Cornholme Junior, Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of Cornholme Junior, Infant and Nursery School Greenfield Terrace, Cornholme, Todmorden, West Yorkshire OL14 8PL

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 27 and 28 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have established the mission statement, ‘Together we will learn and grow’. This inspires everyone in school to be welcoming to all. Staff live this welcoming approach out in their interactions with pupils and each other. Pupils follow these examples and treat each other with kindness and respect. Pupils behave well most of the time. If they struggle to manage their emotions, adults help them to get back on track. Leaders have created an inclusive culture that helps pupils to feel happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have begun to establish a curriculum that has increasing ambition for pupils. Some subjects are in the early stages of development. Pupils do not learn consistently well across all areas. Teaching is not sufficiently adapted to support some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This limits pupils’ learning in some subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make sure that pupils have opportunities to explore their interests and talents. Many pupils take part in the exceptional school orchestra and school choir. They enjoy the frequent opportunities that leaders provide for them to perform, in school and beyond. Some pupils help in the school garden at lunchtime. Others work as school councillors, supporting charitable events in the local community. These opportunities are helping to prepare pupils well for their future lives.

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better?

Leaders are in the process of developing the curriculum. In many subjects in the wider curriculum, leaders have not defined the most important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. This makes it difficult for pupils to build their knowledge step by step. Currently, pupils are not learning well enough in subjects across the wider curriculum.

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better?

There is too much variation in how teachers adapt teaching to support pupils with SEND. For example, insufficient attention is placed on some of the specific barriers that some pupils experience in reading and in processing written questions. This limits pupils’ learning, particularly when trying to solve written problems in mathematics.

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better?

In some areas, curriculum improvements are gaining traction. For example, in music, the curriculum is fully established. Leaders make sure that every pupil learns to play a musical instrument. Pupils develop the ability to play these instruments and master complex rhythms and sequences. Pupils understand about pitch, dynamics and pulse. They apply these concepts confidently in their performances.

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better?

Leaders make reading a priority. They ensure that staff have the training that they need to help pupils to learn to read. Staff model the sounds that pupils need to learn consistently well. This helps pupils to master phonics and become fluent readers. Pupils who struggle receive targeted support from skilled adults. From the 27 and 28 June 2023

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earliest years, leaders have made sure that children have a well-chosen variety of books to enjoy. Staff show children what being a great reader looks like by reading to them every day. Pupils across school talk enthusiastically about the books that adults share with them. Leaders make sure that pupils have many opportunities to develop a love of reading. Pupils have spoken online with a famous author and worked with a local poet. These opportunities contribute to pupils’ enjoyment of language, story and rhyme.

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Staff make sure children in early years get off to a flying start in mathematics. They give children lots of opportunities to develop their mathematical knowledge. For example, children explore numbers to 10 by keeping score when playing games. Children become confident with number quickly. Teachers help older pupils to build their mathematics knowledge step by step. Teachers routinely check what pupils know and remember. This means that by the time pupils leave school in Year 6, most pupils are confident mathematicians.

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Leaders and staff show pupils how to treat everyone with kindness. This is helping pupils to develop respectful attitudes towards each other. Pupils build on this by applying for the various leadership roles in school. Some pupils lead as house captains, some work as school librarians, and others provide help at lunchtime. These opportunities to lead start in the earliest years. Each week, adults choose a child to be the ‘lovely leader’. This child leads their class when lining up in the classroom and takes home the class cuddly toy, Pete the cat, to care for. These opportunities support all pupils to be active citizens, caring for their school community.

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Those responsible for governance challenge and support leaders to improve the school. Governors ensure that they have the skills they need to fulfil their statutory duties. They make sure that everyone focuses on providing pupils with a high-quality education.

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Staff feel that leaders support them well. They see the school as one big family and are proud to be part of that family.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders take safeguarding seriously. They make sure that staff are trained well and receive necessary updates to safeguarding guidance. Staff work hard to build strong relationships with families. As a result, they know pupils and their families well. Staff are vigilant and know how to identify any risks that pupils may face. Leaders are tenacious in using links with external agencies to help pupils and families get the support that they need.

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Safeguarding

Teachers help pupils to learn how to stay safe. Pupils of all ages show a strong understanding of how to stay safe online. Pupils are confident to speak to adults in school if they have any worries. They know that adults will support them. 27 and 28 June 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not defined the most important knowledge that they want pupils to learn consistently well across all areas of the curriculum. This means that pupils are not consistently able to build the important knowledge they need. The school should ensure that the knowledge they want pupils to learn and remember is precisely defined.  In some areas of the curriculum, teaching is not adapted precisely enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This means that pupils are not moving through the curriculum as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that staff receive the training and guidance needed to adapt teaching more precisely to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 27 and 28 June 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Andrew Sweetmore

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School details

Website https://www.cornholmeschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a breakfast club and after-school club for pupils who attend the school.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, subject leaders and teachers. Inspectors also met with the special educational needs coordinator and early years leader.  The lead inspector held a meeting with the chair of governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, geography and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum 27 and 28 June 2023

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with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to review a range of documents, including the school’s log of safeguarding incidents. Inspectors also spoke to staff about how they keep pupils safe. The lead inspector reviewed the school’s single central record to check the suitability of staff working at the school.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of other documents, including records of pupils’ behaviour and leaders’ evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils to gather their views on school life.  To gather parents’ views, inspectors took account of the views of parents from Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including free-text comments.

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One inspector spoke with parents at the start of the school day.  To gather the views of staff, inspectors took account of the staff survey.  To gather the views of pupils, inspectors took account of the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Jen Sloan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Angela Spencer-Brooke Ofsted Inspector 27 and 28 June 2023

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regulates and inspects to 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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