Cherry Tree Hill Primary School

Cherry Tree Hill Primary School Lime Grove, Chaddesden, Derby, DE21 6WL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.  Pupils make slower progress than in most schools. Few pupils make better progress than that expected nationally and some lag well behind.  Teaching does not develop pupils’ skills and understanding quickly enough.  Teachers do not always use their knowledge of pupils’ prior learning well enough, and activities are sometimes too easy for some pupils and too difficult for others. Some of the most able pupils do not make the progress they are capable of.  Teachers do not make clear to pupils what they should do in an activity or when subjects change and so, at times, pupils cannot get on with their learning.  Marking of pupils’ work does not always show them why it is wrong, or how to use their learning targets to improve their work.  Behaviour is not good because a few of the Key Stage 2 pupils behave roughly at lunchtimes and do not take quick enough notice of what midday supervisors tell them to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

do.  Some initiatives for improvement are relatively recent and have not yet had the impact intended. These include measures aimed at improving the attendance of the few pupils eligible for the pupil premium who do not attend well enough.  Leaders do not always monitor initiatives or the impact of their actions sufficiently well to ensure rapid improvement.

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The school has the following strengths

 Progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good because teaching here is effective.  Pupils achieve well in reading.  Leaders, including governors, have taken steps to remedy some important weaknesses and their efforts are starting to bring about better achievement and teaching.  Pupils, parents and staff have confidence in the leaders’ ability to improve the school and support the changes implemented.  Pupils feel safe. They learn how to deal with potential dangers and know friends and staff will help them if they need it.  The school is calm and relationships are good. Pupils remain settled and calm even when they are unsure what to do in lessons.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, 30 lessons or part-lessons were observed.  Four shared observations of teaching and learning were conducted with senior leaders.  Inspectors spoke to pupils in lessons and at break and lunchtimes in the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.  Discussions were held with parents, pupils, governors, a representative from the local authority, senior leaders and staff.  The inspectors received the views of parents through 14 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire, some correspondence and informal discussions with parents at the beginning and end of the school day.  The inspectors received the views of staff through 52 responses to the Ofsted inspection questionnaire and during discussions.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including: the school’s information on pupils’ current progress, pupils’ work, school development plans,

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Information about this inspection

monitoring activities, documents relating to safeguarding and records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Jo Curd, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Sharona Semlali Additional Inspector Michael Onyon Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Cherry Tree Hill Primary School is bigger than most other primary schools.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is below the national average. This is additional funding for specific groups of pupils; in this case those who are looked after by the local authority, or who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly lower than the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school has just started to use Newton’s Walk behaviour unit, to support a very few

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Information about this school

