Cherry Dale Primary School

Cherry Dale Primary School Royston Road, Cudworth, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S72 8AA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The exceptionally high levels of care and personal support offered to pupils, coupled with excellent guidance and academic challenge, lie at the heart of this outstanding school’s success.  Children in the early years quickly develop an enjoyment of school life and make rapid progress in all areas of learning. This is because staff are well trained and skilled at providing activities that enable children’s learning to flourish.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 also make excellent progress in their lessons and over time. This is once again due to the fact that teachers are skilled in planning activities that fire pupils’ imagination.  Pupils develop wonderful attitudes to learning, which are also a significant factor in the outstanding progress they make.  Pupils reach exceptionally high standards in mathematics, reading, writing, punctuation, grammar and spelling by the time they leave Year 6.  An exciting and vibrant range of topics helps

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

pupils to develop and apply their writing and mathematical skills still further.  During lessons, teachers and support staff are skilled in recognising what pupils have understood and step in quickly to move learning on.  In class and around the school, there is an exceptionally calm and purposeful atmosphere based on mutual respect and good humour. Pupils say they are happy at school, and have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe when, for example, using the internet.  The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. Her quiet determination and vision for excellence have ensured this outstanding school has gone from strength to strength since the time of the last inspection.  The leadership of the deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher are also of a very high quality. They have a very clear understanding of what is working well and are skilled in supporting and challenging colleagues to ensure all pupils

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

receive a high quality of education and memorable experience of school life.  Governors have an excellent understanding because they are skilled in checking the school’s work and holding staff to account.  Leaders are currently developing a new system to track pupils’ progress against the expectations of the new National Curriculum and plan to implement it as soon it is finalised.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors conducted a number of inspection activities jointly with the headteacher, deputy headteacher or assistant headteacher, including observing learning in class and looking at work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their views on behaviour and how the school keeps them safe. Inspectors also spoke with pupils about their learning and together looked at examples of their work.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, school staff, governors and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors observed behaviour at lunchtime, break times, around the school and during assembly.  There were too few responses to Ofsted’s online parent survey (Parent View) for inspectors to consider. However, inspectors did take account of the school’s own recent survey of parent views and spoke with a number of parents during the two days of the inspection.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own

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Information about this inspection

information about pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring, records of behaviour and attendance and documents relating to safeguarding and child protection.  Inspectors also took account of the 30 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Jim Alexander, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average sized primary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for support through the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium is additional government funding provided for children who are looked after by the local authority and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Since the time of the last inspection, the school’s leaders have been supporting schools within the local authority, as well as supporting the moderation of other schools’ assessment arrangements.

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Information about this school

 The school provides a daily breakfast club.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Finalise and implement new arrangements for tracking pupils’ progress and measuring their attainment against the expectations of the new National Curriculum.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher’s vision that all adults must continually model best practice is proving highly effective. All members of staff are fully supportive of the headteacher and have the highest expectations of themselves and the pupils in their class. Relationships between adults and pupils are strong and mutually respectful. This creates a strong culture which allows highly effective teaching and learning to take place.  Senior leaders know each pupil exceptionally well because they keep a regular check on their progress, personal development and attendance. When children start the early years, initial assessments are made and targets set for what children could achieve by the time they start Year 1. Pupils are then set targets to achieve each year. Careful monitoring of pupils’ progress enables leaders to step in quickly if anyone is slipping behind and also enables leaders to readjust targets if pupils are progressing faster than expected.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

This typifies the school’s approach for doing the best they can for each pupil so they can fulfil their academic potential.  Leaders have ensured staff have been well trained and equipped to introduce the new National Curriculum this term. This has provided further opportunities for teachers to enable pupils to practise their reading, writing and mathematical skills across a range of subjects. However, the new arrangements to track pupils’ progress against the new requirements are at an earlier stage of development.  Middle leaders also make a valuable contribution to the progress pupils make in different subjects and the quality of teaching. For example, the science coordinator observes learning in lessons and work in pupils’ books. This ensures that the subject is being well taught and also that pupils are developing skills in scientific thinking.  Leaders ensure that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is also given a high priority in

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The leadership and management are outstanding

the school. Pupils benefit from a range of trips and visits. Artefacts are also used well to enrich pupils’ experiences. The recent topic on Armistice Day, for example, provided pupils with a deeper understanding of the human cost of such conflicts. The quality of art work on display around the school is also of a very high standard.  Leaders ensure that all pupils are provided with an equal opportunity to succeed. They use the pupil premium funding, for example, to ensure the progress made by disadvantaged pupils matches that of other pupils in the school. The primary sports funding is also used effectively to increase the opportunities for more pupils to take part in after-school clubs or local competitions.  Senior staff are currently overseeing the leadership of special educational needs provision in the long-term absence of a member of staff. This has resulted in seamless transition and high-quality provision being

