Cherry Dale Primary School

Cherry Dale Primary School is a warm, welcoming and highly ambitious school. In its January 2025 graded inspection, quality of education and early years provision were good, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management were outstanding. Under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade is given. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils are polite, respectful and behave exceptionally well. They benefit from a meticulously designed curriculum, strong reading and phonics teaching, and very effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children in the early years get a thoughtfully planned start, with a sharp focus on communication and language. Personal development is rooted in the school culture, and pupils are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain. Staff value high-quality training, governance is strong, and parents are overwhelmingly positive. The main area for improvement is mathematics. Recent changes to the curriculum have left a few teachers unclear about how to build on pupils' prior knowledge, so some pupils do not develop a secure understanding. Leaders should ensure all staff understand what to deliver in mathematics so that learning consistently focuses on the essential knowledge and skills pupils need.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming and inclusive school culture
• Highly ambitious and meticulously designed curriculum
• Exceptional behaviour and attitudes across lessons and around school
• Outstanding personal development and preparation for life in modern Britain
• Strong reading and phonics provision with highly skilled staff
• Precise identification and very effective support for pupils with SEND
• Thoughtfully planned early years provision with a strong language focus
• Effective leadership, governance and high-quality staff training
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Overwhelmingly positive parental views

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers are not confident implementing all aspects of the new mathematics curriculum
• Mathematics learning is not always focused on the essential knowledge and skills pupils need
• Some pupils do not have a secure understanding of mathematics

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Cherry Dale Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at Cherry Dale Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Cherry Dale Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.6% of pupils at Cherry Dale Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Cherry Dale Primary School received £7,672 and spent £7,829 for each of its 318 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£186 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Barnsley · Barnsley local authority: places and applications

What is Cherry Dale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cherry Dale Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Cherry Dale Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cherry Dale Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Cherry Dale Primary School have?

Cherry Dale Primary School has 326 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cherry Dale Primary School cover?

Cherry Dale Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Cherry Dale Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cherry Dale Primary School?

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