The Mosslands School

Inspection of The Mosslands School Mosslands Drive, Wallasey, Merseyside CH45 8PJ

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Sixth-form provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 28 and 29 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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better?

In most subjects, the school has identified what pupils, including students in the sixth form, should know and remember. The school has carefully identified the order in which this content should be taught. Although the school has accurately identified and remedied weaknesses in the previous curriculum design, in some subjects, it is too early to see the impact of this work on pupils’ attainment.

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better?

Teachers have strong subject knowledge in most subjects. They explain concepts to pupils well, including in sixth-form lessons. Teachers use thoughtfully designed activities to help pupils to deepen their knowledge. However, from time to time, teachers do not deliver the curriculum as effectively as they should. This hinders how well some pupils learn.

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better?

The school is in the process of strengthening the assessment strategies that teachers use to check what pupils have learned. For example, teachers have received training to support how they check what pupils know and remember across a series of lessons. This is improving how quickly teachers identify and address pupils’ gaps in learning.

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better?

The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), accurately. Teachers receive the information that they need to ensure that they can meet the needs of these pupils in their lessons. However, beyond lessons, 28 and 29 February 2024

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there is other information that could help the school to understand if they are fully meeting the needs of SEND pupils. For example, details of attendance, behaviour incidents and involvement in extra-curricular activities are not collated to identify whether the wider needs of pupils with SEND are being addressed.

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The school has prioritised reading, including providing appropriate support for those pupils who find reading more difficult. The school is increasing the range of texts that pupils read, for example, through the form time reading programme. Staff are beginning to explore the impact that the reading programme is having on pupils’ learning, however, the school has not fully evaluated the effectiveness of each of the strategies.

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The school has implemented many strategies to address some pupils’ low rates of attendance, including for students in the sixth form. For some pupils, rates of attendance have improved, however, for others they have remained static or decreased. The school is not clear enough about which strategies have had the most impact on improving attendance for different pupils.

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Expectations for pupils’ behaviour are high. Staff apply the updated behaviour policy consistently well. This is enabling the school to better support those pupils who need to improve their behaviour.

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The school’s curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) has been strengthened. Pupils can recall key learning, for example, about keeping healthy or financial literacy. However, pupils’ learning in other aspects of PSHE is less secure. This is because there is variability in the delivery of PSHE lessons.

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The school is in the process of developing its provision for careers education, including growing opportunities for meaningful work experience. In the sixth form, a small number of students do not receive the information that they need to make informed decisions about their qualification choices and subsequent career paths. As a result, some students are not aware of the full range of next steps that are available to them.

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Governors are equipped with the expertise that they need to provide effective challenge to, and support for, the school. They understand the priorities for ongoing improvement and the actions that the school has taken to address these. Governors have recently overhauled their monitoring processes to support a greater analysis of the impact that the actions have had, although this is in the early stages.

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Staff feel well supported by the school. They said that they are consulted when new initiatives are implemented, which ensures that they have a manageable workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 28 and 29 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 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

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

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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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at 28 and 29 February 2024

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any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 28 and 29 February 2024

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1000

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sixth form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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sixth form

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 October 2021, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school makes use of two unregistered alternative providers for a small number of pupils.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 28 and 29 February 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, science, history, modern foreign languages and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other senior leaders, subject leaders and members of staff. The lead inspector met with members of the governing body and spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils from Years 7 to 13 about their experiences of school and their views on behaviour and bullying. Inspectors also observed

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pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for pupils and staff.

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Inspection team

Eleanor Overland, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gil Bourgade Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 February 2024

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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