Grove Road Primary School Achieves Flagship School Status

August 24, 2026

---

Congratulations to everyone at Grove Road Primary School on achieving the prestigious IQM Inclusive School Award with Flagship School status. This is an outstanding recognition of the school’s unwavering commitment to inclusion, wellbeing and excellence. This remarkable achievement celebrates the dedication of staff, pupils, families and the wider school community, whose shared vision has created a welcoming environment where every child is supported, valued and empowered to thrive. 

Inclusion Drives Excellence 

Grove Road Primary School provides evidence of continuing to meet the standards for the Inclusion Quality Mark in all the elements. There is a continuous and evolving culture of critical reflection and action which is evident at every level of the school. This ensures that Grove Road Primary School remains inclusive, effective, and progressive. Ofsted (Feb 2026) also recognised this and reported ‘Leaders ensure that inclusion sits at the heart of all decision-making’. 

Barriers Become Opportunities 

Grove Road Primary School rise to the challenges and remains a small, happy and very inclusive school who identify pupil’s personal development and special educational needs quickly. Ofsted (Feb 2026) reported “Inclusion is at the heart of leaders’ approach to personal development. Leaders track pupils’ participation in activities and are proactive in identifying any barriers to personal and social development that pupils face. They work swiftly and successfully to remove these so that all pupils can engage with the wider life of the school.” The pastoral support is superb with staff, pupils, families and individual parents offered a huge range of support.  

Wellbeing Comes First 

Pupil’s wellbeing is a key area of focus for the school, and the school teach the pupils to recognise their needs by identifying and understanding their emotions then helping pupils to learn how to self-regulate. Worry boxes and zones of regulation are evident around school and the ‘chill out zone’ in the central hall is available when needed. School staff told the IQM Assessor that the staff team are all very approachable and supportive, ‘everyone is humble here and humility goes a long way.’ 

Learning Through Collaboration 

Grove Road Primary School has a well-planned and sequenced curriculum and are proactive in adapting this curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils. The school are working on further developing the teaching and learning within lessons and as a one form entry school, they are finding the teamwork and moderation opportunities with a neighbouring school helpful. The school will be using ‘IRIS connect’ a system of video technology to aid collaborative teacher development.  

Culture Unites Community 

One of the most celebrated events in the school calendar is the ‘Taste of Grove Road’ event. The whole school community come together and share food, wave flags, and wear traditional clothes from their individual cultures. It is an exciting event for the whole school community. 

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.