Millhouse Primary School

Millhouse Primary School is a community primary school and part of the Vision Primary Federation. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors judged the school good in all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are proud of their school, behave calmly, benefit from strong pastoral support and a wide range of clubs and leadership roles, and safeguarding is effective. The curriculum is well sequenced and reading is central, with strong early reading support and a clear focus on vocabulary. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and included well, and governors have an accurate understanding of the school. Staff value the support they receive for workload and well-being. However, in 2024 pupils' outcomes at the end of Year 6 were below national standards, meaning some pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of their education. Inspectors also found that learning activities and teaching methods are not consistently adapted to meet all pupils' needs, including some pupils with SEND, and that teachers' checks on what pupils know and remember are weaker in some subjects. Persistent absence remains too high despite the school implementing a range of appropriate strategies.

Strengths

• Reading is at the heart of the curriculum and pupils develop a love of reading.
• Early reading is taught well, with effective staff training and targeted support.
• The curriculum is well sequenced and builds logically from early years to Year 6.
• There is a strong emphasis on teaching vocabulary across the school.
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and receive the help they need.
• Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behaviour in classrooms is calm.
• Pupils benefit from strong pastoral support and learn to manage their emotions well.
• The personal, social, health and economic curriculum is well considered.
• Governors have an accurate understanding of the school and check actions effectively.
• Staff value the support they receive to manage workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' outcomes at the end of Year 6 in 2024 were below national standards.
• Learning activities and teaching methods are sometimes not adapted effectively enough for some pupils, including some pupils with SEND.
• Teachers' checks of what pupils know and remember are not consistently effective in some subjects.
• Persistent absence remains too high despite the school's strategies.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Millhouse Primary School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.6% of pupils at Millhouse Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Millhouse Primary School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.7% of pupils at Millhouse Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Millhouse Primary School received £7,538 and spent £7,604 for each of its 602 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £995,000 (£1,654 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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All schools in Basildon · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Millhouse Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Millhouse Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Millhouse Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Millhouse Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Millhouse Primary School have?

Millhouse Primary School has 611 pupils on roll.

What age range does Millhouse Primary School cover?

Millhouse Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Millhouse Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Millhouse Primary School?

Millhouse Primary School is at Tavistock Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex, SS15 5QF.