Milford Haven School, Pembrokeshire

Milford Haven School is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 959 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

23% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 8% have additional learning needs (37% in 2020/21); 2% are learning English as an additional language; and 6% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 153 pupils (Year 7) to 230 (Year 9).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £6,537 per pupil, against £4,929 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £189k.

Estyn's report on its November 2025 inspection summarises Milford Haven School like this:

"Milford Haven School is a caring and inclusive community. The House system and a range of nurture and pastoral provisions promote a sense of belonging and support for pupils. However, there are important shortcomings in a significant minority of lessons. In these cases, pupils do not make enough progress in their understanding or their literacy and numeracy skills. Although leaders have offered some worthwhile professional learning opportunities for staff on developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills, there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to develop these skills across the curriculum. Generally, teachers do not offer pupils enough opportunities to develop their speaking skills and their advanced reading skills. The majority of pupils make frequent basic errors in their work and these errors are not addressed regularly enough. The majority of pupils have basic numeracy skills but do not make enough progress in their numeracy skills over time. There are suitable opportunities for pupils to develop their digital, Welsh and wider skills across the curriculum."

"The school offers a broad and balanced curriculum, that has been developed appropriately. Transition arrangements with partner primary schools are helpful. Enrichment activities are valued by pupils, though attendance at some activities is low, especially during the asymmetric weeks’ enrichment provision on Friday afternoons. Staff respond promptly to reported incidents of bullying, and restorative approaches are used to help pupils rebuild relationships. Most pupils say they do not experience bullying and feel safe, listened to and supported. In 2024-25, whole school attendance is below that of similar schools and remains well below pre-pandemic levels. The attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals is lower than the Wales average. Safeguarding training is regular, ensuring staff and governors are informed about their responsibilities. However, there is an insufficient number of toilets accessible for pupils during the school day."

"Leaders promote positive behaviour effectively. However, generally, evaluations of teaching and learning tend to be overly positive and improvement planning lacks precision. Senior leaders do not consistently challenge middle leaders sufficiently, especially in terms of improving teaching and learning. Leadership has not had enough impact on improving teaching, learning, attendance or skills’ development. Although governors and leaders monitor spending regularly, the school has a substantial deficit. The school’s strategies to prevent poverty impacting negatively on pupils’ well-being and achievement are appropriate. The performance of pupils eligible for free school meals is broadly in line with similar schools, though their attendance remains too low."

Estyn made 6 recommendations: (1) Improve the provision for pupils’ toilets and ensure that there is a sufficient number and that they are accessible; (2) Strengthen the precision and rigour of self-evaluation, improvement processes and line management; (3) Improve teaching so that pupils are consistently challenged to make good progress; (4) Strengthen the co-ordination and delivery of provision for the progressive development of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills; (5) Improve attendance; (6) Ensure robust financial management.

Estyn follow-up status: Special Measures.

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis, athletics, gymnastics, basketball and badminton.

The nearest railway station is Milford Haven Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bunkers Hill (after), 140 metres away.