Adderley Primary School in Birmingham has achieved the Inclusive School Award for the first time.
Ready For the Next Stage
Adderley Primary School is a large school located in the inner city. It has a rising trend in attainment in Maths, writing and SPAG all of which are above national average. Reading has also improved to now be in line with national expectations from being 42% in 2017. This stems from the ‘Ambitious for All’ curriculum which is coherently planned and sequenced towards accumulating knowledge and becoming ready for the next stage in education.
The school is in a highly deprived part of the city and lots of pupils do not attend pre-school and so start well below age related expectations. There is a very transient population with lots of temporary accommodation and many families with no recourse to public funding. During Covid the school delivered food parcels to many of the neediest families and continue to see social cohesion as highly necessary and valuable.
Magic Breakfast Club
There is a supportive Magic Breakfast Club that feeds 500 pupils a week free of charge. This encourages punctuality and good attendance but also serves to alert staff to potential problems with families or changes in circumstances for example, by allowing staff to spot who may have not eaten for some time.
In addition to promoting healthy eating there are opportunities for pupils to access high quality texts to support each other with their reading. Pupils can watch Newsround and Blue Planet each morning to increase their awareness of world events and raise aspirations.
Staff feel that Senior Leaders have a very well supported workload reduction through centralised planning. Staff have reviewed the marking policy and it has moved from formal marking to in the moment assessment by checking for understanding to inform the next steps in learning. Draft writing and maths are still marked in-depth weekly with a formal assessment each half term to carefully support next steps which are personalised to the individual pupil.
Leadership release time is protected and all teachers can take PPA time at home which is popular. This has been made possible by the active Governing Body who understand that the wellbeing of staff is very important from an ethical perspective but also to ensure they can fully meet the needs of pupils.
‘Everyone is Really Approachable’
Wellbeing for pupils is a support related visit from council pupils and there is a helpline staff can access if they need additional support.
There is a well-equipped and comfortable staff room as well as a small wellbeing café for staff on the other side of the school to ensure everyone can access drinks in their break times. One staff member commented “everyone is really approachable here and staff always support each other”
There is a highly effective Pastoral Team who are the glue that connect all elements of the school together and act as an early help team to support pupils and families. They know their community and do everything they can to ensure that they remove as many barriers to learning as possible.
They understand that children cannot learn unless their basic needs have been met and set about doing so with a relentless commitment. They also support staff socially and emotionally if required and are able to support the induction process. This is fully supported by the active Governing Body who model the same beliefs and provide appropriate levels of challenge and support.
The school has actively raised funds for good causes over many years and has a cumulative running total of over £43,000.
The Enterprise Centre houses a school shop that opens at break times which children help to run. There are opportunities for parents to buy uniforms at a discounted rate and a bank run in conjunction with HSBC who also run money workshops to encourage financial awareness and promote saving.
The school is very well placed to benefit greatly from its IQM journey which our Assessor felt sure will provide a springboard for future success.
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 (9am to 5pm) or email: [email protected] for further details.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack