Allfarthing Primary School Achieves IQM Centre of Excellence Status

September 9, 2026

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Allfarthing Primary School has achieved IQM Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status. The assessment highlighted a highly inclusive school where relationships, belonging and aspiration sit at the heart of everything it does. Throughout the assessment, stakeholders consistently spoke about “going the extra mile,” problem solving and ensuring that children and their families feel seen, heard and valued. 

 A Relational Approach to Inclusion 

 Inclusion is not viewed as an initiative at Allfarthing; rather, it is embedded within the culture of the school and informs decision-making at every level. What is particularly striking is the school’s relentless commitment to personalisation. Staff work proactively to identify and remove barriers to learning, wellbeing and attendance, recognising that successful inclusion often requires flexibility, creativity and strong partnerships with families. 

Attendance has been a significant focus over the past year. Through a highly strategic and relational approach, overall persistent absence figures have reduced by more than 9%. Leaders described their vision as making attendance: “everybody’s responsibility, just like safeguarding.” Rather than adopting a punitive approach, staff seek to understand the reasons behind absence and work collaboratively with families to find solutions. One particularly innovative development has been the introduction of the Morning Collection Service, a bespoke initiative designed to support a child experiencing significant difficulties attending school. The success of this pilot has led leaders to consider extending the provision to other families where appropriate. 

Celebrating Neurodiversity 

The school demonstrates a deep commitment to celebrating difference and promoting understanding. This is exemplified through its involvement in the ADHD Ambassadors Programme, a fully funded whole-school initiative designed to improve staff confidence, foster inclusive environments and advocate for children with ADHD or ADHD traits. 

An ADHD Ambassador reported: “We have put together resource boxes for every classroom from Nursery to Year Six which have focus tools, visual resources, brain break ideas, wiggle jars and sensory circuit information.” Equality Champions have played a significant role in driving this agenda forward through assemblies, displays and awareness-raising activities. One child explained: “We have created and have been putting up famous neurodiverse people displays. We did an assembly about this, and some people did not know about famous people’s needs.” This work is helping to foster a culture where difference is understood, celebrated and viewed as a strength. 

Supporting Every Child to Succeed 

Recognising the increasing number of pupils requiring sensory support, leaders identified the development of sensory provision as a key priority. Significant progress has already been made, with resource audits completed, risk assessments in place and the initial stages of developing sensory provision across the school underway. 

Leaders demonstrated a strong understanding of why sensory provision needs to be accessible throughout the building. As the SENCo explained: “Getting a dysregulated child down three flights of stairs to a sensory space is less than ideal.” Children spoke confidently about the impact of this support. One child explained: “We have a sensory room where there are fidget toys to calm you down. It is cosy and calm in there with lights. It helps you get into the green zone.” 

Alongside sensory provision, the school continues to adapt teaching and learning so that all children can succeed and flourish. Forest School provision is a notable example, with additional targeted sessions provided for pupils with SEND and those eligible for Pupil Premium funding. 

Families as Partners 

Allfarthing Primary School has placed significant emphasis on strengthening parental engagement, particularly amongst families of pupils with SEND, those eligible for Pupil Premium and families who may traditionally find it more difficult to engage with school. 

Parents have been offered a wide range of workshops and support opportunities, including coffee mornings, phonics workshops, Parent Gym sessions, ADHD workshops and targeted sessions focused on supporting SEND children at home. A Teaching Assistant reported: “Getting parents and carers into things like phonics workshops really helps and removes barriers to parents being able to support their children. They know we are all in it together.” 

Broadening Horizons 

The school has taken a strategic and thoughtful approach to developing meaningful partnerships both locally and internationally. A particular strength has been the partnership with TimeGivers, a charity which creates volunteering opportunities and community connections for young people. One child shared: “We’ve been working with TimeGivers. We made rainbows with motivational messages on and put them all over Wandsworth and we got some answers back. One said thank you for making me feel good I will always remember this.” 

Alongside this, Allfarthing has established international links with schools in Spain and Serbia, helping children develop a greater understanding of different cultures, languages and perspectives. 

Find Out More About IQM 

The Inclusion Quality Mark provides schools with a nationally recognised framework for developing and celebrating inclusive practice. 

If your school is interested in achieving the IQM Inclusive School Award, contact the IQM team on 028 7127 7857 or email admin@iqmaward.com. 

To find out more about IQM and request a free information pack, visit www.iqmaward.com.