Cherry Tree Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 July 2022

Pupils thrive at Cherry Tree Primary School. The school's beliefs and promises, 'We are kind, we aim high, we are brave', accurately describe pupils' attitudes to learning. Pupils are proud of their school environment. They appreciate everyone working together. Pupils are positive and kind to each other. Leaders and staff expect pupils to work hard. Pupils are curious and are keen to have new opportunities to learn and explore. Leaders ensure that pupils receive the support they need to be ready for learning. Many pupils take time to talk to the school dog, Bonnie. She helps them feel calm if they are anxious or upset. Pupils behave sensibly in lessons and at playtime. They are well-mannered and polite to one another. Pupils use their 'network hands' to identify adults who will listen to them if they have any worries. Pupils say that if bullying happens, their teachers make sure that it stops quickly. Pupils have a strong understanding of environmental issues. They learn about important issues through their outdoor learning programme and responding to 'big questions'. Pupils take part in different activities locally, which helps build their sense of belonging to a community.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have developed a broad and ambitious curriculum. Some aspects of the curriculum have been more recently designed and developed. Leaders have not carried out a full evaluation of the curriculum to check how well their intentions are working in practice. They do not know if the curriculum is meeting the needs of all pupils. Leaders should evaluate the curriculum's impact so that all pupils can make the strongest progress in their learning.
• Where the teaching of the curriculum is at an early stage, not all staff have sufficient subject knowledge to implement leaders' subject plans as effectively as possible. This means that in these areas, pupils are not learning as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that all adults receive the training they need to teach the curriculum effectively.
• Leaders have recently implemented new approaches to improve pupils' attendance. Some pupils are still not attending school frequently. Leaders should continue to establish their plans so that persistent absence is reduced and that all pupils benefit from leaders' well-planned curriculum.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)