Henry Green Primary in Dagenham has been assessed recently and achieved the national award for Inclusion.
A Warm and Welcoming School
Children at Henry Green Primary School are extremely well behaved and clearly love being in this warm and welcoming school. Within minutes of arriving, both the Head teacher and I were greeted by smiling, happy children keen to say “hello”, high five and speak about important events such as a recent birthday and presents. It took quite a long time to get through Nursery and Reception!
This continued throughout the two days. As the Chair of the Governing Body said
“people are really welcoming here, staff smile and say hi and children are very courteous. Children beam here.”
Behaviour for Learning is Excellent
Behaviour for learning in the classrooms visited was excellent. This hasn’t just happened by chance. Improving behaviour for learning was a priority last year with staff working together to devise a whole school behaviour charter which makes explicit to children the steps towards positive behaviour. Throughout the two days in school I saw no examples of children being unable to manage their behaviour.
When asked if this was a good school to be in, children nodded vigorously ‘this is a good school’.
Vision and Ethos Proudly Displayed
The school vision and ethos is proudly displayed throughout the school. This vision is communicated to parents and visitors via the school website. ‘At Henry Green we A.S.P.I.R.E for all our pupils to become confident, secure, caring individuals who achieve personal success and have a lifelong love of learning’. This forms the foundations for life at Henry Green. This message is placed above each interactive whiteboard in every classroom ‘ASPIRE – Achieve, Succeed, Persevere, Inspire, Respect, and Enjoy’.
Driving Improvements
Henry Green was last inspected by OFSTED in January 2017. In the report OFSTED recognised the rapid improvement made by the school which was previously requiring improvement. Staff are justly proud that their hard work and drive for improvement has led to the school now being judged as a ‘good school’ in all areas. ‘Leaders have tackled the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection with determination. All areas have improved substantially. Further improvements have also been secured’. Furthermore, the school was commended for the way in which children feel safe and secure, behave well and are ready for learning. ‘Pupils behave well. Their attitudes to work and enthusiasm for learning are exemplary. Pupils feel safe in their school and respect its values.’
Best Possible Outcomes for Children
When speaking to staff and governors they were keen to point out how far the school had come. They were excited by the future and dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for their children. Mr Murphy became Head teacher in September 2017. With the support of his Senior Leaders he continues to promote inclusion for all; children, staff and parents. His vision is for children to deepen their learning because ‘The process of learning is what is useful for children at Henry Green’. During the previous year staff have benefited from several focused training sessions around growth mindset.
Assessment for Learning Tools
During lesson observations teachers were seen using the children’s judgments through the ‘Rate me’ statements alongside tools such as lollipop sticks and other assessment for learning tools to identify and support children immediately in their learning. Teachers feel that their children are more able to reflect realistically on their learning.
Subject Ambassadors
Children value their job as subject ambassadors. ‘If children are unsure about a subject we give advice to help them’, ‘when children are stuck with their handwriting we tell them to try and practice at home’.
Children Take their Roles Very Seriously
Children are elected every year after submitting written applications for the roles of subject ambassador or sports ambassadors. They take their role very seriously, and despite being new to it this term they were already full of ideas for how they could help other children. The sports ambassadors are equally enthusiastic ‘we make sure Reception are not lonely and that we can help them’. ‘We play games with Reception such as duck, duck, goose’. Previous pupil welfare and healthy eating ambassadors made a presentation at the coffee morning sharing their ideas for healthy packed lunches.
Taking Risks with their Learning
Staff have developed the children’s ability to take risks with their learning and ‘have a go’ by encouraging children to view their mistakes as learning opportunities. Teachers say that children ‘are fine now with making mistakes, whereas in previous years some children were afraid about making mistakes. We call this fantastic mistakes!’
Staff are One Big Team
A significant factor in Henry Green’s success is the way in which staff see themselves as one big team, supporting each other in a variety of ways. One such way is the ‘Planning Party’ where subject and SEND leads offer support to colleagues with planning, differentiation and target setting.
Parents Receive a High Level of Support
Parents receive a high level of support from an established and experienced inclusion team. This team – Learning Mentor, Early Years Nursery Nurse, Higher Level Teaching Assistant and Social Inclusion Officer work together to ensure the children and families have the right support at the right time. They are creative and passionate in their drive to secure improvements in children’s health, care and well-being.
Parents are Listened To
Parents are listened to by the Head teacher and senior leadership team. They feel that should they have any concerns regarding their children, they would go straight to the class teacher, because ‘they would make themselves available and are really friendly.’ The feeling is that parents at Henry Green are very satisfied with the education, care and support provided to their child.
Individual Needs are Catered For
Individual needs are catered for very well within the classroom. Over the last two years staff have moved away from mainly providing interventions in separate breakout rooms. Pre and post-teach interventions take place within the classroom and are planned for by the class teacher. Staff incorporate children’s IEP targets and support in their classroom. Learning Support Assistants receive training by the Inclusion Lead and have dedicated time every day to focus on IEP targets and share IEP books. The result being more tailor-made provision for children with additional needs. On the day of the assessment a child used his workstation provision moving from class to free flow in Year 1.
Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award
If your school is interested in obtaining the IQM Inclusive School Award or you wish to talk to a member of the IQM team please telephone:
028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm)
or email: [email protected] for further details.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.