Cherry Tree Primary School

Overview

Pupils “thrive” at Cherry Tree Primary School, displaying positive attitudes encapsulated by the motto “We are kind, we aim high, we are brave”. The inspection found that leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who achieve well alongside their peers. While the overall effectiveness is rated as Good, the report highlights that some curriculum areas are still in early stages of development.

Strengths

• Pupils are “curious” and “keen to have new opportunities to learn”, behaving “sensibly” and “politely” in lessons and at playtime.
• Leaders promote reading effectively, ensuring books are “suitably matched” to help pupils become “accurate and fluent readers” from the start of early years.
• Teachers check understanding well, using questions to “secure pupils’ learning” and address misunderstandings promptly.
• Pupils with SEND receive adapted teaching and “learn and achieve well” while accessing the same learning as their peers.
• Staff are “proud to work at Cherry Tree” and appreciate the support and training provided by leaders.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should “evaluate the curriculum’s impact” to ensure it meets the needs of all pupils, as some aspects have not been fully checked.
• Leaders must ensure all staff receive necessary training to develop sufficient subject knowledge, particularly in recently designed curriculum areas.
• Leaders should continue to implement plans to reduce persistent absence, as some pupils are still “not attending school frequently”.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective”, with leaders having created a “strong culture of safeguarding” and staff receiving regular training on identifying and reporting concerns.