Stebon Primary in Tower Hamlets has been assessed for and achieved the national award for Inclusion.
Warm, Welcoming and Friendly
Stebon Primary School is a warm, welcoming and friendly school providing a safe and supportive environment for the 600 pupils who attend. The Stebon ethos is extremely supportive of pupils and families with staff going the extra mile to ensure everybody is included and feels part of the ‘Stebon family’.
The Stebon Family
The Stebon family, as described by a member of staff, is a ‘family well-being model’. She explained this as having a ‘holistic approach to supporting children and families. We have a non-judgmental approach and believe that we can support parents to problem solve for themselves’.
Children Love Their School
Children love their school. Comments from the children include ‘playgrounds are big and fun’, ‘every class has their own stuff for play to use. We have to be responsible for it’, ‘the best thing when you leave for secondary school you get to do a big show, party and have a water fight’, and ‘I love this school because of the education, they make the learning fun’.
Staff are Trusted
Staff appreciate the trust the Headteachers have in them. A member of staff spoke about the large parental engagement budget they have been allocated to empower parents to have high expectations. ‘That’s the beauty of what makes this work, if we didn’t have autonomy and weren’t able to spread and use our knowledge and skills, we wouldn’t be able to provide the services that we do’.
Building Relationships
Parents also appreciate the staff taking time to build relationships with them and are hugely welcoming of visitors to the school. On joining the weekly coffee morning, parents were keen to find out why I was at their school and a queue soon formed of parents wanting to share their experiences and thoughts. During this coffee morning, you could sense how much the families appreciate coming together and how supportive they were of the school and each other. One parent said, ‘we really enjoy the coffee morning, if people don’t come we call them up and they come’. ‘We get together as friends, other schools don’t have this!’ Parents are proud of Stebon.
The Heart of the Community
The school is firmly at the heart of the community providing social, community and learning opportunities. Parents have opportunities to share their skills with each other and learn new ones such as sewing, cooking, Mathematics and English. These skills have supported some parents into education and work themselves. One parent felt that taking part in voluntary work had led to paid employment. She said, ‘through voluntary work I was able to get a proper job and I enjoy the work’.
Best Possible Outcomes
Staff strive to secure the best possible outcomes for their children and have high expectations of both the pupils and themselves. The staff at Stebon make this look effortless, however through talking to staff, pupils and parents, it is clear that much thought and reflection goes into this. Staff are always trying to define ‘what it is that makes Stebon Stebon’ and have identified the ‘distinctive character and the role that the school plays in supporting the local community that it serves’. The school has recently joined with its partner school Bygrove, to form the LETTA (London East Teacher Training Alliance) Academy.
A Very Inclusive School
This is a very inclusive school which has been on a ‘rapid and sustained journey over the last five years, since the Headteachers Jeremy Iver and Jo Franklin took over the school in 2012’ When OFSTED visited Stebon in 2014 the school moved from a position of ‘requires improvement’ in all areas to ‘outstanding leadership’ and a judgement of ‘good’ overall with ‘rapid progress’ made in all areas.
Comments from Ofsted
Comments from the inspectors included: ‘Pupils are polite and helpful, and their positive attitudes to learning help them to make good progress’. ‘The school is harmonious. There is no sign of any discrimination’.
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.