According to York Press, Millthorpe School has been advised to increase and improve support for high-needs pupils in order to do better overall

Millthorpe School has been told by Ofsted that it must improve support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils.

Inspectors sent a letter to the head teacher, Trevor Burton, saying that improving the progress of pupils with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds would, in turn, improve attendance and exclusion rates.

Millthorpe has been rated ‘good’ in its first inspection since it became an academy in April 2016, but Ofsted said that the progress of high-needs pupils has fallen behind the national average.

Ofsted’s Barry Found wrote: “The focus on these pupils is now a priority and signs of improvement are evident… However more improvement is required across all year groups and all subjects, to ensure that those disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, who are not meeting expectations, are both challenged and effectively supported, so that they make better progress.”

The feedback from Ofsted was, on the whole, extremely positive. The report states: ‘Without exception, pupils were found to have positive attitudes to their learning in lessons,” the letter states.’

Millthorpe’s chairman of governors, Bill Schofield, said: “We are glad that inspectors recognised the significant improvement in our 2018 results and the impact our focus on learning conduct has had. We are proud that inspectors noticed that not once was there disruption in lessons during their visit and that pupils’ attitude to learning was so positive.”

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