Grange Community Nursery and Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Sheer Determination and Passion
Grange Nursery and Primary School is an excellent example of inclusive practice and the sheer determination and passion to improve outcomes for all children is palpable.
The school, with 142 children currently on roll is within a catchment area that has predominantly white British families. Inclusion is evident in all aspects of the school’s work and there are fantastic links with the community to offer support for families. The Headteacher works effectively with her leadership team, the Governing Body and the Weaver Multi-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 Disabilities (SEND) and all leaders, leaders of SEND.
Right Skills
The Trust Board and Governing Body are committed to ensuring the values of ‘Inspire, Believe and Achieve’ not only apply to the children but to the whole staff as well. The aim is to inspire the staff to ensure everyone has the right skills and encourage them to develop professionally. The relevant training is available to all staff from leaders to Early Career Teachers (ECTs), support staff, office staff and midday assistants.
The Trust and leaders use current pedagogy, Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) research and national guidance to drive the school forward. ‘If we can unlock the future for children and their families, life outcomes are improved’.
The school’s journey to rebuild its ethos, attainment, local perception and reputation is inspiring and the commitment and investment demonstrated by the Trust Board to believe in the Headteacher’s vision for the school was clear. This was acknowledged in the recent ‘Good’ rating that the school received during the Ofsted inspection in April this year.
Inclusion is a Shared Responsibility
Inclusion is a shared responsibility at Grange Nursery and Primary School. Responsibilities are delegated across a skilled and professional team who work closely together to implement the aims of the school and drive standards. ‘For us, inclusion encompasses behaviour, assessment, safeguarding, SEND and the curriculum’. There is a cascade of leadership which consists of the Headteacher who is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), the Assistant Headteacher who is also the Inclusion Co-ordinator (Inco)/SEND and Pupil Premium (PP), the behaviour and curriculum lead and the pastoral lead who is also the Deputy DSL.
The Headteacher and Inco were asked to describe the school in one word. “We cannot choose just one, nurture and passion are the drivers. After the journey we have had, we would not be where we are today without this. These underpin everything and all the opportunities for our children.”
‘Inspire, Believe and Achieve’
The Grange Nursery and Primary School’s values of ‘Inspire, Believe and Achieve’ are embedded into every aspect of school life and this will only grow as the school aspires to reach out to support the whole community. “The community hub is the next step for us. We want to be the local centre, not just for our current families, but for anyone who needs help and support.”
The day review was filled with examples that consistently reflect the ‘togetherness’ of the school.
Parents understand the expectations of behaviour and the inclusive ethos of the school and recognise the improvements made over recent years. They understand the high expectations of all staff to ensure children have a positive learning experience. They could not have spoken more highly about what the school has to offer.
One described the help and support that is given atGrange Nursery and Primary School as ‘natural’, “if the school sees something, they act straight away. They do not wait for diagnosis or funding; they just do it.” They love the level of engagement they have with their children. They attend assemblies, workshops, and coffee mornings and can be part of lessons so they know what is going on in phonics or topic lessons. They feel that they can take away what they have learned themselves. “The behaviour is brilliant in the school, they (the staff) are prepared and they act straight away”.
Stimulating
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 six 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 that offers opportunities for every child to progress.
Children with special educational needs access the same, but sometimes modified, curriculum as other children in the school, and consequently make good progress. The Assistant Headteacher/SENCo plays an important part in ensuring every effort is made to cater to the needs of every child and goes out of her way to ensure all agencies, teachers and support staff have the child’s needs uppermost in their minds. Consequently, the progress of all children is good. The school’s assessments support the identification of needs and provision is made to support children with their emotional wellbeing, communication needs and attainment. Diversity, inclusion, health and safeguarding are addressed in Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) lessons weekly and through the ‘No Outsiders’ curriculum.
The indoor and outdoor learning environments are spacious, offering children opportunities to develop aspects of sport, sustainability and learning through play. These environments are important and supplement the focus on the mental health and wellbeing of staff and pupils and the understanding that high-quality learning experiences support pupil development.
There is an open-door policy with teachers able to check in with their teaching teams or leaders to express any concerns they may have. Staff commented that even a simple message from the Headteacher to check in after a stressful day is so important and ‘means a lot.’
Life of the School
Support staff feel included in the life of the school. They say, “there is no hierarchy- everyone is given responsibility”, they are always kept up to date with regular training in different areas of learning. The friendly faces at the school reception provide parents with the confidence to approach the school with their concerns. They are an important first line of contact for parents who may have an issue they need to discuss. Staff are also available at the beginning and end of the day for a ‘meet and greet’. This close liaison helps to ensure a two-way monitoring of attitudes, pupils’ progress and the opportunities to celebrate successes.
During the review, the children were polite, friendly, engaged in their learning and keen to talk about their school. They have a love for their school and are proud to attend Grange Community Nursery and Primary School. They could articulate the school’s values and talked about the teachers. “They believe in us, but you must believe in yourself first. They help us to do that.” The children were asked towards the end of the review, “what could Grange do better?” One boy, who was very quick to throw his hand in the air, quite passionately replied, “nothing, it is perfect”.
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.