Millstead School Nursery Review

Communication comes first in Millstead’s early years. Children learn different ways to express themselves, a practical starting point for families whose child needs support to communicate with adults and other children.

The nursery provision belongs to Millstead School, a special school admitting children from age two. Its pupils have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Millstead caters for severe learning difficulties, complex autism and profound and multiple learning difficulties, including children with complex health needs. This makes the provision relevant to families seeking specialist education from an early age.

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children in the early years developed confidence with different communication approaches and that staff taught these skilfully. The emphasis is on giving children ways to make themselves understood. Across Millstead, communication teaching includes symbols, pictures and individual communication books where appropriate. These are concrete tools for expressing needs and taking part in learning.

A hydrotherapy pool adds a distinctive physical resource to the school’s learning environment. Class swimming sessions use individual target sheets, with activities including numeracy, movement with music and communication work. Water activities therefore have learning goals alongside swimming practice. These are school facilities and programmes, rather than a fixed nursery timetable.

Sensory Swim uses warm water, quieter lighting and background music. The school describes it as preparation for the day for some children. Move Swim provides work on individual targets for children on the MOVE programme. Both illustrate how Millstead combines physical activity with support tailored to a child’s needs.

Specialist needs shape the context for care here. The school’s team structure includes a Health Care Team alongside its Teaching and Learning Team. For families managing education and health needs together, those distinct roles are a useful part of understanding the setting.

Pool provision gives a specific example of specialist support: the school describes physiotherapy specialists working in the water with children who have a tracheostomy. This is a defined arrangement for those children, rather than a promise that every nursery child receives the same intervention.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Treat the next placement decision separately and discuss it with your allocated SEN Officer through the EHCP process.

Millstead’s route is through the local authority SEN Team, which allocates places. Children being considered are discussed by the SEN Placements Panel, which may recommend Millstead. Families should tell their SEN Officer if they want a place at the school. This specialist placement process matters when planning the move beyond nursery.

Parents can visit Millstead at any stage of the EHCP process. Admissions generally happen in September, although a child can join during the year when a vacancy exists.

For enquiries, email admin@millstead.liverpool.sch.uk. The Liverpool SEN Team can be contacted at Sen.team@liverpool.gov.uk for placement advice. Transport help has its own application route through Liverpool’s home-to-school transport service; the school offers help to families who encounter difficulties with that process.