Mount Street Academy

For families looking for an infant and nursery school in Lincoln city centre, Mount Street Academy is shaped around the realities of early childhood education, not just the National Curriculum. It serves children aged 3 to 7, with Nursery and Key Stage 1 sitting side by side, and it is part of Anthem Schools Trust.

The school describes its purpose as creating a haven in which children flourish, and that idea runs through how it talks about care, safety, and children’s wider experiences. Values are framed as five drivers, Determination, Responsibility, Empathy, Aspiration, and Make a Difference, which is an unusually concrete set of priorities for an infant setting.

Inspection evidence is recent and detailed. The November 2024 Ofsted inspection graded Quality of Education as Good, Behaviour and Attitudes as Good, Personal Development as Outstanding, Leadership and Management as Good, and Early Years Provision as Outstanding.

Mount Street Academy is positioned explicitly as an infant and nursery school, so the culture is built around routines, relationships, and language development from the earliest stages. The school places particular emphasis on language and vocabulary from the moment children join, and frames this as a matter of fairness and life chances, especially for disadvantaged pupils.

The values structure is not left as a generic list. The five drivers are presented as underpinning decisions about learning and experiences, and the school links this to what children in the local area may not automatically access outside school. For parents, that matters because it signals a setting that is trying to widen horizons deliberately, not only deliver phonics and number work.

Safeguarding is presented as a whole-school responsibility, with the headteacher named as the Designated Safeguarding Lead on the school safeguarding page. That clarity is helpful for families who want to know where accountability sits in a small-school context.

Leadership identification is straightforward. The headteacher is Mrs Rachael Horn, shown on the school contact page and also on official school records.

Because Mount Street Academy is an infant school (up to age 7), it does not sit the Key Stage 2 tests that produce the headline primary performance figures many parents expect to see. That is typical for infant settings, and it means parents should judge academic strength using curriculum quality, inspection evidence, and the early reading and number foundations children carry into Key Stage 2 elsewhere.

The most recent formal external assessment provides the clearest benchmark on outcomes and standards. The latest inspection reported a strong picture in early years and personal development, with Good judgements across curriculum quality, leadership, and behaviour.

The curriculum narrative is unusually detailed for an infant and nursery school, and it is written around intent and sequencing rather than vague reassurance. The school describes the curriculum as designed around the social and educational needs of the local area, with a stated emphasis on language learning and vocabulary from the earliest days in Nursery and Reception.

For parents, the key implication is consistency. In practice, this sort of curriculum framing usually translates into tightly structured daily routines for phonics, reading, and early mathematics, alongside planned opportunities to practise spoken language and listening. Mount Street’s emphasis on oracy is explicit, aiming to help pupils develop speaking and listening skills and become confident, articulate speakers. That is a practical priority at infant stage because it supports reading comprehension, classroom participation, and behaviour, especially for children still building confidence in formal settings.

The school also positions enrichment as an organised part of learning rather than an occasional extra. One Wednesday afternoon per half term is set aside for enrichment, and children in Years 1 and 2 are described as having the chance to experience 12 different enrichment activities across two years.

Nursery Provision

Nursery is integrated into the school rather than bolted on. Children can start in Nursery from the term after their third birthday, with admissions managed directly by the school rather than through the local authority. There are three intakes each year, with the main intake in September and additional intakes in January and March or April if places are available.

Session structure is clear. Nursery runs alongside the school day, open from 9.00am to 3.15pm, term time only, with morning sessions 9.00am to 12.00pm and afternoon sessions 12.15pm to 3.15pm. A full-day option is described as funded hours plus lunchtime supervision; families provide a packed lunch for children staying all day.

The school also notes it offers 15 and 30-hour funded places alongside paid Nursery places, which is useful for families planning childcare across the week. Nursery fee details for paid places should be checked via the school’s own information, as pricing and funding entitlements vary by age and eligibility.

A crucial practical point is stated plainly: a Nursery place does not guarantee a Reception place, and Reception applications are handled separately through the local authority route.

