Ashdown Primary School in East Sussex has achieved the Inclusion Quality Mark’s Inclusive School Award for the second time.
A Passion For Learning
The Executive Headteacher, Heads of school, SENDCo and staff are committed to inclusive practices and meeting the individual needs of all their pupils, within a caring environment. The passion for learning and investment in staff and pupils was clearly evident. The school adopts a holistic approach to inclusion, nurturing the whole child. Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all, within a learning culture, is paramount. ‘Every child is welcome and no child is left out’ – Executive Headteacher (EHT). The Inclusion lead/Head of Infant school (IL/HOIS) stated:
‘The staff here are very nurturing. As soon as a child is part of the Ashdown family, we will do anything for that child.”
APS is committed to inclusive practice. The school’s mission statement is ‘We value every child for what they are and prepare them for everything they could be.’ This year they have reduced the number of school values that they have from eighteen to six. These are respect, resilience, opportunity, support, trust and citizenship. A termly whole school value is explicitly taught and referenced to in assemblies. Ashdown Primary School is a very inclusive school.
Consistency
Ashdown Primary School is a warm, welcoming school and friendly staff and colourful, bright displays, greet you as you enter both buildings. Common entrance displays such as the values board, staff board and celebration tree, help to promote a sense of consistency across the school. This is further enhanced through cross-site work and events, such as the Infants School recently using the junior field for their sports day.
Inclusive Classrooms
Classrooms are bright, well organised and set up to support and scaffold pupils’ learning, with visual timetables, working walls and reading areas. The school’s inclusive classroom checklist supports staff in setting up their classrooms to include all pupils and covers areas such as seating, lesson plans, timetabling, learning objectives, prompts to support children with their learning, sensory aids, resources, displays and behaviour. The school is working to reduce cognitive overload in classrooms, in order to better support pupils’ concentration and learning. EYFS classrooms and outside areas are enabling, covering the different areas of learning. Each site has a beautiful library and there is an ICT suite and music room in the juniors. APS maximises the use of its outdoor learning areas and the Infant site has a large wildlife area, with a pond and badger sets. EYFS pupils have forest school sessions with a trained forest school teacher. Once a month the school hosts a wildlife action morning on a Sunday, where families are invited to come and work in the wildlife area. The infant playground is to be refurbished in October with a new trim trail and there are plans to develop the Year 1 outdoor area. The junior site has a beautiful field, new quiet area for pupils, including a water feature, and a swimming pool. Accessibility is ensured through stair lifts and a lift in the infant building and adjustments, such as the use of workstations and slopes are made in classrooms to support individual pupils.
Wellbeing For All
The wellbeing of staff, pupils and families is a priority for the school. The school has established a wellbeing team, led by the Inclusion Lead/Head of Infant school. Their action plan for the forthcoming academic year includes creating more welcoming staff rooms, encouraging mindfulness and relaxation amongst staff and encouraging openness and sharing of thoughts and ideas through self-care (the 12 rocks of wellbeing). Staff wellbeing is a standing item on the SLT agenda. CPD is a huge strength of the school. As the EHT said:
‘We expect them to want to develop more. None of us are the finished article.’
Pupils Feel Safe
The pupils made comments like: ‘I like school because all of our teachers are nice. Everyone’s very kind’ (KS1 pupil) and ‘APS is a very good school because it’s not biased and tries to be as best as it can be’ (KS2 pupil). They feel safe at school, understand that the golden rules in KS1 and rules and sanctions in KS2 help them to behave and know how to do the right thing. They enjoy the posts of responsibility that are offered to them in school, such as school council, playground pals in KS1 and OPAL play/games makers in KS2, eco councillors, fair trade ambassadors, science ambassadors and digital leaders. Behaviour for learning observed was excellent and pupils learn within calm, purposeful learning environments. The school operates the zones of regulation approach to feelings and behaviour and celebration assemblies reward pupils with certificates for both academic and behavioural achievements, shaped as leaves, which are displayed on a celebration tree. Pupils earn house points in KS2 and every Friday there is a ‘choc choc’ reward time, where one pupil from each class has hot chocolate time with a senior leader.
Communication Is Effective
The school communicates effectively with parents/carers through a range of means, including weekly newsletters, texts and through the school’s website. Any parental concerns or issues are dealt with efficiently and teachers make themselves available at the end of each school day. A range of parental workshops and opportunities to engage with the school are offered throughout the year and the school has a parent/friend association, FOAPS, (Friends of Ashdown Primary School), who organise events and raise funds. In addition, the school runs a parent forum and parents can submit questions beforehand via email. In the EYFS ‘Tapestry’ is used to record ‘wow’ moments and to enable parents to interact with the teacher. The parents are very happy with the school, with one comment being:
‘I cannot fault it. I have been so happy. All of the teachers have been so kind, caring and supportive.’
The school is led by an Executive Headteacher, with the individual sites being managed by Heads of school. Together they form a very strong and effective leadership team.
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.
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