The Mosslands School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 February 2024

Pupils feel safe and happy at The Mosslands School. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils benefit from strong pastoral support. They appreciate that staff care for them well. Students in the sixth form are positive role models for younger pupils, for example, by acting as reading buddies. The school is ambitious for all pupils. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Recent changes to the curriculum are helping current pupils to build on their learning more securely. Nonetheless, in some subjects, it is too soon to see the impact of improvements to the curriculum on pupils' achievement. The school has raised its expectations of pupils' behaviour. Most pupils behave well in lessons and around the school site. However, a small number of pupils receive suspensions due to lapses in their behaviour. Consequently, these pupils miss important learning. Added to this, some other pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. These pupils develop gaps in their learning. The school provides a broad range of activities and events for pupils beyond the academic curriculum. For example, many pupils participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award or in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) competitions. Pupils also benefit from a range of sports clubs, school trips and international visits.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, some teachers do not deliver the curriculum in line with the school's intentions. As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that teachers are suitably equipped to deliver the curriculum consistently well.
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly, despite the school's efforts to improve attendance rates. As a result, these pupils have gaps in their learning. The school should ensure that it analyses attendance data for specific groups of pupils more effectively. This will enable the school to identify the most effective strategies to improve pupils' rates of attendance.
• A small number of students in the sixth form are not clear as to what they could do next following the completion of their studies. The school should ensure that the careers information that students receive enables them to understand the progression routes open to them based on their choice of subjects. This will support students to be more ambitious for their future destinations.
• The school's monitoring arrangements do not clearly identify the impact of new initiatives on how well pupils, including pupils with SEND, achieve. This includes the monitoring of newly introduced attendance strategies and updated approaches to reading. As a result, the school does not know if some of its actions have been successful. The school should ensure that it evaluates its strategies carefully so that it can identify the precise next steps needed to improve further.

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