St John Fisher Catholic Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Celebrating Diversity
St John Fisher Catholic PS is a three-form entry school in Pinner in the London Borough of Harrow. In 2019 it joined the Blessed Holy Family Catholic Academy Trust. The local demographics have changed, as a result 53% of pupils are Catholic. The Headteacher says that this does present a challenge in terms of maintaining the Catholic identity it is also a character of the school that is embraced and celebrated. Religious Education (RE) is 10% of the timetable and parents are made aware of this and that as well as learning about the Catholic faith, pupils learn about other faiths as well. A total of 47% of the pupils have English as an Additional Language (EAL), 7% Pupil Premium (PP) and the school currently has 18 Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) with five more in process. Attendance and attainment across the school is above average.
Celebrating diversity is extremely important to the school. There is a display in the school that celebrates all the languages spoken by the pupils. This is carefully maintained and alongside this, a calendar is issued to parents via the newsletters and the website that lists the various celebration or commemorative days relating to the pupils’ heritage.
Pupils are encouraged to come into school in traditional dress to share with their class and the wider school. One parent spoke of how her son had attended as an African king and he was celebrated and taken to other classes so that the pupils could learn and speak to him. Support is offered to those new to English via a starting school booklet in the home language as well as intervention groups. Our Assessor saw how successful this initial support can be when they met a girl who had started school in September, speaking no English. She was able to participate in the Key Stage 1 (KS1) group of pupils who came to speak to to the Assessor, clearly understanding what her peers were saying as well as being able to respond.
Real Strength of the School
There is a wide range of additional support available for pupils at St John Fisher Catholic PS. A Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) is in school two days a week as is a counsellor, and a peer mentor is in for one day. An Occupational Therapist attends to see those who have this in their EHCP, Health Improvement (HI) support is in school every three weeks and an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) specialist works with eight pupils and their parents.
In addition, the school has three Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) as trained members of staff, five trained Rainbows/ Sunbeams leaders as well as ELKLAN trained staff. A real strength of the school is how proactive it is in learning about and understanding individual need and then putting interventions in place. For example, every June, the Harrow Early Years Hub comes into school to complete the three to four-years-old assessments. They work alongside school staff and this provides vital information ready for the pupils starting Reception in September. The school also can, and does, make referrals to the Hub for things like toileting and eating. Thus, staff have really good information about the pupils as they start school and they can start to plan for the individual needs. Information is shared with secondary schools about Year 6 pupils and transition is fully supported.
Exemplary Behaviour
On a tour of the school, our Assessor not only observed exemplary behaviour but saw pupils fully engaged and enjoying a range of activities. In the KS1 Songs of Praise assembly, for example, the pupils were enjoying learning new songs and were enthusiastically using the gestures that went with them. At the end, they were given a mission to try to follow for the next week. All of these ‘missions’ have been thought about carefully and adapted where necessary so that they are inclusive of different faiths and disabilities. No child is then unable to try and complete the mission, as the Catholic values relate directly to the skills needed to be successful in life.
The room our Assessor was based in was next to the music room and so pupils were heard singing there and playing music, clearly enjoying the activity. In the classrooms, it was clear that the pupils were happily engaged in their learning activities and keen to participate.
Routine and consistency are well established in the school. The classes in each year group follow the same timetable and the same vocabulary is used. Each classroom has a reading corner and a calm corner. The calm corner is not set up until the teacher knows the class and understands what is best for the pupils. The calm corner can then look very different in each room, with Zones of Regulation and resources adapted to meet individual need.
Subject wall displays must reflect what is being taught and so change as topics change. Visual timetables are used and these are adapted for some pupils who are just given ‘chunks’, to give better understanding. KS1 classes are open plan as are the rooms in Years 3 and 4. Years 5 and 6 have separate classrooms as they are being prepared for the transition to secondary school. The Year 6 classrooms are set out more formally.
