Millfields First School

Inspection of Millfields First School Swift Close, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B61 7BS

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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 16 and 17 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are very happy at Millfields First School. This is a welcoming school where all adults work effectively to provide a challenging and stimulating learning environment. This is in line with the school’s values of ‘ambition, possibilities and outdoor learning’, and there is a significant emphasis on the extensive forest school provision. Pupils are highly enthusiastic about this. One pupil, speaking for many, stated, ‘It brings things to life for us.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave with high degrees of respect for each other and for adults. They understand expectations of them to behave and do so willingly. They know they can approach adults if they have any concerns and that they will be supported. They are friendly to and inquisitive about visitors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the thought that has been put into the many visits and opportunities that the school has organised for them. These include sporting opportunities for girls and boys, as well as other clubs and visits. They speak enthusiastically too about the recent residential trip they had to Malvern.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that clearly sets out the key learning pupils will need. There is extensive use of forest school in this curriculum, which is successfully integrated across a number of subjects. Teachers present learning clearly using resources that are generally well chosen. They check pupils’ understanding well, which means that misconceptions are picked up and addressed rapidly. However, there are occasions when pupils’ misconceptions are not addressed or opportunities are not taken to move pupils on to more challenging work. This means that learning can slow for some pupils. In the pre-school and Reception, skilled adults provide a stimulating learning environment and many opportunities to develop the children’s communication and language skills. This means children make a secure start to their early years education.

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better?

The school has worked effectively on early reading. From early in Reception, all pupils are consistently taught how sounds correspond to letters or groups of letters. Staff are skilled in identifying which pupils are at risk of falling behind. These pupils are supported to rapidly catch up. All of this means that pupils are able to read with appropriate fluency. Furthermore, the school promotes a love of reading well.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs accurately identified. Appropriate adaptations are made for learning in class or with personalised support. Extensive extra support is provided by trained staff or external agencies, which means that these pupils achieve well.

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better?

The school’s expectations for how pupils should behave are clear and understood. Pupils behave in a polite and respectful way, and there is no time lost to off-task behaviour in class. Where a few pupils have found it harder to meet the school’s 16 and 17 April 2024

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expectations, staff work effectively to support these pupils, sometimes with external support. The school works strategically to track pupil attendance and punctuality, and it has secured improvements for some pupils. There remain some more vulnerable pupils whose attendance does not yet match that of the rest of the school.

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There is a comprehensive curriculum and a range of opportunities for pupils’ personal development. This includes a number of trips and visitors to the school. Pupils appreciate these, as well as the opportunities in the well-developed forest school on site, as these enable them to deepen their learning. Pupils learn about other faiths and traditions through assembly time, alongside the curriculum they learn for their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Staff benefit from extensive training opportunities about how to deliver the revised curriculum. Staff appreciate the support provided by leaders and that they are mindful of workload. The school liaises effectively with the parent body, which reports being very happy with developments at the school. Governors are very well informed about the quality of provision at the school, and they discharge their responsibilities appropriately. They ensure that regular external reviews help keep a sharp focus on developments.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Absence remains high for some more vulnerable pupils. As a result, these pupils miss valuable learning time, which adversely affects their academic achievement and opportunities to take part in the wider curriculum. The school should continue to work with parents to improve pupils’ attendance.  Some teachers do not use assessment well enough to check pupils’ learning. Where this happens, misconceptions or opportunities to move pupils on to more challenging work are missed. The school should ensure that all teachers use assessment effectively to identify and close gaps in pupils’ understanding or move them on to a new task, so they are well placed to meet the challenges of the curriculum.

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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. 16 and 17 April 2024

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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). 16 and 17 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 December 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a nursery.  The school does not use any alternative providers.

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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.  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. 16 and 17 April 2024

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 As a part of this inspection, inspectors met with a representative of the local governing body, the school improvement advisor, senior leaders, subject leaders, teaching staff and other employees in the school. An inspector also called the local authority by telephone.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, physical education and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also looked at examples of pupils’ work relating to writing and met with leaders to consider the curriculum design for writing.  Inspectors reviewed the school’s extra-curricular activities, enrichment programme and PSHE programme with staff and pupils.  Inspectors reviewed the school’s behaviour and attendance records with school

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leaders.  Inspectors met with members of staff and spoke to pupils, both formally and informally, at various points in the inspection. They took account of responses to a staff survey, Ofsted Parent View and the free-text responses. They spoke to a number of parents on the playground.

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Inspection team

Andrew Madden, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Elaine Williams Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 April 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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