The Mosley Academy

Inspection of The Mosley Academy Main Road, Anslow, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE13 9QD

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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The headteacher of this school is Sarah Rowe. This school is part of John Taylor Multi- Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Mike Donoghue, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Colin Hopkins.

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Until November 2020, the school was exempt from routine inspection because it was judged as outstanding for overall effectiveness at its previous inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school has not been inspected under section 5 of the Act since May 2014. Since September 2024, schools have not been awarded an overall effectiveness grade. 13 and 14 May 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The Mosley Academy is a happy place where kindness supports children to learn and grow. Pupils and staff form warm and caring relationships. This helps pupils to feel safe, happy and secure at school. Pupils know who to report concerns to should they feel worried.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a high ambition for all pupils to achieve well, and most do. They do so because a well-designed curriculum supports them to learn important knowledge and vocabulary. The Mosley Academy is a school where everybody is included. Pupils learn that being different is something to embrace. They enjoy learning about other cultures and faiths, developing mutual respect and tolerance.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils look forward to breaktimes and behave well. They enjoy socialising and forming new relationships. They play creatively and excite their imagination in the vast school grounds. Pupils understand what bullying is and know that it is not acceptable to make others feel different or isolated.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide range of activities and experiences that develop their talents and interests. Many pupils take part in clubs that they have designed and set up. Cadets, ‘tech deck’ and online quizzing are just a few of the activities that pupils enjoy taking part in.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Inspirational senior leaders are making necessary changes to the curriculum and provision at this school. They work effectively with the trust and governors, who support leaders’ ambition to make the curriculum the best that it can be. The school has developed a team that supports this vision. Subject leaders are knowledgeable. They use their knowledge to ensure improvement actions are well matched to the things that need developing. Everyone is committed to making further positive changes to the quality of education on offer.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils at the early stages of learning to read are well supported to do so. Most go on to read independently by the time they leave key stage 1. Any pupils that fall behind with their reading receive effective support to help them catch up. Pupils enjoy regular reading and like learning from books. This builds their vocabulary.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum has undergone significant changes in recent years. These changes are enabling pupils to know and remember more subject knowledge. Sequences of learning in subjects such as art and design support pupils to develop as artists. Pupils develop an appreciation of the subject and recognise how experts use their work to communicate their feelings. In mathematics, the curriculum is enabling pupils to keep up with their learning. Many pupils are able to recall their number facts rapidly to support them to calculate at speed. 13 and 14 May 2025

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The school has identified key aspects of pupils’ learning that need to be checked to ensure that they are ready to move on with their learning. However, on occasion, misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ learning are not addressed well enough. This includes in pupils’ writing, where errors in spelling, punctuation and handwriting sometimes become embedded.

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The school has strengthened its processes to ensure that pupils’ needs are identified as soon as possible. It involves outside agencies to agree the most appropriate ways to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Individual plans provide staff with helpful guidance. However, occasionally, teaching is not consistently adapted to meet some pupils’ needs. This means that some pupils are not achieving the best possible outcomes.

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The school’s ‘4Rs’ of being ‘ready, respectful, responsible and restorative’ are helping to promote positive behaviour and relationships at this school. Pupils and staff understand their responsibilities for making their school a nice place to be. Pupils enjoy their time in school. The school works effectively with parents and carers to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. The systems in place to track and monitor attendance are highly effective. The small number of pupils who are persistently absent from school are offered excellent support to improve their attendance.

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Children in the early years develop positive relationships with the adults that support them. Staff understand the individual needs of each child and recognise when they need support. Children show excitement when learning about the world around them. Some children join the school unable to communicate effectively. Their needs are assessed, and they quickly learn how to express themselves using symbols and signs.

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The school understands and prioritises pupils’ wider development. Pupils become leaders and ambassadors, promoting issues such as healthy eating and positive mental health. Pupils learn about the dangers they may face outside of school. They are educated about such risks through virtual reality experiences. This helps pupils to remember key messages.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, teaching does not consistently enable pupils with SEND to work with independence. This limits pupils’ success and their ability to complete work independently. The school should ensure that teaching consistently meets the needs of all pupils to develop their independent learning skills. 13 and 14 May 2025

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 The school has not yet ensured that teaching consistently identifies and addresses misconceptions in pupils’ written work. This affects the quality of pupils’ written work and means that they are not achieving as well as they could in their wider writing. The school should strengthen this aspect of the teaching of transcription and ensure that gaps and errors in pupils’ understanding are addressed more systematically.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 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). 13 and 14 May 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 20 and 21 May 2014

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the John Taylor Multi-academy Trust and has been since 2018.  There are 19 other schools in this trust.  Since the previous inspection in 2014, a new leadership team has been appointed.  The school runs a breakfast club.  The school currently uses two unregistered alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 13 and 14 May 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy head teacher, English leader, the SEND coordinator and other subject leaders.  The lead inspector met with representatives from the multi-academy trust, including the chair of trustees, the CEO and the director of school improvement. They also met with four members of the local governing board, including the chair.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to groups of pupils about their learning

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and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also considered evidence from other subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at social times. Inspectors spoke to pupils throughout the inspection and held meetings with groups of pupils.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text responses. They met with parents in person at the school gates.  Inspectors considered responses to the Ofsted surveys for school staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Tony Bradshaw, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Bogusia Matusiak-Varley Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 May 2025

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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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