pupils with particularly challenging behaviour.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement of all groups of pupils by ensuring that:  teachers pitch lessons at the right level for pupils, and include challenge for the most able  teachers ensure that pupils understand what to do when tasks are set for them and when subjects change, so that they can continue with their learning at a good pace at all times  pupils know how to improve their work from teachers’ marking and use their school targets to check what they need to practice next.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning by:  supporting midday supervisors to implement all that they have learned in training to ensure all pupils behave well at lunchtimes  making sure that pupils always understand how to tackle the work set in lessons and know what to do to extend their learning when they have finished the first task.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders and managers should: – increase the frequency with which they monitor the impact of their actions and initiatives, including those aimed at improving teaching and the attendance of pupils who do not yet attend well enough – drive further forward the achievement of all groups of pupils.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress is improving but has not been good enough to sustain a rise in standards for the past three years. This is largely because there is not enough good teaching to ensure that pupils make better progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with knowledge, skills and understanding below those typical for this age. They make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes because teaching there is good. By the end of the Reception Year, the proportion of children with good levels of development is in line with the national average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress is improving in Key Stages 1 and 2. In 2013, the proportion of pupils making the nationally expected rate of progress improved slightly for reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion making more than the nationally expected rate of progress in reading also rose.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Attainment is improving at Key Stage 1 and was above average in 2013. The proportion of six year olds succeeding in the phonics check (recognising the sounds which letters make) improved from the previous year to match the national average in 2013. Attainment is also rising in Key Stage 2 and is, currently, in line with that of most schools.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of less-able pupils and those that find learning difficult is slower than that of other groups. This is because tasks set are sometimes too difficult and pupils do not always know what to do or how to improve.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school is using pupil premium funding to pay for a learning mentor and additional staff to support small groups of eligible pupils. Although this support is valuable in helping pupils’ self- esteem and enjoyment, teaching in class is not always good enough and several eligible pupils have low attendance which adversely affects their progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding, like other pupils, varies too much across the school and is often in line with others of similar ability in their class. The gap between the attainment of these pupils and that of others varies between classes and is neither growing or reducing consistently. Inequalities remain therefore, and in 2013, the attainment of these pupils was two terms behind others in English and a term behind in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of more-able pupils requires improvement and is not yet good enough because too few reach the higher Level 5 by the end of Year 6 in mathematics and writing. Learning activities do not always challenge these pupils enough. For example, in lessons pupils sometimes have to wait for others when they finish tasks, rather than being helped to move on, which slows their progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs varies considerably. There is no consistent pattern and some are making good progress whereas others do not. These pupils are well integrated and take responsibilities around the school, such as becoming prefects and buddies to younger pupils. However, teaching in class and in small groups where extra help is provided is not always well adapted for these pupils to ensure they all achieve as well as they could.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Leaders have not yet used the additional primary sports funding, but plan to do so by extending the range of sports offered and raising participation through providing more clubs before and after school and at lunchtimes. Pupils enjoyed the physical education lesson observed during the inspection and made good progress as they energetically practised netball skills and then used these eagerly and competitively in a game.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 It is too early to evaluate the impact on achievement and behaviour of the very few pupils attending Newton’s Walk behaviour unit.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 varies too much in quality between classes and is not consistently good, including in literacy and mathematics. However, teaching is improving. Very little is inadequate and an increasing amount is at least good, which is reflected in improved learning and achievement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Work is sometimes too easy for pupils to make good progress, especially for more-able pupils, and is sometimes too difficult for those of lower ability. Some work in lessons and books is incomplete and more-able pupils sometimes have to wait after they finish activities before they go on to something else.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Staff are positive and open to change and development, but some changes are in transition and are not yet sufficiently effective. In some lessons, pupils do not have enough time to complete the tasks that they are set, or practice skills, such as writing and so do not always make enough progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although pupils are increasingly having more opportunities to practise skills, not all of them know what to do when they are set tasks. In these situations, their progress slows and time is wasted. For example, pupils are usually patient and well behaved in lessons but remain highly dependent on waiting for the teacher or teaching assistant for further guidance and explanation.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Some teachers’ marking is effective as it shows pupils what they have done well and how to improve, but some does not explain why work is wrong or what to do to improve their work next time. In some classes, pupils are given opportunities to learn from mistakes. There is variation in the school policy of giving pupils targets to aim for; for example, in some classes targets are clearly explained and pupils say that they find them very helpful, but others do not use or understand them.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Teachers make good use of what children can already do, to plan and prepare activities to cover all aspects of learning and respond to children’s varying personal needs and levels of development. Opportunities for children to work inside and outside with adults, other children, or on their own maintain children’s interest in their learning. Resources to help them learn are varied, attractive and accessible.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers and teaching assistants in the Early Years Foundation Stage interact with children well, successfully helping them all to make good progress. For example, a teaching assistant led a helpful discussion about different types of houses and helped a group of children to build a house out of large wooden bricks. This work actively supported the children’s language, social and physical skills.