Milton School

Milton School is performing well overall. Inspectors found pupils achieve well, including those with complex SEND, and that leaders have built carefully sequenced curriculum pathways that help pupils steadily develop language, reading, writing, mathematics and broader knowledge. Teaching is consistently adapted to pupils’ specific needs, progress is checked closely, and pupils take pride in their work and know how to improve. Attendance has improved rapidly over recent years, persistent absence has declined, and behaviour is calm and respectful, with bullying and serious misbehaviour rare and handled quickly. The school’s inclusive approach is a clear strength. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and all have an EHC plan, so leaders’ work to identify needs quickly, adapt provision, use therapies and targeted funding, and prepare pupils for adulthood is central. Personal development, careers guidance and extracurricular activities are well planned, and safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. Leadership has been stable and effective since the school joined the Venn Academy Trust, with strong support and challenge from the interim executive board and a sustained programme of staff training. The main area for further work, identified in the report’s next steps, is refining the curriculum and classroom practices to meet pupils’ increasingly complex needs. This is a focused improvement point rather than a sign of wider weakness: inspectors found no graded area requiring attention and judged the school to be strong across the board.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well and make steady, consistent progress regardless of their starting points.
• The curriculum is carefully reviewed and offers a wide range of qualifications closely matched to pupils’ needs.
• Pupils are well prepared for adulthood and ambitious next steps through key stages 3 and 4.
• Attendance has improved rapidly, with persistent absence steadily declining over time.
• Behaviour expectations are high and the school is calm, friendly and respectful.
• Bullying, discrimination and serious misbehaviour are very rare and dealt with quickly.
• Curriculum pathways are carefully sequenced to build essential skills in language, reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teaching is highly effective, tailored to SEND, and teachers regularly check progress and address misconceptions.
• Inclusion is strong: pupils’ needs are identified quickly and support is adapted effectively.
• Leaders use external therapists and targeted funding well to support pupils’ diverse and complex needs.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with sustained improvement and strong support and challenge from the interim executive board.
• Personal development, careers guidance and extracurricular activities are well planned and help pupils build independence and resilience.
• Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and pupils feel safe and supported.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum and classroom practices need further refinement to meet pupils’ increasingly complex needs.

In 2024–25 pupils at Milton School attended 88.2% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 32.5% 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, 6.0% of pupils at Milton 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 Milton School had 13.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 54.8% 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 Milton School had 179 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: specific learning difficulty; moderate learning difficulty; speech, language and communication needs; hearing impairment; vision impairment; autistic spectrum disorder.

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 2024–25 Milton School received £21,313 and spent £17,841 for each of its 167 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £348,000 (£2,084 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Venn Academy Trust, income was £11,101 and spending £11,467 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Mexborough · Rotherham local authority: places and applications

Milton School is part of Venn Academy Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• New Pastures Primary School Mexborough
• Newman School Rotherham
• Adwick Primary School Doncaster
• Brooke Primary Academy Doncaster
• Marshland Primary Academy Doncaster
• Bridgeview Special School Kingston-Upon-Hull
• Thorpepark Academy Hull
• Griffin Primary School Hull
• Mountbatten Primary School Hull
• Brompton Hall School Scarborough

What is Milton School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Milton School is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Milton School last inspected by Ofsted?

Milton School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Milton School have?

Milton School has 179 pupils on roll.

What age range does Milton School cover?

Milton School for pupils aged 4 to 16.

What are Milton School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 0% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Milton School?

Milton School is at Storey Street, Swinton, Mexborough, S64 8QG.