This article reports on a doctoral case study of how an English integrated nursery school and children's centre fulfils its legal duty to promote community cohesion. The provocation for the enquiry derives from the author's growing unease over the perceived limitations of a target-driven culture currently pervading English schools. A case is made for the importance of schools' community cohesion work; presented here as a potential vehicle with which to broaden and extend the school experience beyond the narrow individualistic confines imposed by current accountability frameworks.