New Mills School

Overview

New Mills School is described as a place where pupils are happy, feel safe, and are well supported by staff who maintain positive relationships. The school has improved its reputation since the previous inspection, with leaders demonstrating accurate evaluation of strengths and areas for development to secure positive change.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate "positive attitudes to learning" and are respectful, guided by school values such as "think big" and "team spirit".
• The curriculum is "rooted in the aims of the national curriculum," with pupils achieving well, particularly in practical subjects like media studies, engineering, and art.
• Staff have "secure subject knowledge" and use resources well matched to curriculum aims, helping pupils engage deeply in lessons.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective, using tools like "pupil passports" and the "360 provision" to help them succeed.
• Governors are committed, and leaders carefully consider staff workload and well-being, fostering a culture where staff are proud to work at the school.

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure teaching "consistently checks pupils’ understanding" to address variability in how well learning is assessed, ensuring all pupils can access subsequent learning.
• Teachers should encourage pupils to take pride in producing "high quality written work," as expectations are not consistently high across all subjects.
• The school should ensure all aspects of personal development are of equal high quality, specifically helping pupils recognise common values between people of different faiths.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."