Mount Street Academy takes children through to age 7, so the main transition is into Key Stage 2 at a junior or primary school that offers Years 3 to 6. For parents, that makes the handover process and records transfer especially important. The most sensible approach is to treat Mount Street as the foundation stage for reading, writing, number, and learning habits, and then plan early for the Year 3 destination based on Lincolnshire admissions arrangements and local options.

For children starting in Nursery, it is also important to plan two separate application moments, first for Nursery (school-managed), then for Reception (local authority coordinated).

Reception admissions are coordinated through Lincolnshire County Council and should be treated as a separate application from Nursery. Published demand can vary year by year, so families should check the latest Lincolnshire admissions information and keep realistic back-up preferences rather than relying on a single choice.

For Reception, the application route is through Lincolnshire County Council rather than directly to the school. Families applying for the next intake should use the council's current Reception timetable for opening dates, closing dates, offer day, and any late-application rules.

For Nursery, applications can be submitted at any time, held on file until the child is old enough, then processed when the school runs its intake cycle, subject to availability.

If you are comparing several nearby infant options, FindMySchool’s Map Search is a practical way to sanity-check travel time and day-to-day logistics before you commit to a shortlist.

The school’s own narrative repeatedly links learning to safety, belonging, and care, and it frames its curriculum and enrichment as part of children’s confidence and wellbeing.

Enrichment is a good example of how wellbeing is treated as a practice rather than a slogan. The published enrichment offer links activities to wellbeing and confidence-building, and includes choices designed around calm, teamwork, and trying unfamiliar experiences.

Wraparound care also contributes to wellbeing for working families, because consistent routines across the day reduce stress for children and parents alike, and allow a smoother start and finish to the school day.

Mount Street Academy’s enrichment programme includes named, distinctive activities rather than generic claims. Examples include Crafting Crew (activities such as threading, sewing, and weaving), Nature Explorers (forest school, fire lighting, songs and stories around the fire), Dengineers (den building and design), Mini Scientists (experimenting and observing), Mini Performers (musical theatre, song and dance), and Take Flight (building and testing stomp rockets and paper aeroplanes).

For infants, the real value of this sort of programme is what it develops underneath, fine motor control, listening, turn-taking, vocabulary, and confidence to attempt something new. It also helps children find interests early, which can make the move to a larger Key Stage 2 school feel less daunting because a child already has a sense of what they enjoy and where they can succeed.

The school also runs Future Me Week in June each year for Reception to Year 2, with daily visitors talking about their jobs, activities linked to different roles, and a dress-up day where children come as their future selves. That is a concrete, age-appropriate way to connect classroom learning to the wider world.

The school day runs from 8.45am to 3.15pm, with gates closing at 9.05am.

Wraparound care is offered through Little Haven. Breakfast club runs 7.30am to 8.45am and after-school club runs 3.15pm to 6.00pm, term time only. Published session prices are £6.00 for breakfast club and £8.80 for after-school club for primary-age children.

Being in Lincoln city centre can suit families who walk or use local transport, and it can also work well for parents whose commute runs through central Lincoln, because the wraparound hours cover a full working day.

• Infant-only age range. Children will move on at age 7, so you need a Year 3 plan early, especially if you want continuity with siblings or childcare.

• Admissions timing needs planning. Reception is a separate local authority application from Nursery, so families should track Lincolnshire's current timetable and use more than one preference strategically.

• Nursery is not a backdoor to Reception. The school is explicit that Nursery admission does not guarantee a Reception place, and the Reception route is through the local authority.

• Wraparound costs add up. Breakfast and after-school provision is clearly priced, but regular use becomes a meaningful annual cost for many families, so it is worth modelling your likely weekly pattern.

Mount Street Academy reads as a school that takes early years seriously, with a clear values structure, a planned enrichment programme, and strong recent inspection evidence in personal development and early years. Best suited to families who want a city-centre infant and nursery with wraparound support, and who value structured experiences that build confidence alongside early literacy and numeracy foundations. The main hurdle is admissions pressure, and the main practical task is planning the Year 3 transition early.