Mill Ford School
Rochford Crescent, Ernesettle, Plymouth, PL5 2PY
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Wills
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Plymouth Moor View
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 108
- Pupils on roll
- 149
- URN
- 113651
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752300270
About this school
Mill Ford School is a community special school in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 149 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Mill Ford School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 9 | 16 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -5.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -4.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 3 | 5 | 19 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Mill Ford School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 54.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 58.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 125 |
| 2023/24 | 121 |
| 2024/25 | 132 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
- 26 June 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report5 May 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 55.46%
- English as an additional language
- 12.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.68%
- Persistent absence
- 29.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brook Green Centre for Learning0.6 miles
Special schools · Plymouth
-
Mount Tamar School0.8 miles
Academies · Plymouth
-
Woodlands School1.4 miles
Special schools · Plymouth
-
Oneschool Global Uk Plymouth Campus1.6 miles
Independent schools · Plymouth
-
Courtlands School2.2 miles
Academies · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
- ACE Schools Plymouth Academies
- Brook Green Centre for Learning Special schools
- Cann Bridge School Special schools
- Chapel Bridge School Special schools
- Courtlands School Academies
- Longcause Community Special School Special schools
- Mount Tamar School Academies
- Woodlands School Special schools
- Ham Drive Nursery School and Day Care Nursery
- Plym Bridge Nursery School and Day Care Nursery
- Austin Farm Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Mill Ford School teach?
- Mill Ford School teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Mill Ford School?
- The headteacher of Mill Ford School is Mrs Claire Wills, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Mill Ford School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Mill Ford School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Mill Ford School?
- Mill Ford School has 149 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is Mill Ford School full?
- Mill Ford School has capacity for 108 pupils and 149 on roll (138%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Mill Ford School a faith school?
- No. Mill Ford School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Mill Ford School have?
- The schools register lists Mill Ford School's special educational needs provision as: SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Mill Ford School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Mill Ford School's absence rate?
- Mill Ford School's overall absence rate is 9.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Mill Ford School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Mill Ford School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.