The Mile House Therapeutic School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 July 2025

The school knows its pupils well. All pupils have complex social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. Many arrive having missed significant time in education. School staff take the time to understand what interests and matters to pupils. They use this information to provide activities that help pupils to feel part of and engage in the school community. Most of the time, pupils are calm and have positive, trusting relationships with the staff around them. During break and lunchtimes, a family atmosphere is evident, with pupils and staff eating and playing games together. Pupils develop the capacity to manage their emotions through the school's extensive offer of therapies and support for their SEMH needs. Staff are skilful and sensitive in managing pupils on occasions when pupils find this difficult. This is underpinned by detailed information about each pupil, which is used well to meet pupils' needs and keep them safe. The school has high expectations for pupils, which are reflected in the positive conduct and engagement seen through the school. However, expectations around pupils' learning are limited by the current, underdeveloped curriculum. Pupils do not consistently access an ambitious curriculum offer. At times, learning activities do not effectively support pupils to build knowledge over time.

What the school should improve

• In some subject areas, the curriculum remains underdeveloped and does not consistently outline the sequence of ambitious knowledge that pupils are expected to learn. Staff are sometimes unclear about what to teach and when, and some lack the subject-specific expertise needed to deliver effective learning activities. As a result, pupils do not acquire the depth of knowledge required to build on prior learning. The school should prioritise the design and sequencing of these subject areas and ensure that staff are equipped with the training and subject knowledge needed to implement the curriculum consistently and effectively.
• The school has not ensured that all staff have the knowledge and expertise needed to fulfil their roles. This leads to variability in the implementation of the curriculum and the development of staff. The school should continue to build leadership capacity so that the ambition and vision leaders have for the school are fully realised and evident in common practice through the whole school.
• The school's work on attendance has not yet had the intended impact for the most vulnerable pupils. This means that these pupils do not fully benefit from all that school has to offer. The school should now carefully consider what additional strategies and support that the most vulnerable families need to further improve attendance.
• The school's assessment approach does not consistently reflect the knowledge that pupils are learning. As a result, teachers are not always equipped with accurate information about what pupils understand and where gaps remain. Consequently, they are unable to help pupils to build knowledge over time. The school should ensure that teachers know how to precisely identify pupils' knowledge gaps so they can provide accurate support to close them.

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