Cherrywood Community Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • pupils in all classes are provided with a rich and stimulating curriculum that develops their skills in all subjects, particularly in science
  • leaders systematically check teaching and work in pupils’ books to set clear actions for improvement and to ensure that teachers follow up these actions
  • management systems are simplified by reducing unnecessary paperwork so that leaders rapidly gain a clear picture of the progress made by different groups of pupils.
• Improve the quality of teaching by making sure that:
  • teachers have a secure knowledge of the standard at which pupils are working and that they plan work that is at the precise level for all pupils so that it builds upon and extends what pupils already know
  • all teachers have the highest expectations for the standard and quality of work that pupils produce
  • teachers make clear to pupils exactly what it is they want pupils to learn.
• Raise pupils’ standards, particularly in writing, mathematics and science, by:
  • making sure that pupils have secure basic skills, including spelling, punctuation and grammar and that they use these correctly in their writing
  • providing opportunities for all pupils to deepen their mathematical understanding by reasoning and explaining their ideas
  • moving pupils on more rapidly when they have demonstrated that they have understood their work.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders’ ambitions for all pupils to achieve their best are not translated into practice, and expectations in some classrooms are not high enough. Although leaders provide training and support to help teachers to improve their skills, this has not yet led to teaching that is consistently good across the school.
• School leaders have a broadly accurate view of how well the school is performing. However, they do not make sharp enough use of all available information to target specific areas in need of attention. For example, although they look at work in pupils’ books, they have not picked up some of the weaknesses in teaching identified by inspectors.
• Leaders and governors responded to the disappointing results in 2016. They created a plan of action that has brought about improvements in reading. They provided training and used local authority advisers to help drive improvement. However, pupils’ learning and progress in writing, mathematics and science are below where they should be.
• Since their appointment in 2015, the headteacher and deputy headteacher have introduced new systems to record and track pupils’ progress. Some of these systems are overcomplicated and do not give a clear picture of how well different groups of pupils are achieving. This means it is sometimes difficult for leaders to have an overview of how much progress pupils make.
• The curriculum is too narrow and provides few opportunities for pupils to learn subjects other than English or mathematics to any great depth. Work in pupils’ books shows very little history, geography, science or religious education in some classes. Pupils do not develop their skills and knowledge in these subjects systematically and so do not progress as well as they should.
• Thoughtful use has been made of the additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. For those disadvantaged pupils who have additional learning needs, teaching assistants have been employed to help them in class, in small groups, and individually. This helps those pupils to achieve as well as their classmates. Funding has also been allocated to subsidise their attendance at breakfast club and to support the costs of school visits. This has developed confidence for these pupils and provided them with the same opportunities enjoyed by their classmates.
• The primary school sports funding has been used to improve teachers’ skills and confidence to teach physical education. School leaders have employed an outside agency to work alongside teachers and pupils to develop skills across a range of sports. This has led to an increase in the number of pupils enjoying sports that help to keep them fit and healthy.
• Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities provided by the school, including trips and visitors to school, that promote their personal development and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. Pupils take part in a democratic election for posts of responsibility around the school and pupils are proud of these roles. British values such as respect and tolerance largely mirror the school’s own values and are taught through assemblies and class topics.
• The local authority provides robust support and challenge to the school. Leaders welcome this support as well as engaging with other schools within the local area to learn from best practice.

Governance of the school

• Governors are passionate about the school and pride themselves on welcoming pupils with a diverse range of needs. They have benefited from an external review and have an action plan in place to show how they complement school leaders in bringing about the required improvements. Minutes from their meetings show that they challenge school leaders by asking questions. They visit school regularly to see for themselves how well pupils are learning. However, they do not always check well enough that actions agreed by school leaders are translated into practice. For example, planned actions to raise pupils’ achievement in science have not yet been implemented. Although they have reviewed the key findings of published performance information, they do not analyse the detail of the report that would give them a clearer picture of the specific areas that need to be addressed.
• Governors are well organised in their working practices. There is a schedule in place to ensure that all statutory policies are reviewed at the right time. Individual governors lead small teams of governors to review policies before they are submitted to the full governing body for ratification. Governors know that pupils’ behaviour in school is good and that pupils are happy and safe in school.

