Cherry Tree Academy Trust Marham Infant

Inspection of Cherry Tree Academy Marham Infant Cedar Road, Upper Marham, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE33 9LT

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement

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The headteacher of this school is Joanne Hornsby. This school is part of Cherry Tree Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the Executive Leader, Joanne Hornsby, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Karim Homsey. The headteacher is responsible for this school and one other. 17 and 18 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, confident and proud to be part of a close-knit, caring community. They feel safe and well supported by adults who know them well. Typical comments from parents describe the school as ‘transformational’ for their child, while others praise the ‘fantastic support’ for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. These are realised in the improvements in how well pupils learn to read and the depth of knowledge they gain across the curriculum. Children are encouraged to develop a curiosity about learning right from the start of Reception.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is calm and respectful. Pupils are kind to one another and understand the importance of fairness and responsibility. Where issues arise, such as occasional friendship disagreements, staff respond quickly and sensitively. Bullying is rare and dealt with effectively when it does occur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils look forward to ‘Fab Fridays’. This is a weekly enrichment programme where pupils apply their learning in real-life contexts. For example, Year 2 pupils wrote persuasive letters about improving the local park, while Reception children explored teamwork through outdoor games. These experiences bring learning to life and help pupils develop confidence and independence.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This is tailored to meet the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND. Staff know pupils well. Staff check pupils’ understanding effectively. They identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and plan steps to close these. Across the curriculum, pupils build knowledge well over time and produce high- quality work. For example, in computing, pupils confidently manipulate images and understand basic coding concepts. Likewise, in history, they compare the past to the present by visiting farms with old and new machinery.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The early years curriculum is thoughtfully designed to support children’s development. Staff use open-ended questions and model language well to support communication and language. For example, during the inspection, staff asked children questions about how they would approach the obstacle course they had designed. Children successfully build on their learning as they progress through the early years. Staff work closely with families to ensure a smooth transition into school life.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Since the last inspection, the school has prioritised reading. Pupils who fall behind receive timely and effective support to catch up. However, while phonics is now well established, pupils’ love of reading is not as well developed. This is because pupils do not have access to enough books that interest and engage them. Therefore, they sometimes make decisions not to read, which means some pupils do not develop their reading fluency as well as they could. The school has begun to take action to address this, but this is not embedded. 17 and 18 June 2025

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SEND provision is a strength. The school ensures pupils’ individual needs are identified early and then regularly reviewed to ensure pupils can access learning. Staff adapt teaching effectively. Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils with SEND feel well supported, and parents of these pupils feel involved in their children’s education.

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Pupils behave well and understand the school’s expectations. Classrooms are calm. Staff use positive reinforcement approaches, and pupils respond well to their praise for doing the right thing. Occasional low-level disruption is managed effectively. This is because the school has taken a proactive approach to refining its behaviour policy, involving staff and pupils in the process. Attendance is high. The school does a range of highly supportive work to help families. This includes collaborating on pastoral support with the local RAF base.

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The school offers a rich and inclusive personal development programme. Pupils take part in a wide range of clubs, visits and enrichment activities. Assemblies and themed weeks promote values such as kindness, diversity and respect. Pupils learn basic sign language, which is used across the school to support communication and inclusion. The school council and ‘eco council’ are established to promote pupil leadership. However, pupils’ understanding of their roles and the impact of their voice is still developing.

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Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They have responded effectively to previous inspection feedback, particularly in reading and curriculum development. Staff feel valued and supported. There is a strong culture of collaboration and professional development.

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The trust is committed to the school’s ethos and values, particularly its support for service families and pupils with SEND. However, trustees do not always ask suitable questions to challenge and support school leaders effectively enough. There is also an overreliance on school leaders to set the strategy and direction for the school. Trustees recognise this and understand the importance of taking action to develop the skillset of the board to address this.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not promote reading for pleasure well enough. Too few interesting books are available, so some pupils choose not to read and do not develop fluency as they should. The school should provide a wide range of appealing books and actively encourage reading for pleasure. 17 and 18 June 2025

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 The trust board has not consistently provided precise or rigorous enough challenge and support to school leaders. This is particularly evident in matters related to the quality of education. As a result, there is an overreliance on school leaders to set the strategy and direction for the school. The trust board must strengthen its ability to challenge and support school leaders effectively.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Executive Leader of the trust Joanne Hornsby

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 8 and 9 February 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school has one other school as part of the trust. This is the junior school in the same village. This is Cherry Tree Academy Marham Junior.  The headteacher also became the executive leader of the trust in September 2024. This followed the retirement of the previous chief executive officer.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 17 and 18 June 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. ◼ Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. ◼ The lead inspector met with representatives from the trust board, including the chair. ◼ Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders and other staff members. ◼ Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, art and design and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. ◼ Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects. ◼ Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around school and at social times. ◼ To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. ◼ Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s pupil surveys. They considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.

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Inspection team

James Chester, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tessa Holledge His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 June 2025

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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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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