Cornerstone Academy

Overview: Cornerstone Academy is an independent school providing alternative education for pupils with social, emotional, and mental health needs. The school has a life-changing impact on its pupils, transforming their attitudes to learning and future life chances. Pupils benefit from highly positive relationships with staff, consistent routines, and praise, leading to a warm, calm, and purposeful atmosphere.

Strengths:

• Pupils have high attendance and are enthusiastic about their learning.
• Staff have a good understanding of each pupil's individual needs and provide bespoke support.
• The school provides a calm and welcoming learning environment with suitable resources promoting independence and success.
• Pupils develop positive behaviour and social skills, and are well-prepared for the next steps in education and their lives beyond school.

Areas to improve:

• The school's newly introduced curriculums have not had time to fully embed, which can hamper pupils' ability to build knowledge securely over time in some subjects.
• The school has a limited selection of book choices to support the delivery of the curriculum, which can hinder pupils' ability to achieve.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.