Milborne St Andrew First School

Overview

Milborne St Andrew First School is confirmed as a good school, offering a "warm and friendly environment" where pupils feel happy and safe. Leaders have successfully managed recent changes in leadership and trust affiliation, maintaining high staff morale and a "broad and balanced curriculum" that supports pupil development.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate strong behaviour, are "inquisitive and articulate," and enjoy using the "extensive outdoor space."
• Reading is central to the school’s work, with a consistent phonics scheme ensuring pupils "learn to read fluently" and develop a love for books.
• The school is inclusive, with staff identifying pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) early and ensuring their needs are "well met."
• Leaders have established clear values, such as "Respect for Self, Respect for Others, Respect for our World," which pupils and staff actively live.
• Governors and trustees "know the school well" and provide appropriate support and challenge to leaders.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure teachers’ expectations are high enough so that tasks "deepen pupils’ knowledge" effectively, as some activities currently do not challenge pupils sufficiently.
• Leaders need to ensure staff enact the curriculum in line with plans so that pupils "build upon their knowledge sequentially," as some teachers do not follow the agreed content structure.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a "strong safeguarding culture" where staff are trained to identify signs of harm and concerns are recorded and acted upon promptly.