Curwen Primary achieves Flagship

June 30, 2026

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Curwen Primary School is a highly welcoming school which provides exceptional support to SEND pupils, and indeed all pupils. Curwen Primary School is child-centred and focused on caring for and enabling all pupils to achieve, doing its best by every pupil. The school has a robust curriculum developed over a long period of time, alongside extracurricular activities which are considered an integral part of the school experience. An indicator of the school’s highly personalised approach to learning and teaching can be seen in how each provision is approached – in Oak 1, where many children are pre-verbal, task trays are provided to each student which are reviewed every half term and contain the appropriate level of task for the child as well as communication tools. Meanwhile in Oak 2, where children can bite or hit, there is a focus on learning self-regulation while following the Early Years curriculum. The SEND Link Governor at Curwen Primary spoke about how they aim to ensure “there is never an opportunity missed” for SEND children.

Displays around the school are bright, welcoming, and reflective of the inclusive nature of the school. Recently there was a beautiful and very prominent display created for Kindness Week, based around a book the children were reading called “It Is OK To Be Different.”

Classroom doors have posters displaying the languages spoken in that classroom, as well as the two Classroom Buddies, and every room has Zones of Regulation and visual timetables.

The Multilingualism lead explained the importance the school placed on multilingualism to celebrate language, culture and identities and “push the culture of belonging.”

All staff and children speak highly of the Forest School provision, where the children learn what it takes to build a fire, what a fire needs to burn, how to look after the environment or about the seasons. It is typical of Curwen that staff do not shy away from including all children in these outdoor sessions, even sessions that could have the potential to dysregulate some children.

Early identification

The school is working hard to transfer from high needs funding to EHCPs, but school leaders are firmly of the belief that pupils should not have to wait for EHCPs to be agreed before accessing support. The school will often put in place high levels of support for pupils who require it. Curwen Primary School believes that every child is entitled to an education no matter what.

Staff are proud of the way they have developed assessment for pupils in the Oak Provision (one of the specialist provision pathways in the school). A framework has been adopted from the Autism Education Trust and a significant amount of work put into adapting it so that smaller steps of progress can be measured.

The school works closely with sensory services to provide CPD for staff to support those children with hearing impairments. All staff now refer pupils as soon as they have concerns, and SENDCo has streamlined the referral process so that it is quick and simple for colleagues.

Sign language is being taught across the whole school and there is a “sign of the week” for both pupils and staff to learn. The school works closely with the Sensory Impaired Lead and the Teacher of the Deaf from the local authority who come into the school to support teaching of particular schemes of learning. EYFS pupils were recently supported in learning signs for the songs in their school Nativity Play.

Curwen Primary School is a friendly, engaging and inclusive school where children clearly feel safe and happy and where inclusion is deeply embedded in all aspects of school life. It exemplifies an IQM Flagship school.