School Improvement

Key Information Documents

Governors and Senior Leaders at Mill Water School recognise the link between self-evaluation and school improvement planning; we know that accurate judgements about the school’s performance lead to more effective future planning. Robust school self-evaluation therefore underpins our school improvement planning cycle which involves on-going review, updated planning, implementation and evaluation throughout the school year.

We identify the strengths and areas for improvement or development that we need to include in our three-year School Development Plan; from this information we are able to identify what we need to focus on in the shorter term – our key objectives. The list is not exhaustive, but it helps us prioritise those areas that we need to address if the school is to continue to improve.

The School Development Plan is implemented, monitored and evaluated on a regular basis to assess its impact on improving outcomes and performance. Findings are regularly shared with governors and staff and the Development Plan is modified in response to the evaluation findings.

School Self Evaluation

School self-evaluation is a collaborative, reflective process of internal school review. It provides teachers with a means of systematically looking at how they teach and how pupils learn and helps schools and teachers to improve outcomes for learners.

At Mill Water we use a cycle of School Self Evaluation/monitoring for continuous reflection and improvement:

Learning Walks (Extended Leadership, Governors and SLT)
Learning Conversations (Teachers and SLT)
Peer to peer observations (Teachers and Pathway Leads)
Planning Scrutiny (Extended Leaders and Middle Leaders)
Pupil Progress meetings (Teachers and Assistant Head)
Moderation EYFS and Core lead
External scrutiny - LA / NLEs / SENtient peer triads / independent SIP

Our Strategic Objectives

Quality of Education
Provide every pupil with an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum based on the National Curriculum or better to prepare all pupils for their best future

Behaviour and Attitudes
Move to a fully embedded relational attachment and 'Trauma Aware' approach across the school

Personal Development
Continue to enhance parental engagement to ensure an integrated approach to pupil outcomes and well-being

Leadership and Management
Develop more purposeful training and expertise through the Exmouth Area Learning Community / SENtient Trust / SWALSS and SLE networks, to ensure a wider impact on pupils with SEND

Personal Development

Mill Water is committed to developing the whole child. This strategy statement defines how the school supports the broader development of our pupils.

What is Personal Development?
For pupils at Mill Water School, the opportunity to learn all the skills they are going to need if they are to become confident, independent people in the world beyond the school, is as important as the opportunity to learn the subjects of the National Curriculum. After all, what is the point of gaining qualifications in school if you can’t use a bus to get yourself to work? How are you going to live an independent life if you can’t cook yourself a meal? We strive to understand what independence means for all pupils of all abilities – e.g. prompting autonomy for pupils on our Nurture and Engagement Pathway.

We aim to ensure that our pupils understand that making progress in these essential life skills is one of the most important things they will do while they are with us. Regular opportunities exist for pupils to develop these skills through our broad curriculum, which includes opportunities for outdoor education, a wide range of educational visits, travel training, work experience and other enrichment activities.

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