Exning Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status for the first time.
Everyone is Welcomed
The welcome page on the website for Exning Primary School opens with the quote – “We are an outstanding school where everyone is welcomed, efforts are valued, ambition is nurtured and where the potential of every child is realised. We are committed to providing the highest quality education for all children regardless of background or barrier to learning, in every aspect of school life”.
This was indeed the experience of our Assessor when they visited Exning Primary which they found to be a very warm and supportive setting with inclusion at the heart of the school’s ethos, values and policies. The school motto – ‘Persevere, shine, be happy, value ourselves and others, be proud of our achievements and never, never, never give up’ – is palpable, alongside a distinct sense of integrity, family and community which was articulated by everyone our Assessor spoke to during their visit. The school recently held its annual ‘Valuing Ourselves and Others’ week’ to draw specific attention to that part of the school motto.
During the week numerous visitors from the community were invited into school, including parents/carers and others, to offer an insight into their life, background, religion, race, culture, disability. Our Assessor heard how impressed children were with the Boccia workshop and disability talk given by a visitor with cerebral palsy. This is a wonderful example of how difference and diversity are valued and celebrated at Exning.
Children Feel Valued and Included
Staff are rightly proud of their inclusive culture and parents greatly appreciate the fact that everyone in school consistently goes above and beyond to make them and their children feel valued and included. Parents gave our Assessor numerous examples of a consistent effort on the part of staff in school to welcome everyone, listen, communicate and identify vulnerable pupils as early as possible, in order to maximise their learning potential. This begins with a robust transition process into Early Years and continues throughout their time at Exning. Positive comments abounded; “we feel so lucky”, “staff here are fabulous”, “this school is amazing”, “it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this school community” and “this school transforms lives” – an extremely powerful statement. Unsurprisingly, the school is very popular with families in the area, and beyond, and is consistently over-subscribed.
Ofsted judged the school as Outstanding in all areas at the last inspection in 2020. It was noted that, “Disadvantaged pupils’ needs are met particularly well. They achieve at least as well as other pupils and, very often, do better. Similarly, the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are met extremely effectively. Pupils are given the high-quality support they need to achieve very well.”
The school has recently opened a SEND unit (The Hive) for EYFS and KS1 children with complex needs. This additional commitment to inclusive education is further evidence of the school’s ceaseless pursuit of excellence both in relation to staff expertise and children’s learning. The SEND unit is fully integrated into school life with existing school staff moving into specialist roles, in order to ensure that the inclusive ethos of the school was carried into the unit from the outset, with children from the unit being involved in curriculum lessons in the mainstream school, as well as eating with the KS1 children and playing together at breaks and lunches.
Children in Key Stage 2 have volunteered to be buddies for the children in The Hive, which has been a mutually beneficial arrangement for both sets of children – the older children have learned patience, tolerance, kindness and respect, and the children in The Hive have felt included and supported by children who know the school well, as well as having role models for behaviour, communication and interaction.
Working Collaboratively
A professional from the Specialist Education Service spoke very positively of her experience in working collaboratively with school staff who are effective role models for children and colleagues in other settings. She described a culture of fully engaging with inclusion and relentlessly promoting high standards. She said class teachers take professional responsibility for individual needs of all learners within their class.
In the local area, Exning are held up as a school of excellence and receive many visits from SENDCos and Inclusion staff from other schools looking to learn from the excellent practice here (children with SEND and children entitled to Pupil Premium make progress that is either in-line with their peers, or which exceeds it).
The Headteacher is fully committed to ensuring all children at Exning Primary School are exposed to the same cultural capital, and all children are enabled to take a full and active part in every activity within school, by funding the majority of experiences, as well as supporting vulnerable families financially and emotionally. Communication of external opportunities for all children is regularly sent out to families, with funding streams, support and childcare opportunities offered to families to facilitate their attendance.
Silver Book
The school ethos around perseverance is celebrated each week through the Silver Book assembly. When a child has achieved a personal best, in any area, the teacher puts the child into the Silver Book. Each week, there is a whole-school celebration assembly, to which the parents of the children who are in the Silver Book are invited, and children’s achievements are celebrated by the Headteacher in front of the whole school and the attending parents. For working parents, or those not able to attend, the assemblies are filmed and posted into the child’s Dojo portfolio so that parents are still able to celebrate their child’s success. Parents our Assessor spoke to said they really valued this.
There has been a systematic improvement in Exning Primary’s inclusion offer year on year and staff rightly pride themselves on being an outstanding school which caters for a range of special educational needs, as well as supporting a wide range of children from different backgrounds.
Our Assessor heard how external agencies urged the school to apply for Centre of Excellence status as recognition for the significant impact made on children’s education, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds or prior experiences.
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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