Mill Hill Primary School

Mill Hill Primary School Mill Road,, Waterlooville, PO7 7DB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because:

 Teaching is not consistently good enough to ensure that all pupils make good progress.  Some teachers have low expectations about the amount of work to be done in lessons and the level of challenge in this work.  The most-able pupils are not always stretched in their learning and too few pupils reach the higher levels by the end of Key Stage 2.  The school has improved attainment in writing so that it is now in line with national averages. However, leaders and managers have not ensured rapid enough improvements in pupils’ progress, particularly in mathematics at Key Stage 2.  The monitoring of teaching is not rigorous enough to ensure consistent improvements. As a result, pupils do not make good progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 The strong, caring ethos of the school enables all pupils to feel happy and safe. Staff are friendly and approachable, and have very positive relationships with children.  Pupils behave well. They work happily together and provide a warm welcome to visitors.  Leaders and managers have developed a more rigorous approach to monitoring pupils’ progress. Members of the governing body support and challenge the school.  Where teaching is good, tasks are set at just the right level for each pupil and pupils work well on their own, finding things out for themselves. They make good progress as a result.  The Early Years Foundation Stage provides a rich and stimulating environment, and children progress well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed 10 lessons, all of which were joint observations with the senior management team. All teaching staff were observed. A Key Stage 1 assembly was visited and also the breakfast club.  Discussions were held with school staff, two groups of pupils, senior leaders, subject leaders, a representative from the local authority and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body.  Records of pupils’ current attainment and progress were scrutinised. The inspector heard pupils reading and looked at a wide range of documentation, including safeguarding documents, development plans, the school’s self-evaluation, a local authority report and documents relating to pupils’ attendance and behaviour. A sample of books were scrutinised with the senior management team.  The inspector took account of the 15 responses to the online Parent View survey, and also spoke with parents and carers when they were collecting their children at the end of the day.

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Inspection team

Liz Bowes, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Mill Hill is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school which is federated with Woodcroft Primary School. Mill Hill has its own headteacher and both schools share an executive headteacher and governing body.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well above average. Their needs mainly relate to moderate learning difficulties. The school does not use any alternative provision.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for those eligible for free school meals as well as looked after children and children of service families, is much higher than the national average  Most pupils are from a White British background and the majority speak English as their first language.  Pupil mobility is high.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the previous inspection, the school has changed its name from Waite End Primary.  There is an on-site children’s centre which is subject to a separate Ofsted inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is at least consistently good by:  ensuring that all pupils are provided with work that is challenging enough  raising teachers’ expectations of the amount of work to be produced in lessons  ensuring that when working alone, pupils are on task, actively engaged and producing an adequate quantity of work.  Improve achievement, particularly that of the most-able pupils, so that more reach the higher levels by:  focusing on carrying out the actions planned to accelerate progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2  ensuring that work set for the most-able pupils is not too easy and provides sufficient challenge.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  ensuring that teaching is monitored in a more rigorous way and provides clearer guidelines for improving pupils’ progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Not enough pupils make good progress over time. Although the school has focused, with some success, on raising standards in writing, overall achievement requires improvement. In particular, progress in mathematics at Key Stage 2 is below expected levels and this has been the case for the last two years.  Over time, levels of attainment in English and mathematics have been broadly average in both Key Stages 1 and 2. Not enough pupils, including the most able, have reached the higher levels in Key Stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics, as the work set is often too easy for them. Pupils sometimes work slowly in lessons, as teachers’ expectations of the amount of work they can complete are too low.  The attainment of those who receive the pupil premium is similar to their peers, as evidenced by their average points scores. The home/ school link worker closely monitors rates of attendance which has led to improvements in attendance for these pupils. Initiatives in reading have also led

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

to better achievement. By supplementing the cost of trips, the school has made sure that all pupils are able to fully engage in activities designed to stimulate learning.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs have positive working relationships with teaching assistants and this supports their achievement. Overall, their progress is similar to that of their peers.  Pupils from different ethnic groups make similar progress to other pupils in the school.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children enter the school with knowledge, skills and understanding that are usually well below that expected for their age, particularly in speech and language. They make good progress in the Reception class because of the clear expectations of staff and good routines that develop their confidence.  Pupils in Year 2 who read to the inspector were enthusiastic about reading and demonstrated a

