Milton Park Primary School

Inspection of Milton Park Primary School Eastney Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 8ET

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Wendy Fowler. This school is part of the University of Portsmouth Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the interim chief executive officer, Gwennan Harrison-Jones, and overseen by a board of trustees, co-chaired by Dai Thomas and Mark Cooper. 18 and 19 June 2024

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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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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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.

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better?

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.

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better?

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 18 and 19 June 2024

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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, 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. 18 and 19 June 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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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Interim CEO of the trust

Website www.miltonparkprimaryschool.co.uk

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Interim CEO of the trust

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average primary school.  This school is a part of the University of Portsmouth Academy Trust.  The school has a specially resourced provision, for pupils with social, communication and interaction difficulties. There are 16 pupils, from Year 1 to Year 6, currently attending the provision. All have complex needs and attend the provision on a full-time basis. A small number of pupils also participate in a few lessons in the mainstream classes. All pupils who attend the specially resourced provision have a statement of special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The school makes use of one registered alternative provision. 18 and 19 June 2024

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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. The 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, staff and pupils. The lead inspector also met with a representative of the local governing board and one of the co-chairs of trustees. Inspectors also met with the trust’s interim chief executive officer.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, art, physical education and science. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils. Inspectors also visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire,

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Information about this inspection

including the free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff survey and gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.  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.  Inspectors reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of local governing board meetings and records of attendance and behaviour incidents.

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Inspection team

Neil Pilsworth, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Bateman Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 June 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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