Mill Green School

Mill Green School is a special school for pupils aged 14 to 19, all of whom have education, health and care plans, including pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, autism and additional complex needs. Inspectors found a warm, compassionate and safe school where pupils are happy, well cared for and behave exceptionally well. Staff have a strong understanding of pupils’ complex needs, and the school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve. The school performs well overall. Its personal development offer is exceptionally strong, with a broad range of experiences, vocational opportunities, careers support and preparation for adulthood, including in the sixth form. Leadership is effective, staff feel well supported, governors know the school accurately, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The curriculum is suitably ambitious and well delivered in most subjects, with clear pathways and strong transition planning. There are two main areas for improvement. The new phonics programme is still in its early stages, is not delivered consistently well, and reading books are sometimes not matched closely enough to pupils’ phonics knowledge, which slows progress for some pupils who find reading difficult. In some subjects, leaders are not yet clear enough about the essential knowledge pupils should learn and when it should be taught, so pupils are not always supported to build their knowledge securely over time.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for in a warm and compassionate environment.
• Pupils behave exceptionally well and show highly positive attitudes to learning.
• Staff have a thorough understanding of pupils’ unique and complex needs.
• The school has high expectations for all pupils and pupils are proud of their achievements.
• The curriculum is suitably ambitious and offers academic and vocational pathways.
• Transition planning and work with families and agencies prepare pupils well for next steps.
• Reading is prioritised and a new phonics programme has been introduced.
• Attendance is prioritised, with effective support for pupils who find regular attendance difficult.
• Personal development is exceptionally strong, with rich experiences that build independence.
• Pupils benefit from outdoor learning, vocational opportunities, careers advice and preparation for adulthood.
• Sixth-form students play an active and influential role in the school community.
• Staff value the support they receive for well-being, workload and professional development.
• Governors know the school well and understand its strengths and improvement priorities.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The phonics programme is in the early stages of implementation and is not delivered consistently well.
• Some pupils read books that are not suitably matched to their phonics knowledge, slowing reading fluency.
• In some subjects, the essential knowledge pupils should learn and when it should be taught is not clear enough.
• In these subjects, pupils are not always supported to build and deepen their knowledge securely over time.

In 2024–25 pupils at Mill Green School attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 25.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

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, 7.9% of pupils at Mill Green School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). One pupil was 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 Mill Green School had 6.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

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 Mill Green School had 168 pupils, 99.4% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: specific learning difficulty; moderate learning difficulty; severe learning difficulty; profound and multiple learning difficulty; speech, language and communication needs; hearing impairment; vision impairment; multi-sensory impairment; physical disability; autistic spectrum disorder; other difficulty or disability.

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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Mill Green School received £28,340 and spent £28,211 for each of its 168 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £554,000 (£3,300 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

What is Mill Green School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mill Green School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Mill Green School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mill Green School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Mill Green School have?

Mill Green School has 168 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mill Green School cover?

Mill Green School for pupils aged 14 to 19.

Where is Mill Green School?

Mill Green School is at Lansbury Avenue, Parr, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 1BU.