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

good use of letters and sounds to read new words. Attainment in reading is broadly average by the end of Year 2 and 6.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching varies across the school. Overall, teaching requires improvement because it is not yet good enough to promote consistently good progress.  In some lessons, teachers do not ensure that pupils who are working on their own are fully engaged in their tasks and actively learning. This can result in some pupils doing very little work which, in turn, on occasions, affects their behaviour.  Activities and tasks set for the most-able pupils are often too easy and lack challenge.  Where teaching is good, the work planned precisely matches pupils’ needs. For example, in a session on phonics (letters and the sounds they make) in Year 2, pupils jumped up and down with delight when they could demonstrate their knowledge of spelling in a team game. The lesson was successful because the teacher had a clear knowledge of what each pupil could do and she was able to challenge them to achieve more.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants contribute well to improving progress, particularly for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. They make good use of role play and other strategies to stimulate and maintain interest.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is characterised by creative activities. A fun lesson on phonics included music, games, flour and writing in the air. The result was that all children made good progress in understanding about the sounds letters make and how they are blended together to make words.  The school has a strong commitment to independent learning which, when well planned, can result in pupils making good progress. In the best lessons, pupils are encouraged to consider different learning styles and think about when they are creatively making links in their learning. They are pleased when their efforts are rewarded and this motivates them to learn further.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Most pupils behave well in lessons and are keen to learn. They are courteous to each other when moving around the school and often hold open doors for visitors. Behaviour is not yet outstanding as pupils sometimes become distracted when working on their own.  Pupils take their responsibilities seriously. The school council were keen to talk about how they are to set up playground buddies for any child who may feel lonely at lunchtimes. Pupils collect money for charities and understand about the needs of others.  Pupils know right from wrong and are learning about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The school takes every opportunity to prevent any form of discrimination and all pupils feel valued.  Relationships between pupils are good and there is a lot of interaction between the year groups.  The good induction arrangements for children joining the Reception class enable all to make a

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

positive start.  Pupils enjoy coming to school and attendance is above national averages. Lessons start on time and parents and carers are encouraged to come into school at the beginning or end of day to discuss any concerns.  Pupils feel safe in the school and have a good understanding of the different forms of bullying. They report that bullying is very rare and it would be dealt with quickly by adults should it occur.  Responses from parents and carers indicate that the overwhelming majority of them are supportive of the school and feel that their child is happy.  Staff, governors, and parents and carers who were interviewed or who responded through ‘Parent View’ indicated that pupils’ behaviour is good, and the inspector agreed.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The pace of improvement since the last inspection has not been rapid enough in all areas. One of the reasons for this is that the monitoring of the quality of teaching is not rigorous enough and does not provide clear guidelines to teachers on how to accelerate pupils’ progress and how to stretch the more able. However, the school does have the capacity to improve, as evidenced by the improvements in writing where pupils now attain in line with national averages and sustaining strengths in aspects such as the Early Years Foundation Stage and behaviour.  Despite having well-focused plans to improve mathematics, actions are yet to have a full impact on pupils’ progress in Key Stage 2.  All leaders, including the executive headteacher and the headteacher, have a clear direction for the school. They are carrying out extensive analysis of pupils’ attainment data and progress is now being more closely tracked. However, this has not yet led to significant improvements in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

pupils’ achievement.  Staff are very supportive of the school, as indicated in the unanimously positive questionnaire responses returned.  The school works well with parents and carers, including those who might be reluctant to engage with the school, and as a result, there are effective links. Parents and carers are very supportive of the school and staff.  The local authority only provides light-touch support for this school.  The school’s work within the federation is developing. Teachers are now working together and sharing good practice.  Systems for managing teachers’ performance are in place, adequate and linked securely to professional development.  The curriculum provides pupils with a broad range of learning opportunities. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is an appropriate balance between adult-led and child-led activities which promotes learning well.  Throughout the rest of the school, pupils enjoy learning through themes. A good feature of the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

school is the number of trips that are arranged. There are two residential trips which encourage independence and personal responsibility. Other trips to nearby places, such as museums, stimulate pupils’ imaginations and their enthusiasm to learn. This links into the school’s core values and promotes pupils’ spiritual, social and cultural development.  All statutory requirements regarding safeguarding are met. The school increasingly strives for an equality of opportunity for all pupils and ensures that discrimination of any kind is tackled.  The governance of the school:  The joint governing body has clear strategic plans for the schools they govern. The professional team includes people who have strengths in education, business and knowledge of the local community. The vice-chair has close links with the on-site children’s centre. All governors are very aware of the standards of teaching and achievement in the school

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The leadership and management requires improvement

because they are linked to specific classes and carry out short visits to lessons around the school with the headteacher. They also know how the school’s data compares with achievement nationally. They have a clear knowledge of performance management systems and how pay is aligned to the performance of teachers. The governing body has had training so it can closely monitor the use of the pupil premium funding and governors are fully aware of the difference the funding is making to achievement.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 130325 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 406377

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 148 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandy Keefe Headteacher Diane Lawry Date of previous school inspection October 2010 Telephone number 02392 256955 Fax number 02392 264614 Email address admin@millhill.hants.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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