New Mills School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 March 2025

Pupils are happy and feel safe at New Mills School. They are well supported by staff and value the positive relationships they have with trusted adults. Pupils know that staff take their concerns seriously and respond promptly to any issues that arise. Pastoral staff are highly visible, and pupils describe them as caring and approachable. The school's values of 'think big,' 'do the right thing,' and 'team spirit' are reflected in the way pupils conduct themselves. Staff promote these values well, and pupils understand what they mean in practice. Pupils are respectful towards each other and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. The school has high expectations of all pupils. These expectations are reflected in the ambitious curriculum. Pupils achieve well across the curriculum, particularly in practical subjects such as media studies, engineering and art, where their work is consistently of a high standard. The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly and provides appropriate support to help them succeed. Most parents hold positive views about the school. This reflects the school's improving reputation. The school has a positive environment where pupils feel valued and achieve well.

What the school should improve

• There is some variability in how well the school checks that pupils are learning the intended curriculum. This means that pupils do not always learn as well as they could. Sometimes pupils are unable to access what comes next, or do not benefit from opportunities to consolidate their learning. The school must ensure that teaching consistently checks pupils' understanding and is then adapted to support all pupils to achieve well.
• In a few subjects, the school's expectations of the quality of pupils' written work are not as consistently high as they are in other areas. As a result, some pupils do not present their written work as clearly or accurately as they could. The school should ensure that teachers encourage pupils to take pride in producing high quality written work.
• A few elements of the personal development provision are not as high quality as others. For example, while pupils demonstrate respect and understand the equalities act, some pupils struggle to explain the similarities between people of different faiths. The school should ensure that all aspects of the personal development offer are equal high quality.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)