Hamstel Infant School and Nursery, Southend-on-Sea in Essex, part of the Portico Academy Trust, has achieved Flagship School status for the second time.
Introducing Hamstel
Hamstel Infant School and Nursery is larger than the average-sized Infant School. It is part of the Portico Trust and is the only Infant School within that group of schools. Inclusion permeates all aspects of its work and there are good links with outside agencies to offer support for families. The school continues to recognise that the early stages of development are crucial to a child making the best possible progress both academically and emotionally. The school has been through a difficult time like most other schools in the country due to the Covid 19 situation. They have coped admirably, although the ongoing situation has put pressure on all concerned. The Headteacher has continued to be proactive and together with the Leadership Team she has been able to plan and implement effective strategies that have ensured that children and staff feel secure in school. The Headteacher and Leadership Team ensure that all staff have similar aspirations for children at the school. Children are fully supported to achieve their full potential and the Leadership Team sets the framework in which all the work in the school takes place. Children are valued as individuals within a caring atmosphere. Teachers, TAs and HLTAs know their pupils well and have an excellent rapport with their children. There is a consistent approach to work in the school and the IQM Lead/SENCo ensures that the inclusion agenda and the expectations of the IQM system are reinforced in and around the school.
Warm Welcome
The Welcome Room is relatively new in the school. The school has recognised that it has a growing area of need in respect of speech and language. This has been highlighted by the pandemic and children’s lack of contact with adults and other children. It is reflected most crucially in the children in the Reception class and the Welcome Room provides speech and language support for children in the Reception Class on an individual basis during the morning sessions. They are seeing a larger number of children with speech and language difficulties, these children are not necessarily pupils with Special Educational Needs, but they are children who will benefit from this resource base. The room is bright and has new furniture and has two staff. There is access to the sensory room and Dily’s Den, which is an outdoor sensory garden.
Be a Rainbow in Someone Else’s Cloud
The Rainbow Room is an Autistic Resource Base for eight children with high need ASD across KS1 and the EYFS. It has 3 staff and is in a large room with an outdoor area. It is DFE partly funded, for three children, and its children with complex needs are given opportunities to integrate with their mainstream class where possible for example with outdoor learning every three weeks. The Assessor observed a lunchtime session where children are encouraged to eat a range of foods they do not always try. Each child had their individual meals, and the staff were excellent in encouraging children to sit at the table and to be as calm as they could be whilst eating. The attitude of the staff was excellent. Some of the ingredients for these meals are funded by the school, but the staff are also proactive in bringing in food from home to ensure children have a wide variety. They support them with their learning through memorising and repeating and using Theraplay. Theraplay is a structured form of play therapy supporting parents and children to feel more connected. The aim is to enhance attachment, self-esteem, and trust in others. The outdoor area is in need of some improvements in terms of its large apparatus which is a little dated and the staff recognise this. Funding is, however, an issue although the school still works to ensure the children have the best possible opportunities to progress.
Starlight Starbright
The Starlight Room is for children from Y1 and Y2 who have complex needs including high functioning children with ASD. This is in a larger room than previously and has a shared outdoor area with the Reception children. The room offers greater flexibility in its use as it is larger and easier for children and staff to access the provision required. Some of the children transition to their mainstream class and some, because of their need, do not. Those that do transition access principally computing, maths, outdoor learning, and PE. In the afternoons, the staff work on ISPs (Individual Support Plans). The ISP is a document that supports the child by involving parents, teachers, and the child in generating small step targets, to achieve personal learning goals. The staff work with the children on sensory and fine and gross motor skills on a regular basis. This base is also well resourced, and the children enjoy their time in school.
You Are My Sunshine
The Sunshine Room presently has eighteen pupils with social, emotional, and severe behavioural needs. There are also a number of Looked After Children within the group. It has a new room which is light and spacious. When the Assessor was in the room it was a very calm environment with children moving around the room and relating well to one another. They had ‘Ben the dog’ and his handler from PetsforTheraplay, in attendance and children took it in turns to read to Ben and his handler. Ben has a calming influence. He has only just returned to the school after the Covid situation, but he is obviously loved and welcomed by the children and staff. The children are linked to their class for registration, outdoor learning, PE, and swimming. The children are identified for support in the Sunshine Room by the Boxall Profile assessments which identify gaps in learning which need to be addressed. Other children are identified by the Nurture Manager whilst observing mainstream lessons and sometimes these children are not identified by the Boxall Profile. Staff are also on the playground in the morning and can liaise with parents to discuss any issues that might arise. Presently the Sunshine Lead Teacher says that it is the priority to ‘get children back on track with regular routines.’
The Outdoor Classroom
The outdoor learning environment remains one of the strengths of the school. The Wildlife Ranger took the Assessor on a tour of the wildlife area. Every class has access to the outdoor learning environment on a three-week cycle. This includes the Nursery children and children in the Starlight base as well as other children from the bases who reengage with their mainstream class. There are close links to the topics carried out in class and the children have the privilege of seeing badger setts, the trail of a vixen, discovering the wildlife in the pond and having the opportunity to roast marshmallows on the open fire pit in the outside classroom. They use the outdoor learning area to write and tell stories and can see for themselves the changing of the seasons and the changes in a compost heap over the year. The Ranger wants to fit CCTV cameras on the trees to capture the movements of the badgers and fox so that the children can see more clearly their nighttime activity. Throughout the year, pupils are supported to carry out activities that develop their confidence and their ability to manage risks successfully in a safe and natural environment. This is certainly an excellent resource and provides experiences for children which will long stay with them.
Broad and Balanced Curriculum
Displays around the school continue to reflect the care and attention of the staff and the broad and balanced curriculum that is delivered across the school. The harvest theme of ‘different foods from a range of countries’ is cleverly displayed in hoops by each class. The school-sponsored a ‘leveret’ as a community contribution in support of raising funds for Havens Hospice, a local charity, to take part in Southend’s ‘Hares About Tour.’ The leveret and hare sculptures were dotted around Southend as part of a mystery tour and the school has managed to secure one of them and dedicated it to ‘Finding the positives from the pandemic.’ The school ‘leveret’ is now displayed at the end of a corridor. Displays that have contributions from each year group demonstrate a unity of purpose.
Inspiring Leadership Team
The school has created an effective team of Senior Leaders and staff who share the vision for the school and the aspirations for all pupils to achieve highly. Together with the Senior Leadership Team and, in particular, the SENCo, the Headteacher has worked effectively to improve the quality of teaching and the access to learning for all pupils. There seems to be nothing that is too much effort or trouble to ensure families have the best possible outcomes. Parents understand the inclusion agenda and are fully behind the school’s ethos. The Leadership Team continues to be innovative in the way in which it approaches the curriculum for every child and especially for those in greatest need. All staff demonstrate a commitment that goes way beyond that which is expected in most schools.
Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award
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