Millfields Church of England (Controlled) Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy belonging to the Millfields' family.

They said that this helps them to feel cared for and happy. Pupils live by the school's values. They champion each other to make sure that everyone is welcome in their school.

Pupils said that they enjoy their lessons. Typically, they behave well in class. Pupils told inspectors that the changes to the school's approach to their behaviour mean that they feel safe and well supported.

They said that they particularly benefit from the 'reset' part of the behaviour approach.

The school has raised its expectations of what pupils can achieve. Children in the early years are well prepared for Year 1.
.../>Older pupils are beginning to benefit from the school's well-designed curriculum. However, some teachers do not deliver the curriculum well enough to ensure that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve as well as they should.

Pupils relish the variety of opportunities that are on offer to them.

They are enthusiastic about the charitable work in which they participate, as it helps them to learn how to be responsible citizens. Pupils are proud of their leadership roles, especially those with the role of well-being ambassador. In this role, pupils check and support other pupils' mental health and happiness.

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

The school has successfully prioritised the teaching of reading. Children in the early years, including those in the pre-school class, enjoy listening to a range of songs and rhymes. From the Reception Year, children benefit from a carefully constructed phonics programme that is delivered by well-trained staff.

Staff ably support pupils who need extra help to learn phonics. Most pupils read fluently by the end of key stage 1.

Older pupils are immersed in a range of interesting and culturally diverse texts.

This helps them to develop a love of reading. Pupils were particularly keen to share that, through reading books, their imaginations take them to far-off places. The school's recently created library provides pupils with a relaxing space to enjoy a book.

The school has carefully organised the curriculum so that it is aspirational and ambitious. Across most subjects, it is clear what pupils should know and when they should learn subject content. Trips and visitors to school are interwoven into the curriculum to enrich pupils' learning.

However, the school has not ensured that teachers have the expertise to design lesson activities that support pupils to know and remember more over time. This means that some pupils find it difficult to build on prior learning. Added to this, some staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve.

This means that some pupils are not ready for their next stage of education.

Recently, the provision in the early years has improved considerably. The curriculum has been designed effectively.

Staff's strong expertise in early years helps them to implement this curriculum successfully. Staff know children and their families well. Parents and carers are supported to be actively involved in their children's learning.

Children make a strong start to their education.

The school has introduced a nurture hub, where pupils benefit from carefully designed support. The school has appropriate processes in place to identify any additional needs that pupils may have.

Pupils with SEND typically access the same curriculum as their peers. However, the school does not identify consistently well the small steps that these pupils need to take in their learning. This hinders how well some pupils with SEND master what they most need to know before moving on to new learning.

Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could.

In the early years, children settle into the school day quickly. They form secure relationships with adults and with their friends.

Pupils in key stage 1 build on this positive start. On the rare occasions that pupils forget to follow school rules, staff quickly and caringly remind them of the expectations. Through carefully designed learning opportunities, staff give pupils the tools that they need to express how they feel.

Attendance is a priority. Pupils understand the importance of attending school each day. The school works closely with parents to improve pupils' attendance.

Nevertheless, the absence rates for some groups of pupils remain high. These pupils miss out on learning opportunities, which hampers their chances of success.

The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

Pupils learn to become responsible young people. They value diversity and they celebrate the many differences between people. Older pupils told inspectors that they learned about being respectful and showing empathy by taking part in a recent mental health project.

Governors have had recent training to improve their understanding of their roles. However, it is too early to see the impact of this support. Governors do not evaluate the school's actions well enough.

This means that they do not challenge the school as effectively as they should.

Staff feel valued. They said that the recent changes to the school's behaviour approach mean that they can focus on teaching and learning.

This, in turn, is having a positive impact on their mental health and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In several subjects, staff lack the expertise to design learning that enables pupils to build on their prior knowledge.

This means that pupils do not remember their learning over time in these subjects. The school should ensure that its ambitious curriculum is well delivered by staff. ? Some staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can and should achieve.

This limits pupils' progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that staff raise their aspirations for what pupils can accomplish in their learning. ? The school does not identify the small steps of progress in the curriculum that pupils with SEND should make.

This means that some pupils with SEND do not secure basic foundational knowledge before moving on to new learning. Consequently, these pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that staff provide the support that is needed to help pupils with SEND to be successful.

• The school does not ensure that some groups of pupils attend school regularly enough. As a result, these pupils miss out on important learning. The school should address the barriers to attendance that some pupils have so that pupils with low attendance attend school more often.

• Governors do not evaluate the school's actions well enough. As a result, governors are not able to support the school sufficiently well to bring about improvement. Governors should use the expertise gained from recent training to provide appropriate challenge to the school.