Acklam Grange School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Learners at the Heart of All They Do
Acklam Grange School has served the community of Middlesbrough since the 1950s under different names but has had the servitude towards its students and their families at its heart. The school is part of a growing multi-academy trust called The Legacy Learning Trust which places ‘learners and learning at the heart of all they do.’ The secondary school has more recently seen rapid success in its educational outcomes due to the tenacious leadership of its Headteacher and the well-appointed team of knowledgeable and experienced senior leaders.
All that the school does is underpinned by its core values – PRIDE. The ‘Acklam Grange Way’ is the golden thread, masterfully weaved throughout the school by the strong, dedicated staff team. Senior leaders are effective in setting, implementing, and monitoring the values and vision of the school. The vision is shared by everyone. Middle leaders are given a raft of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and support enabling them to carefully shape their individual curriculum areas ensuring high expectation of all students. Nothing less than outstanding is good enough and the students and their families have benefited from the staff’s relentless drive to offer the best education for all.
Wrap Around Care
The school achieves well-above-average results for progress and attainment enabling students to go on to achieve in life far beyond the school gates. Leaders do not stop there though and attribute their success to the inclusive values and extensive enrichment and wider curriculum offer available to all students. This extensive offer creates a sense of belonging as there really is something for everyone to get involved in. This wrap around care makes children want to be there, there’s a real buzz around the school.
The staff also want to be there. Through the leadership of the Headteacher, staff have been made to feel valued. The school have not seen the recruitment and retention issues other schools are facing and have successfully appointed positions in subjects that other settings struggle to recruit. During the visit the retention of staff was evident as there was a healthy mix of staff with varying years of services.
During the two-day visit our Assessor found all staff to be very knowledgeable about the school and their students. As staff turnover is low, staff can build strong relationships with students and their families. It is this knowledge and the keen interest taken in students’ lives which makes the job of achieving success do-able. Staff know what is happening and can plan learning experiences based on local context with that in mind.
Stamp of Approval
Parents, carers, and outside support agencies have given their stamp of approval for the offer that is available to students at Acklam Grange. The number of parents who work at the school alongside their children is remarkable. Staff who made the decision to transfer their students to the school after experiencing first-hand the all-inclusive offer available speak volumes that the school is a family. The word family was used to describe the school over, and over again during the IQM Assessment. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the school’s core values, everything that is done here is done with love.
The students of Acklam Grange were a joy to spend time with. Our Assessor found them to be articulate young people with a love for their school. They were extremely knowledgeable about their school and were grateful for all the opportunities they have to explore their interests and develop their prospects post 16. They talked with excitement about the external speakers that have been into school. They talked with pride about the celebration of culture and diversity that is experienced throughout the school day. Students, when asked to describe their school, used words and phrases such as, ‘a school full of opportunity’ and ‘we are a family’ and ‘this is not something you will find in any other school.’
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.