Milford School

Inspection of Milford School Church Road, Milford, Godalming, Surrey GU8 5JA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 20 and 21 March 2024

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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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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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.

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better?

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.

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better?

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 20 and 21 March 2024

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(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. 20 and 21 March 2024

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 20 and 21 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Maureen Holland and Melanie Isherwood (Co-Chairs) Headteacher Sara Cox

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 November 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in September 2023.  The school currently uses one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with senior leaders and staff. The lead inspector met with four governors, including the co-chairs. He held a telephone call with a school improvement adviser from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics, 20 and 21 March 2024

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history and physical education. To do this, they met with subject teachers, looked at curriculum plans, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons, listened to pupils read and looked at pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The views of staff and parents were gathered through discussions and Ofsted’s online surveys.  Inspectors talked to pupils from different year groups about their learning and experiences at school.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation provided by the school. This included the school’s self-evaluation and school improvement priorities, policies, curriculum documents, behaviour and attendance records, minutes of governors’

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Inspection team

James Broadbridge, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Liz McIntosh Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 March 2024

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regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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