Whitehouse Community Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Excellent Example of Inclusive Practice
Whitehouse Community Primary School is an excellent example of inclusive practice. It is a school with 622 pupils in Ipswich with a catchment area that has changed from predominantly white British families to a school where 40% of children have English as an additional language (EAL). 37% of children are eligible for free school meals and 21% of children receive support for SEND. Inclusion is evident in all aspects of the school’s work and there are good links with the community to offer support for families.
The Headteacher works effectively with her Leadership Team, the Governing Body, and the Academy Trust to ensure that all staff have similar aspirations for children at the school. All teachers are expected to be teachers of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and all leaders, leaders of SEND. The Pastoral Team demonstrates a commitment and focus on ensuring the school caters for the needs of every child.
Key Values
The school encourages all children to understand ‘If you believe it, you can achieve it.’ Its key values are Inclusion, Ambition, Opportunity, Achievement and Community and everything that the school does strives to empower all the children and staff. The school strives to be present and available for children, colleagues, parents, and carers and to have considerate, professional, and respectful behaviours with all members of the school community. They also have worked hard to ensure a safe school environment by maintaining positive relationships. The school provides a challenging, stimulating, and creative curriculum delivered in a calm, supportive learning environment where all pupils are encouraged and enabled to achieve their best and to become independent resilient learners. Pupils have made good progress over the last 5 years from low starting points and all staff in the school are committed to ensuring individual progress continues to reflect the hard work that has been devoted to developing a broad, balanced, diverse, and well thought through curriculum which offers opportunities for every child to progress.
Relentless
Overall, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. This is because leaders check the quality rigorously to ensure that it is consistent across the school. Ofsted in June 2019 stated: “Since the previous inspection, the Headteacher, Governors and staff have been relentless in bringing about improvements. The Headteacher has galvanised the school team to work well together. All pupils are supported to make the progress they are capable of. Staff work well together and share the same high aspirations for securing better outcomes.”
This assessment can confirm that this is still the case and the SLT has refined and developed their expectations and have taken the staff along with them. Children with SEND, children with EAL and vulnerable groups of children are ably supported and cared for and they achieve well. Children are well prepared for life in modern Britain, and they have a good knowledge and understanding of British values and how they are intertwined with ‘The Whitehouse Way.’ The school’s response to the pandemic was excellent due to the speed in which they reacted to the changing situation.
Pupils Feel Cared For
Relationships between staff and pupils are excellent and pupils feel cared for and supported in their learning with teachers and support staff understanding their pupils’ needs. The Family Engagement Lead liaises well with parents and ensures staff can voice any concerns they may have.
Staff wellbeing is a focus throughout the school. Staff feel very well supported and respected by school leaders. They know that their wellbeing is a priority and senior staff are fully aware that in order for staff to be emotionally available to the children, they need to feel supported and recognised themselves.
The Headteacher demonstrates strong, caring leadership and she is visible and accessible to the parents, staff and children and takes a lead in ensuring the ethos and climate in the school is calm and purposeful.
The IQM Lead also supports teachers well in providing advice, support, and resources to ensure all children have the learning they need. Rigorous and detailed monitoring means that any areas for development are quickly identified and acted upon. The monitoring of teaching is accurate and challenging. Leaders sensitively support staff to improve their practice, and this has helped to improve the quality of teaching.
Ofsted commented on the support and opportunities offered to pupils: ‘The provision for supporting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is a strength of the school. The subject leader clearly communicates her vision for this area. She has worked hard to ensure that all adults understand and fully embed this into every area of school life. Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to learn about different faiths and cultures. The school promotes celebrating diversity within its local community. Pupils learn about British values and what it means to be a citizen in England today. ‘The Whitehouse way’ permeates all aspects of school life. This helps pupils to develop a greater understanding of the world they live in and the contribution they make.’
Outstanding
Discussions with parents, staff and children during this assessment confirmed this focus on ‘The Whitehouse Way’ and its impact on children’s attitudes and behaviours.
Whitehouse Community Primary School is a particularly outstanding example of a school committed to meet the needs of its pupils and is outstanding in its commitment to and implementation of inclusive practice. All staff have an enthusiasm and passion for their part in the learning and lives of the pupils at the school. They are dedicated and positive about the futures of their pupils.
Everyone is committed and wanting to do the best they can for the pupils at Whitehouse Community Primary School. They provide an outstanding, caring environment for pupils where high expectations have a huge impact on their progress and wellbeing. The Self Evaluation Report reflects the high quality of evaluation that exists in the school. It is comprehensive and reflects the school as seen by the Assessor.
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.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack