessons, this is not used in a consistent way by some staff meaning sometimes poor behaviour goes unchallenged.

The school has introduced a new personal, social, health and economic curriculum. Pupils are already benefiting from the change. Pupils learn about healthy lifestyles and how to keep safe.

Adults provide a high level of pastoral care for pupils and their families. This supports pupils to be in school and ready for learning. The school ensures all pupils take part in sports competitions, such as football tournaments.

There are a wide range of clubs for pupils.

Trustees and governors know the school's strengths and areas for development. They challenge and support leaders' work.

They ensure adults' workload and well-being are a focus. Adults say they feel supported and valued.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The books given to a few pupils are not precisely matched to their reading knowledge. As a result, these pupils struggle to read and are not catching up quickly enough. Leaders need to ensure all adults are trained to match pupils' books to the sounds they know.

• The school's behaviour policy is not consistently applied by all adults. This means that in a small proportion of lessons, pupils' behaviour does not match the school's expectations. Leaders should ensure all adults receive training to support the consistent implementation of the behaviour policy.