Castle Manor Academy in Suffolk has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Excellence Example of Inclusive Practice
Castle Manor Academy and the ARCH Specialist Cognition and Learning Hub is an excellent example of inclusive practice. Inclusion is evident in all aspects of the School’s work and there are good links with the community to offer support for families.
Our Assessor noted that the Headteacher works effectively with her Leadership Team, the Governing Body and the Unity Schools Partnership Trust to ensure all staff have similar aspirations for students at the school. The Academy encourages all students and staff to have PROUD values which are Professional, Resilient, Understanding, Optimistic and Driven. The values are summarised in a statement which is clear to see around the school- ‘We work hard, we are proud, we are kind.’
The SLT strive to create a school culture where staff and students live these values and the aim is to embed these values into the daily and long-term decision-making of everyone in the School and the IQM Lead has been instrumental in ensuring the IQM process has been understood by everyone. Kindness is a key value and it is evident in all discussions with students and staff. Students look after each other and the staff/ student relationships are very supportive.
There is a graduated response to behaviour and early interventions to meet students’ various needs. The Castle Manor Way and behaviour policy explains explicitly expectations through simple, but strong processes and sanctions when those expectations are not met. In 2019 the Ofsted report stated that, ‘the school’s values, known as the PROUD values and ‘the Castle Manor Way’, permeate the school and are fully embraced by staff.’
At The Heart of its Community
Castle Manor Academy is a small family school at the heart of its community. The school is a member of the Unity Schools Partnership Trust, which is a family of primary, middle, secondary and specialist schools mainly located in Suffolk, but also extending across the Essex and Cambridgeshire borders, with one setting in East London. In May 2019, Ofsted judged the school as ‘Good’. This followed 18 months of improvement work following a ‘Requires Improvement’ inspection in 2017.
In September 2020, the specialist learning hub ‘The Arch’ was opened in the middle of the School site, catering for 18-22 young people with cognition and learning difficulties. All students have an EHCP and places are brokered through the Local Authority, and they are included on the school roll. The School has some difficulties in terms of access due to its age, but the site team have ensured that the necessary ramps and drop kerbs as well as wider accessible doors have been installed wherever they are needed. There are two lifts in the School and the timetable for some students with disability has been adapted to meet their needs.
Meet the Leadership Challenges
The SLT has adopted ‘The Big Team Leadership Adventure’ with external coaching and working with other schools in the Trust to further extend and meet the leadership challenges that the Academy has met in recent years particularly in view of the pandemic’s impact on mental health and wellbeing. CPD for all staff is wide ranging and the staff have many opportunities for progression and development both within and outside the School. Professional growth processes have been effective in focusing teachers and non-teaching staff on pupil progress and moving the school forward.
The SLT is committed to raising standards and providing staff and pupils with the best possible environment and opportunities. There is a strong programme of professional development for all staff informed by research and provided by the Academy, the Trust and external providers.
The Governors are experienced and their understanding of the key issues relating to school improvement also impact on outcomes for children. Working with the Trust they have expanded their profile and breadth and increased their visibility around the school. They try to ensure half termly visits are the norm. The SEND and Safeguarding Governor explained how she engages with the teacher responsible for special needs and looks closely at the students with pupil premium.
My Growing Brain Has Been a Focus Across the School
The Academy uses the core teaching and learning pedagogy map providing a toolkit of strategies which are applicable in all subject areas. This has diversified the curriculum. Online platforms such as Lexia, Hegarty and EverLearner supplement the classroom teaching and were particularly useful during the pandemic to engage pupils. A Year of Reading has focused students and staff on the promotion of reading. Staff have a signature note on their emails stating which book they are presently reading and the reading areas in classes have been upgraded to reflect the expectations.
Staff have also received reading related CPD to further their knowledge. Student Reading Ambassadors are appointed who take it upon themselves to promote books to other students at different times during the year. There are posters around the school emphasising ‘What am I reading?’ and these are monitored by the Ambassadors. A bespoke curriculum is provided for students with special provision within their EHCP. West Suffolk College provides sessions to support inclusion for some students and SEND provision is largely based on literacy with the emphasis on phonics, grammar, word study and comprehension.
My Growing Brain has been a focus across the school during the last year to address mental health and wellbeing issues. Lessons begin with Year 7 to explain the different parts of the brain in PSHE and Wellbeing and tries to explain ‘how full your bucket gets’ and how you can cope with the various issues that this presents.
‘Love It Try It’ weeks
Climate walks, pupil book studies and peer support through ‘Love It Try It’ weeks, where staff have the opportunity to welcome colleagues into their classes for feedback, have a big impact on staff sharing ideas and strategies. Members of the Senior Leadership Team and Curriculum Team Leaders conduct these. The ‘Do Now’ start to lessons ensures a consistent and calm start to every session.
The ‘Learning Journey’ element to lessons has been introduced recently to help narrate and focus student understanding of what they have learned and where the learning is expected to develop. The triangulation of lesson observations, data and student work provides evidence for the SEND team in trying to identify gaps in learning. The school continues to develop its use of technology and student independence in using it to access lessons since the pandemic.
There is a bank of laptops that students with literacy and communication needs can collect as needed, and a bank of reading pens that are used to support exam arrangements. Progress in personal development is also important and at breaks and lunches, students have a degree of autonomy over where they eat and meet their friends. Students are encouraged to use the library for home learning club as well as changing books and accessing information.
Relationships between staff and students are excellent and pupils feel cared for and supported in their learning with teachers and support staff understanding their students’ needs.
Strong Links with the Local Community
The Academy has strong links with the local community and good use is made of local services to extend the curriculum. There is good support for local and national charities and an involvement of the students in raising funds for children less fortunate than themselves. The Academy is very much part of the community and where safe and possible, staff have also planned for outside visitors to enhance experiences and learning in school. The Academy aims to ensure that its students see beyond their home environment and what opportunities exist. Staff want the students to understand that their current learning leads onto many opportunities. The curriculum is consequently designed to include local, national and international references.
The Self Evaluation Report reflects the high quality of evaluation that exists in the Academy. It is comprehensive and reflects the school as seen by the Assessor. Castle Manor Academy and the ARCH Specialist Cognition and Learning Hub is an example of a school committed to meet the needs of its students and is outstanding in its commitment to and implementation of inclusive practice. It is an outstanding, caring environment for students where high expectations have a huge impact on progress, attitudes, behaviour and wellbeing.
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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