Miltoncross Academy

Inspection of Miltoncross Academy Milton Road, Milton, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO3 6RB

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement

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The headteacher of this school is Nick Giles. This school is part of The Kemnal Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Karen Roberts, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Gaenor Bagley. 13 and 14 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a welcoming environment. Most pupils are happy there and feel safe. The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. It has improved behaviour by being clearer with pupils about how they should conduct themselves. Although more pupils are now behaving well and focusing on learning, some learning is still disrupted by a few pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school also has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. It enables many to study important subjects like modern foreign languages at GCSE. Improvements in the quality of education mean pupils learn more than in the past, across a wider range of subjects. Support for older pupils as they prepare for examinations has got better and pupils appreciate this. Nevertheless, improvements in the quality of education are not consistent. This means pupils do not always learn as much as they need to in order to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well supported in learning to get on together and to be respectful of each other. They trust staff if they need help. The school does a good job in widening pupils’ experiences through clubs and activities. Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to take on leadership roles such as being ‘ambassadors’ and representing the school.

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

The school did not make enough progress in the year following the last inspection. Work on the areas needing improvement was not carried out effectively enough to make sufficient impact. The school subsequently took action in response. Improvement accelerated but time had been lost. Pupils’ achievement in last summer’s examinations was higher than the previous year, but below the school’s high expectations. Current pupils are achieving more but are still not learning subject content consistently well.

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

The school provides an ambitious curriculum for pupils. More pupils than in most schools study the GCSE subjects which make up the English Baccalaureate. The school ensures that pupils learn curriculum content in a logical sequence. Work on improving teachers’ delivery of their subjects has seen some improvements. Teachers now have higher expectations of what pupils should achieve. They normally explain new learning well and ensure it links to past learning. However, they do not always check that pupils have understood the new learning or address any misunderstandings. This leaves some pupils with gaps in knowledge. The school accurately identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Support for those with significant levels of need, such as pupils with education, health and care plans, is effective. However, activities are not always adapted well enough for other pupils with SEND, notably checking that they have

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

understood new learning as they encounter it.

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

Reading is a high priority for the school. Staff identify pupils needing help to read well and provide them with effective support, so they catch up. The school works effectively to develop a love of reading among pupils, such as through regular reading in tutor times. 13 and 14 May 2025

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Behaviour remains variable and not all pupils behave well. The school has simplified how teachers manage it. This has brought some improvements, but there are still occasions where off-task behaviour disrupts learning. The school has not yet ensured that all staff are effective enough at managing this. The school is working hard to support pupils who find it particularly hard to behave well. This is leading to a reduction in serious incidents of poor behaviour that lead to suspensions, but there remains more to do.

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Pupils’ attendance is improving but continues to be well below the national average. The school is working closely with families where there are significant issues, leading to more regular attendance for individuals. However, the school is not yet analysing information about patterns in pupils’ attendance well enough in order to spot where it should target its strategies to make greatest impact.

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The school has worked effectively to improve how pupils’ wider development is supported in personal, social, health and economic education lessons, assemblies and tutor times. It is now good. Pupils learn to stay healthy, be respectful and develop positive relationships. The school has improved careers guidance, so pupils now make informed decisions about next steps.

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Leaders are determined that pupils’ achievement, behaviour and attendance improve. They recognise what needs to be done and are focusing their improvement work well. Staff are very positive about the support they now get. The trust and those with governance responsibilities target their support and challenge well. Leaders’ communication with parents has improved considerably, as have parents’ views of the school. The great majority who expressed their views said it does a good job. However, a significant minority of those whose children have SEND say better support is needed.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, the checks on pupils’ understanding in lessons do not accurately identify where there are gaps and misconceptions in pupils’ learning, notably for those pupils with SEND. This means teaching does not adapt to address these gaps and misconceptions, and pupils’ learning does not build securely. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to accurately identify misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge and adapt their approaches to address these.  On occasion, the school’s expected approaches to managing pupils’ behaviour are not applied so that some poor behaviour goes unchallenged. This hinders these pupils’ achievement and that of others. Support for staff should ensure they are more able to manage behaviour consistently. 13 and 14 May 2025

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 The school’s analysis of information about pupils’ attendance is not precise enough to identify early where the greatest areas of need are. This means action to tackle pupils’ absence it is not as well targeted as it could be. The school should ensure that it accurately monitors its data to identify patterns in attendance and use the outcome to target its improvement work.

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 13 and 14 May 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 24 and 25 January 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Miltoncross Academy is part of The Kemnal Academies Trust.  The school currently makes use of one registered provider of alternative provision.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management).

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about a school’s education provision. 13 and 14 May 2025

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 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior staff, representatives of the academy trust and members of the local governing committee, including the chair. Discussions were held with groups of staff.  Inspectors took account of responses to the Ofsted Parent View Survey and of surveys of staff and pupil opinions.  To evaluate the quality of education, inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, English, science and modern foreign languages. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors met groups of pupils and observed breaktimes.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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central record of checks on adults; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has established an open and positive culture that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Stephen Long, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Amy Newman Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 May 2025

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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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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