Based on the Needs of Pupils
Real thought has been given to the use of space in St John Fisher Catholic PS. In KS1 there is a courtyard area with a circle of stumps where classes can come to reflect and talk. A room has been set up for the ELSA work and it has soft seating. Another room has been created for the counsellor and the mentor to work in and this has blinds at the windows to give privacy as a classroom looks onto it.
Plans are in place to create more space for the Year 3 and 4 classes. They can pull dividers over to give an individual room feel but this makes the rooms feel cramped. The classroom walls will be moved out into the shared space to give more room. At all times plans to adapt the school building are based on the needs of the pupils.
The curriculum is rich, progressive and purposeful with the aim of pupils feeling loved and secure. Character education is delivered using the superheroes that the children created: Creative Thinking Carol, Collaborative Carl, Articulate Andrew, Growth-Mindset George, Risk Taking Ruby, Self-Managing Sarah. The pupils can articulate the Gospel Values that are behind the curriculum as well as being able to speak about the superheroes.
It is positive that interventions take place before school so that pupils do not miss out on the curriculum opportunities in the class. The interventions are fun and interesting, so the pupils are happy to attend.
The school wants the children to become independent and leave school, enlightened, academically successful, mentally and emotionally happy and culturally literate individuals with social competence. High aspirations and positive self-esteem are encouraged.
Family Feel to the School
Staff, parents and Governors all spoke about the family feel to the school, that individual needs are thought about and that the school goes above and beyond as a community. The Governors explained that all children are valued. The truth of this was demonstrated when one Governor said that her child had been turned down by other schools and parents told our Assessor that the same had happened to them. The school does reach out to welcome and support families.
The Governors said that inclusion was a tapestry that runs throughout the school and again, this comment was validated by what parents said. They spoke about how they and their children had been supported, how children never feel different and how qualities are seen in individuals and these are embraced. Other pupils accept the differences because staff model, support and guide them. The school is always thinking about ways to make things better and there is real partnership working. Parents are fully supportive of the school, recognise its strengths and how individual members of staff go out of their way to help; the school exceeds their expectations.
Staff are fully supportive of the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team (SLT), telling our Assessor how the Headteacher is forward thinking and prepared to try new things. Staff work together and understand that children do not all learn in the same way. They stressed how the health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and families is a priority. New members of staff are well supported by a clear induction programme and a staff induction handbook. There is an excellent range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities and staff deliver training for other teachers. A positive culture permeates the staff teams. They feel valued and that they are one team.
Feel Happy and Safe in School
The pupils enjoy the wide range of extra-curricular activities that are on offer to them in clubs. The list of choices is lengthy and much more than I have seen before. PP pupils are given the opportunity to choose a club, which is paid for them so that they do not lose out because of lack of money. All the pupils spoken to said how happy and safe they felt in school, which was exactly what parents had said to our Assessor. One girl spoke about all the support she had received, from knowing that there was the calm space in the classroom, to other space in school as well and how the counsellor and mentor had helped her to manage her anger. Our Assessor was particularly touched by how she had made notes so that she could share all the information and how confident she was about sharing her story.
Pupil Voice is strong in the school with pupils being able to become, Catholic Life Ambassadors, member of Pupil Parliament and Play Champions to name a few. The pupils enjoy having areas of responsibility. One Play Champion explained how she liked going to the KS1 playground to check on and help the younger pupils. The school is now an Outside Play and Learning (OPAL) school and pupils explained how they liked the activities on offer in the playground. Independence is key here with pupils making decisions about what they would like to play with and having to tidy equipment away.
Our Assessor added, “I spent two busy and productive days at the school and saw firsthand how happy the pupils were and how strong the staff team ethos is. Staff know and understand the needs of individual pupils and aim to meet those needs. The Headteacher and SLT have a clear vision and drive for inclusion and have high expectations for both staff and pupils. This is a warm and supportive school where individuals matter both in academic and social progress. Thank you to all at the school for making me feel welcome. The work that you are doing on inclusion is impressive.”
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