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The impact of teaching assistants across the school varies a lot, including their work with disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those eligible for the pupil premium. Some are deployed well in class and intervention groups helping pupils’ achievement in English and mathematics, behaviour and attitudes. Sometimes teachers do not guide these staff sufficiently, however, and as a consequence the pupils they are working with do not make all the progress they could.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. The behaviour of a small proportion of Key Stage 2 pupils at lunchtimes is far less positive than at other times of the day. Leaders and managers are well aware of the situation and have responded directly by providing recent training for midday supervisors, but they have not monitored closely enough how well these improvements are being implemented and some difficulties persist. Certain pupils do not respond quickly enough to the requests or instructions of some of the midday supervisors.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Attendance is rising and is now above the national average. Within this overall performance, the attendance of some pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is low. This is because some individual pupils’ attendance is particularly poor hinders their learning and progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Most pupils are friendly, courteous and supportive. They remain calm and settled, but are not confident to use their own initiative when they encounter difficulties with learning activities. Some are not active enough in asking for help when they do not understand a task or know what to do next.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils enjoy and work hard in a range of tasks and responsibilities. Some are Key Stage 2 playground ‘peace makers’, representatives on the school council, prefects and Key Stage 1 ‘buddies’ who help look after younger children at lunchtimes.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils feel safe. They say they are confident that teachers or friends will help them if they need it.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying, including physical, name-calling and cyber bullying. They say that bullying is rare and know what to do to keep themselves and others safe on the rare occasions that it occurs. There have not been any instances of racism reported over recent years.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Most parents and staff are positive about the safety and well-being of pupils. Parents rightly express gratitude for the way their children are looked after and the way staff have helped their confidence, friendships and relationships with others.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses but have not always acted with sufficient urgency to address the most important priorities for sustained improvement. They are ambitious to improve the school and have well-directed development plans. Some actions which they have taken are having a positive impact on the priorities of teaching and achievement, indicating capacity for further improvement. However, some initiatives, including improving the attendance of some groups of pupils, including some eligible for the pupil premium, are at a relatively early stage and have not yet yielded the results intended.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders have improved the detail and rigour of assessment of pupils’ progress and attainment since the previous inspection. Half-termly pupil-progress meetings and pay-related performance management appraisals enable them to question and challenge teachers about pupils’ achievement. Although there are improvements to teaching and achievement, some actions have not yet had sufficient impact on the work of all teachers to ensure consistently good practice.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders do not always monitor and evaluate the impact of their actions and initiatives well enough to ensure that improvements are consistently effective. An example of this is behaviour at lunchtimes. Leaders correctly identified the difficulty and provided training for midday supervisors in response. They are not monitoring the impact of this training sufficiently, however, to ensure that improvements become established practice and that pupils’ behaviour improves.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders below senior level, including subject coordinators and the special educational needs coordinator, are increasingly aware of how best to use assessment data to improve pupils’ achievement. Although action taken is at a relatively early stage, this is beginning to have a positive impact on teaching and achievement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is experienced and effective. Staff are led well and the understanding and skill of new staff are, consequently, growing and proving effective in helping children to achieve well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Pupils learn a wide range of subjects in a variety of ways. There are some useful links between subjects, such as writing instructions to make an Australian savoury sandwich, and reading books to research aspects of Australia in a Year 2 geography lesson. These learning opportunities are interesting and they help pupils’ motivation and enjoyment. However, subjects are not always taught well and, consequently, do not always contribute well enough to pupils’ learning and progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development varies considerably in quality. Assemblies are enjoyable, cohesive, social events and most relationships across the school are positive and supportive. The school has links with other schools across the world, enabling pupils to learn about different countries and cultures. Although some lessons have interesting content, too often pupils are not all able to get on with activities because they do not know what to do or how to do them. Although pupils have a clear sense of right and wrong, a few do not behave well at lunchtimes.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority has been involved in school development through frequent visits, advice and training. An officer has successfully contributed to school improvement, including refining assessments and developing leadership. Both of which are helping to improve teaching and achievement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors bring the school considerable professional experience, insight and determination to take improvements in teaching and achievement further forward. For example, bringing further insight and clarity to financial management and the analysis of data. They have been central to developing the systems to manage, appraise and reward staff, including the headteacher. They understand the national standards expected of teachers, and know how well teaching is enabling pupils to make progress and achieve. They are working with leaders to improve the quality of teaching across the school but have not yet raised this to good. Governors understand and use the data on pupils’ achievement well and have played a significant role in driving improvements in assessment, teaching and achievement so far. All statutory duties, including those for safeguarding, are met. They manage finance well and

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The leadership and management requires improvement

know how funding for the pupil premium is used to support the personal development and progress of eligible pupils. They know how important achieving better attendance has been across the school, and are working with other leaders to ensure that all pupils, including those eligible for the pupil premium, improve their attendance so that their achievement also improves. This has had some impact but the attendance of a few remains low.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 112751 Local authority Derby Inspection number 430685

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 550 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jean Ellins Headteacher Kathy Mayer Date of previous school inspection 3 July 2012 Telephone number 01332 673520 Fax number 01332 679551 Email address admin@cherrytree.derby.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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