Mulberry Academy Hastings

The Hastings Academy is a school that is currently performing at the expected standard in most areas, with safeguarding standards met. Leaders have created a calm, inclusive and caring culture, and pupils benefit from strong relationships with staff. Behaviour is good, attendance is rising, persistent absence is declining, and the school’s work to improve attendance for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is a particular strength. The curriculum is ambitious and generally taught well, and inclusion, personal development, pastoral support and governance are all secure. The main area of concern is achievement. Historically, pupils’ examination outcomes and progress have been below national averages, and disadvantaged pupils’ performance gaps remain substantial, although leaders are taking decisive action and gaps are beginning to narrow. Inspectors also identified some inconsistency in how well teachers use ongoing assessment to adapt the curriculum, and some pupils’ handwriting and presentation remain uneven. The school is part of the University of Brighton Academies Trust and has a specially resourced SEND provision for speech, language and communication. It serves a pupil population with high levels of free school meals eligibility and SEN support. Overall, leaders have a strong moral purpose and a sharp understanding of the school’s priorities. The school has improved its culture and ethos since the last inspection, and current pupils are building knowledge more securely than in the past. The next steps focus on embedding strategies to improve learning and achievement and ensuring assessment is used consistently well to meet pupils’ specific needs.

Strengths

• Safeguarding is effective, with an open culture and concerns acted on promptly.
• Attendance systems are clear and effective, with rising attendance and declining persistent absence.
• Support for the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND is a particular strength.
• Pupils behave well, lessons are calm and purposeful, and suspension rates are reducing.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful.
• Leaders have built an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum supported by effective professional development.
• Inclusion is strong, with pupils’ needs identified promptly and support well matched.
• Pastoral support and the ‘hub’ provision help pupils feel safe, secure and valued.
• Personal development is well considered, including PSHE, careers guidance and extra-curricular opportunities.
• Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge and meet their statutory duties.
• Leaders have a strong moral purpose and high ambition for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Historically, pupils’ examination outcomes and progress have been below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment and progress remain substantially below national comparators, although gaps are beginning to narrow.
• Some pupils’ handwriting and presentation remain inconsistent.
• Teachers’ ongoing assessment checks are not used consistently well to adapt the curriculum.
• Adaptations for pupils with specific barriers to learning are not always precise enough.
• Strategies to improve learning and achievement are not yet fully embedded across the curriculum.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Mulberry Academy Hastings attended 89.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 20.4% of pupils at Mulberry Academy Hastings were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Mulberry Academy Hastings had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 26.1% of pupils at Mulberry Academy Hastings were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 6 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Mulberry Academy Hastings received £9,299 and spent £9,690 for each of its 813 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £19,000 (£23 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Mulberry Schools Trust, income was £9,786 and spending £9,651 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Hastings · East Sussex local authority: places and applications

Mulberry Academy Hastings is part of Mulberry Schools Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Mulberry Baird Primary Hastings
• Mulberry Silverdale Primary St Leonards-On-Sea
• Mulberry West St Leonards Primary St Leonards-On-Sea
• Mulberry Academy St Leonards St Leonards-On-Sea
• Bexhill High Academy Bexhill-On-Sea
• Mulberry Wood Wharf Primary School London
• Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College London
• Mulberry Academy London Dock London
• Mulberry School for Girls London
• Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy London

What is Mulberry Academy Hastings's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mulberry Academy Hastings is Needs attention, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Mulberry Academy Hastings last inspected by Ofsted?

Mulberry Academy Hastings was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Mulberry Academy Hastings have?

Mulberry Academy Hastings has 833 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mulberry Academy Hastings cover?

Mulberry Academy Hastings for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Mulberry Academy Hastings's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.5, and 27% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Mulberry Academy Hastings?

Mulberry Academy Hastings is at Rye Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN35 5DN.