Cranberry Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 June 2026

Pupils at Cranberry Academy come to school each morning with a smile. They are happy to greet their friends and receive a warm welcome from caring staff who know them well. Pupils, including children in early years, feel safe and cared for. Across the school, pupils settle quickly into daily routines. Staff nurture qualities such as respect and responsibility. This helps pupils to enjoy learning and to make sensible choices. Pupils behave well and any incidents of bullying are rare and dealt with effectively. Pupils attend well and leaders’ ensure that when they do not, effective action is taken. Pupils benefit from a range of learning activities that engage them. Technology and outdoor learning in the woodland area spark interest and encourage curiosity, one of the school’s key values. Pupils take pride in their work and are keen to know how they can improve. Most pupils achieve well. They learn to be confident in reading, writing and mathematics. In national tests, pupils achieve close to the national average or better. Most pupils leave the school prepared for their secondary education. However, some disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Pupils benefit from taking on roles of responsibility. School councillors, playleaders, eco-warriors and house captains wear their badges with pride. They feel valued because of the contribution they make to the smooth day-to-day running of the school. Pupils enjoy a wide range of opportunities beyond the classroom. Many join clubs such as street dance, cricket, batique and choir. This includes children in the early years who enjoy extending their school day with activities such as colouring, puzzle club and the Nursery book club. Pupils are proud to represent the school in sports such as dodgeball, cross-country and hockey. These rich experiences help pupils to grow in confidence and feel proud to be part of the school community.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that pupils at the early stages of reading and writing, including some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and some pupils who are disadvantaged, receive the precise teaching and sufficient practise time that they need to become fluent and accurate readers and writers.
• In a small number of subjects, leaders should ensure that staff match teaching consistently to the needs of pupils, ensuring that checks on learning are used to correct errors so that pupils’ learning builds securely on what they already know.
• Leaders should continue to develop all areas of the early years provision to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well so that they are better prepared for Year 1.
• Those responsible for governance, including the trust, should strengthen their quality assurance in specific aspects of the school’s development work so that their oversight, support and challenge are consistently robust across all areas.

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