Garston Manor School Awarded IQM Flagship Award

August 17, 2026

---

Garston Manor School has been recognised with IQM Flagship status for its outstanding work in promoting inclusion and creating a school community where every pupil feels respected, encouraged and able to achieve their very best.

Making Life Better for Every Young Person

Garston Manor School’s Headteacher’s declaration: “I am here to make life better for those who have been marginalised” encapsulates the school’s sense of services and mission to make lasting, positive impact on students’ lives. A simple motto of “different for different” indicates culture of recognition of students as individuals, who receive personalised learning pathways and are treated according to needs and abilities they manifest whilst in school. In this school, staff, governors, and parents expressed their admiration for the Headteacher who “leads by example, is driven by firm belief in research and encourages staff to study anything, as long as it benefits the school.”

Removing Barriers and Raising Aspirations

The school’s approach to teaching and learning is that of no limits and removing barriers to students’ education and independence. Garston Manor has a reputation of accepting pupils who are perceived by some settings as unteachable and has tangible evidence of turning them into successful learners. Unusual for a special school, some students are reintegrated to mainstream. “We are very proud of our youngsters and their families, all of whom had to find the courage to trust us, to trust the mainstream system and to try again in a system/environment they saw as having failed and traumatised them in their previous attempts,” the Headteacher stated.

Inclusion Beyond the School Gates

The school takes its inclusive agenda beyond its immediate community. It has a reputation of helping other settings, for free, and is generous with documents which they willingly share “because they are not private property but belong to Hertfordshire Local Authority.”

Garston Manor School is effective in managing complex behaviour because of an excellent transition programme, a close working relationship with Local Authority and a practice of establishing the core reason for behaviour issues. These inform interventions and staff always involve parents to help the school achieve the best for those children. The school places child voice at the heart of investigation into behaviour issues and often this is a key ingredient of information gathered, essential to construct effective pastoral care and interventions.

The school’s policy is to give each student experience of spending time away from home and familiar school environment, regardless of the child’s complexity of needs. This is an example of inclusive practice at its best, but it needs to break a few barriers such as e.g. staff taking on extra responsibilities and training, or financial constraints to achieve the final goal. Staff believe this is the right approach and meticulously prepare themselves (planning, safeguarding) and children to maximise the benefit of the trips.

The success of the residential trips is credited to staff having thorough knowledge of the participants’ needs. There are many anecdotal stories about how much happiness the trips brought to individual children, like the one about two sisters who saw the sea for the first time in their lives.

Listening to Pupils and Families

The students are the best ambassadors for Garston Manor School. In the meeting with the assessor they said:” teachers know you personally and give you support at your level.” They praised staff for creating a “wonderful school for us.” Students could describe how they learn in lessons, and that they are helped by adults breaking down feedback, so it is easy to follow. They admitted that teachers “correct our work but never in a rude way.” The statement from one of the students: “I am a completely different person than I was in mainstream school,” is a powerful testimony to the school’s effectiveness.

The praise of leadership and support for the school is overwhelming. The individual stories are about the school’s understanding of a child and building of provisions around their emotional, educational, physical and any other recognised needs. “As parents, we cannot overstate what that means to us. The difference they have made to her wellbeing and confidence is life changing.”  They concluded: “They truly deserve recognition for the extraordinary care and dedication they show to their students every single day.”

Find Out More About IQM

The Inclusion Quality Mark provides schools with a nationally recognised framework for developing and celebrating inclusive practice.

If your school is interested in achieving the IQM Inclusive School Award, contact the IQM team on 028 7127 7857 or email admin@iqmaward.com.

To find out more about IQM and request a free information pack, visit www.iqmaward.com.