This is a small school with high ambitions. The caring culture created by leaders since the school opened is now firmly established. Staff expect much from pupils. Poor behaviour is not accepted by staff and frowned on by pupils. Pupils are not concerned about bullying here, saying staff would be ‘on it’ if there were problems. When challenged to change ‘one small thing’ to improve the school, pupils genuinely found it difficult to put their finger on anything. Pupils are openly proud of Cherry Tree. They see it as ‘their’ school, although they prefer to describe it as the ‘Cherry Tree family’. They delight in showing visitors how much the school has changed their lives and their prospects. They talk passionately about how staff ‘challenge and care’ in equal measure. One pupil who arrived recently reflected, ‘I don’t feel judged for who I am, by pupils or staff.’ Another who left the school very recently to take up a college place wanted inspectors to know how much difference the school had made to his life. The ‘documentary’ he left was viewed at the end of the inspection. Uncannily, it correlated closely with the outcomes reflected in this report.