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The leadership and management are outstanding

maintained.  The local authority only offer light-touch support for this outstanding school and speak highly of the leaders’ ability to support other schools within the authority.  School leaders also ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet the current requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors are highly effective and fully committed to ensure that the school provides the best possible education so that pupils can achieve academically and personally. They are determined that pupils need to be well prepared for their next stage of education and to take their place in modern society. They have developed rigorous systems for checking staff performance and holding them to account for ambitious targets which are set. Governors ensure that only the best teachers move up the pay scale and others are provided with the right support to help them improve further. Finance is carefully managed and governors ensure excellent value for money is achieved.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils’ really positive attitudes to learning help them make outstanding progress. They are extremely enthusiastic about their learning and support one another to try their best. No time is wasted in lessons because pupils follow instructions quickly and can be trusted to work independently or in small groups.  Pupils’ attendance is improving every year and is now above average. The number of pupils who are persistently absent is also falling, although remains slightly above average.  A small number of pupils struggles to manage their own behaviour due to their individual special educational needs. These pupils are very well provided for and respond positively to the support they receive.  Pupils’ behaviour around school and during playtimes is a credit to them. Older pupils willingly help and support younger members of their school and provide excellent role models.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Pupils and parents agree that the well-being and safety of pupils is a priority in the school. Pupils feel safe because ‘teachers always listen to us and help us sort out our problems’. Other pupils explain that ‘we have been taught to sort out our own problems when we fall out, which is better and quicker than asking for help’.  Pupils have developed a very good understanding of how to keep safe and are taught how to recognise and respond to all types of bullying. Pupils say that their school is ‘a really happy place and if we fall out it is never for very long’. School records show that incidents of unacceptable behaviour and bullying are very rare but always well managed.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is typically outstanding throughout the school and never less than good. Teachers have high expectations of their pupils, who respond very well.  Teachers draw upon their excellent subject knowledge and ongoing training to present learning in interesting and relevant ways. Outstanding use of resources, including computers, captures pupils’ interests at the start of each lesson. Pupils work well together as a whole class and are also frequently encouraged to learn on their own or in small groups. They are motivated to undertake activities and can be trusted to try their best.  Support staff are also highly trained and very effective in supporting pupils’ learning. They use questions well to establish what pupils understand and where they still struggle. Teaching assistants then quickly adapt the activity to enable pupils to make the best possible progress in the time available. For example,

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

in a Year 2 phonics lesson (the sounds that letters make) the teacher and support staff were helping pupils ‘trust or trash’ the correct sounds so words could be spelt correctly. The pace of learning was excellent and pupils responded very well to the high expectations.  Teachers’ marking is detailed and pupils respond quickly to the advice they receive to improve the quality of their work still further. The checks teachers make on pupils’ work helps them to decide what is covered in subsequent lessons. This ensures pupils of all abilities, including the most able, are provided with work that is suitably demanding.  The teaching of phonics is highly effective. Pupils quickly acquire skills which enable them to become confident readers and develop pleasure in reading a wide range of books. This enjoyment of reading continues throughout the school.  The teaching of writing is also very effective. Pupils are given clear guidance about how to develop and

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

use their writing skills to produce high-quality pieces of work. Teachers also make the most of opportunities to encourage pupils to write at length across a range of subjects.  The teaching of mathematics is strong. Teachers use their excellent subject knowledge to provide challenging work for all to enjoy. There are many opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical knowledge and skills in a range of challenging problem-solving activities.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils achieve outstandingly well during their time at this school.  The proportion of pupils who read at the expected standard at the end of Year 1 is above average. Those pupils who need more help respond well to the support they receive and most have now caught up with others in their class.  Standards reached by the end of Year 2 have been rising and in 2014 were above average, although slightly higher in reading and writing than in mathematics.  Standards reached in mathematics, reading, writing, grammar, punctuation and spelling by the end of Year 6 are exceptionally high, representing outstanding progress from pupils’ starting points.  School data, work seen in pupils’ books and lessons visited demonstrate that pupils across the school typically make excellent progress and it is never less than good.  The progress made by disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is also excellent,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

because staff understand their individual needs well and provide tailored programmes of support which meet their needs well.  The progress made by the pupils from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language is also outstanding.  By the end of Year 6 last term, gaps between disadvantaged pupils in the school and other pupils nationally had closed. This was due to the very high attainment of pupils in school. Across the rest of the school, gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils are also much smaller than average.  The most able pupils are also provided for exceptionally well and they too are helped to make outstanding progress during their time at school. As a result, the proportion of Year 6 pupils gaining Level 5 was significantly above average; the proportion gaining Level 6 was also well above average. This builds successfully upon the above average proportion of pupils in Year 2 who reach Level 3.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 When children start school they generally have skills below those typical their age. Approximately a third of children start school with skills that are significantly below those of others because of some developmental delay, particularly in speaking and listening and also in number work.  Thanks to teaching which is never less than good and mostly outstanding, children settle quickly and soon make rapid progress developing the skills which will serve them well as they move through school. As a result, by the end of the Reception Year, a large proportion of children are well prepared to start Year 1.  Children behave exceptionally well. They are encouraged to play and learn together and they respond very quickly to the instructions given by adults. Children are polite and well mannered and, from the number of smiling faces, obviously enjoy school life.  Leaders and staff have established strong relations with parents, which help children to feel safe and

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The early years provision is outstanding

secure at school. Regular meetings and informal conversations at the start and end of each day also helps parents to be fully involved in their child’s development.  The school has invested much time and resources to improve the early years provision since the time of the last inspection and welcomed the effective support of the local authority advisory staff. The result is that now children benefit from a magnificent learning environment, both indoor and outside.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 106621 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 448302

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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 321 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jack Peach Headteacher D Flanagan Date of previous school inspection 10 March 2010 Telephone number 01226 719700 Fax number 01226 780469 Email address cherrydaleprimary@barnsley.org 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 and 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

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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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