Safeguarding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is not consistently good across the school. Some teachers have low expectations for what pupils can do and do not demand enough from them. Work in pupils’ books shows that teachers do not provide enough feedback to pupils about how they can improve their work. Consequently, pupils continue to repeat their same mistakes and do not progress as quickly as they should.
• Although teachers set learning objectives for pupils, these are sometimes so complex that it is difficult to understand what pupils are expected to learn. Consequently, planning lacks clarity and does not allow pupils to build their skills and extend their understanding.
• Teaching of mathematics varies. Some teachers do not have sufficient knowledge of the mathematics curriculum and so do not provide work that meets the needs of different groups of pupils. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills and so pupils do not learn as rapidly as they should.
• Not all teachers use information about pupils’ learning to plan activities and work that are matched to pupils’ abilities. Consequently, pupils often spend time completing simple tasks and waiting for others to catch up, rather than tackling more difficult work.
• In all classrooms, teachers have established good working relationships with their pupils. As a result, pupils have positive attitudes and they want to learn. There is usually good support for those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, enabling those pupils to progress as well as their classmates.
• In most classrooms, pupils have opportunities to talk to each other and to share their learning. This helps to build their confidence and to develop their understanding, trying out their ideas in a climate of trust and respect.
• The teaching of phonics is variable across the school. While some adults lead effective phonics groups, this is inconsistent across key stage 1 and the Reception class. There are times when some pupils are held back until everybody has understood. At other times, the sessions are much too long for the less-able younger pupils who become fidgety and lose concentration.
• Where teaching is better, teachers show they have good subject knowledge and use this effectively to question pupils and probe their understanding.
• Often, tasks enable pupils to work things out for themselves. For example, in a Year 2 English lesson pupils were required to read a set of instructions that the teacher had deliberately written in the wrong order. They then had to establish the correct order to follow the instructions to create a model. This was a challenging activity in which pupils had to analyse the writing in order to accomplish the task.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Teachers treat pupils kindly and they promote a climate of trust and respect so that pupils develop confidence and a desire to learn.
• Pupils are proud of their school and warmly welcome new pupils to the school. They understand that there are a few pupils who have specific issues that make it difficult for them to cope with some aspects of school life. However, they demonstrate understanding and compassion and do what they can to help.
• Pupils say they feel safe at school. They say that adults care for them and take their concerns seriously. Although acts of poor behaviour are few, pupils know that adults will deal quickly should a problem arise. Pupils know about different forms of bullying, including that related to modern technology. They know that they should not provide personal information when using the internet.
• The school prides itself on being inclusive and will strive to ensure that all pupils are treated equally and fairly. There are a number of pupils whose circumstances may make them more vulnerable. Staff create strong links with their families and they work closely with external agencies to ensure that the right support is provided in a timely way.
• Pupils’ attitudes towards learning are good, although some pupils do not take enough care when completing their work. Occasionally, pupils’ attention in lessons wanders when the work they are given is insufficiently challenging.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite, friendly and well mannered. They get on well together and they show respect towards each other. They enjoy coming to school and they listen to each other and to adults.
• Breaktimes and lunchtimes are sociable occasions and pupils eat their lunch in a calm and orderly way. There is plenty of space in the school playgrounds where pupils play games or chat among themselves.
• Pupils usually behave well in class and when moving around the school. Occasionally, when the pace of learning slows, they exhibit ‘off-task’ behaviour and chat among themselves.
• School leaders work closely with families to encourage good attendance. While the majority of pupils attend school regularly and on time, there are a few pupils who are persistently absent and the school is working with external partners to reduce this figure. The latest attendance information shows that rates of attendance for all groups of pupils are improving.

Outcomes for pupils

• Pupils do not make enough progress, particularly in writing, mathematics and science.

Requires improvement

This is because teaching has not been consistently strong enough to secure good progress for pupils over time.

• In 2016, at the end of key stage 2, pupils’ standards in reading and mathematics were significantly below those of other pupils nationally. This reflects slow progress for pupils, with middle-ability pupils making significantly less progress than other pupils in reading. Pupils made the progress expected of them in writing to reach standards that were broadly average.
• Published data shows that, in 2016, pupils in Year 6 reached average standards in science. However, work in pupils’ current books shows that they do very little science and are not working at the required level.
• Many of the disadvantaged pupils also have complex special educational needs and/or disabilities and this prevents these pupils from reaching similar levels to their classmates. Leaders have reorganised the way in which the pupil premium funding is spent to provide specific support to meet these pupils’ needs. Leaders have identified the particular barriers to learning that these young people need to overcome and this is leading to improvements.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress in line with their classmates. They receive targeted support from skilled teaching assistants who help them to understand what they are expected to do. At other times, pupils are provided with extra help, either individually or in small groups. This is directed at addressing their particular area of difficulty.
• Pupils currently in school do not make enough progress in writing. Their spelling, punctuation and grammar are not of the standard they should be. This is because pupils do not routinely apply basic skills to new work. Additionally, teachers do not always pick up and address pupils’ errors.
• Pupils make variable progress in mathematics. Where teaching is well planned, pupils make strong progress. For example, in a Year 6 lesson the teacher asked pupils if every three-dimensional shape, including a sphere, had a net. This was a particularly challenging activity calling for reason and analysis, and allowed pupils to apply their understanding to solve a complicated problem. However, in less effective lessons, pupils fail to make adequate progress because the level of work is too easy.
• Following the disappointing results in 2016, school leaders put into place actions to raise pupils’ standards in reading. These have largely been successful. Pupils in Year 6 demonstrate a range of skills that allow them to read clearly, fluently and with good understanding. In Year 2, pupils read competently but do not always use punctuation to help them to read for meaning or with any expression.

Early years provision Good

• Children get off to a good start in the Reception class. They enter school with skills below those typical of their age, particularly in their language development. They are well prepared for the demands of Year 1 because they make good progress to reach a level of development that is broadly as expected.
• Children are warmly welcomed into a bright and stimulating environment by staff who care for them and make them feel safe and secure. The Reception class is very well equipped with good-quality toys and resources that help children to learn and develop.
• Children have good behaviours for learning. They concentrate and persevere, showing resilience in tackling tasks. They delighted their proud parents in their class assembly by retelling the story of ‘Jack and the beanstalk’. They spoke confidently and sang a song from memory, needing no prompting from adults.
• Children get on very well together. They are interested in what each other has to say and they enjoy learning and playing together. During the inspection, children searched for ‘magic beans’ outside and found a variety of mini-beasts. They excitedly shared their findings with other children who were absorbed in watching snails slide up the side of a box. This generated much discussion as well as promoting children’s understanding of the need to treat all living things with respect.
• The early years leader has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of provision. She works alongside staff, supporting and developing their roles. She ensures that all staff are kept up to date with new ideas by attending training and visiting other settings.
• Relationships with parents are good. Staff aim to establish good relationships well before children start school and this makes for a settled start. Staff make home visits, and parents are well informed about what to expect from school. Parents are provided with guidance about how they may help their children at home and there are regular workshops on topics such as phonics that parents find useful.
• There is a good balance of activities that are led by adults and those that children choose for themselves. However, there are times when children spend too long without any adult guidance and this reduces the opportunities they have to learn. For example, during the inspection a small group of boys were not engaged in any purposeful activity but chose just to race around the outdoor area.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 132802 Hampshire 10024528 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 4 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Betty Read Kirsty Lewis Telephone number 01252 547896 Website Email address www.cherrywoodprimary.co.uk k.lewis@cherrywood.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 20 November 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• A new headteacher was appointed in September 2015 and there have been several changes to the teaching and the leadership team since the previous inspection.
• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school and pupils are taught in single-age classes.
• There is provision for children in the Reception class. These children attend school full-time
• The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium funding is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic groups is broadly average and about one quarter of the pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The percentage of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is similar to that other schools.
• The school met the government’s floor standards in 2016. These set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. However, they are close to meeting the government’s definition of being a ‘coasting’ school.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils working in 14 lessons or parts of lessons and they looked at work in pupils’ books. They observed pupils in class and as they moved around the school. Inspectors listened to pupils reading in Year 2 and Year 6. One inspector attended an assembly.
• The inspectors held meetings with school leaders, teachers and groups of pupils. They also met with three governors, including the chair of the governing body. The lead inspector held a telephone meeting with a representative from the local authority.
• Among the documents scrutinised were school development plans, records relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, and information about how leaders check the quality of teaching. Inspectors also looked at records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour as well as information showing how the school keeps pupils safe.
• Inspectors analysed the 25 responses to the online survey, Parent View. They also met with parents informally during the inspection. The views of staff were taken into account by evaluating the 26 responses to the staff survey.

Inspection team

Joy Considine, lead inspector Sue Gadd

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector