Julian’s Primary School, Streatham, has achieved Flagship status.
High Priority Placed on Inclusive Practices
Julian’s is a much larger than average primary school based on two sites with a Nursery attached to the West Norwood site. The school has over nine hundred children and has gone through an expansion programme over the last few years. In 2017 the Ofsted team recognised the high priority the leadership team placed on Inclusive practice, noting that the team had successfully established an inclusive learning environment where every pupil is valued, and all staff are supported. Throughout the visit it was evident that this commitment to inclusion has been sustained over the last two years. The team are passionate about the importance of well-being and at the recent IQM Cluster the school hosted, social and emotional well-being was the focus of the day. The school has invested significantly in improving the understanding of social and emotional learning with the employment of both a Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Lead. Both teaching and Support staff attend Inset days and they have all had experience of working with both the Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Leads.
Embedded Values
This commitment reflects aspects of the school’s values
“we draw on and involve our community,” as well as showing that “everybody matters.”
Further evidence of these values being embedded were observed from conversations with outside leads who described the school as a
“special place with a warm and supportive atmosphere, teachers are very open with the children and each other.”
Regular Monitoring Programme
The school has established systems to monitor the quality of the teaching and learning with a regular monitoring programme that both senior and middle leaders undertake. The inclusion leads work closely with teachers to support them in providing appropriate provision for all children. They have established an effective tracking system that ensures they are able to review children’s progress on a regular basis. Over the last year they have continued to refine the system to show more effectively the interventions that a child has had along with particular needs and scores from the termly PiRA and PUMA tests. Interventions are baselined using a strengths’ and needs’ analysis, followed by an exit review. The impact of the interventions is reviewed at the termly Pupil Progress meetings. The two leads work closely to ensure there is equality of opportunity on both sites for all children. Inclusion policies are well established and reviewed regularly by the Senior team.
High Expectation of Behaviour
The school has high expectations of behaviour and uses SIMS to log Behaviour incidents. There is a traffic light system in place to support the expectations of behaviour. Children are able to be supported by the Learning Mentor for a period of reflection should it be required. The Deputy Heads track the Behaviour Log at regular intervals and produce a report for the Leadership team to review. The Inclusion Leads track the behaviour of those children with Social and Emotional Needs. The development of both Growth Mindset and Mindfulness in the school has been in response to further supporting children in understanding their own behaviour and needs. Children commented that they use strategies learnt in school at home to help to calm down.
Polite and Respectful Pupils
Children were polite and respectful of each other when talking in a group. There are a number of roles that the children are able to undertake to develop their sense of community and also contribute to supporting each other. During the visit I met Eco Warriors, School Councillors and Peer Mediators. The children were able to explain clearly the expectations of each role. The role of the peer mediator included two days training. The children’s understanding of the role and the importance of the three rules
“Don’t take sides, Don’t be bossy and Don’t gossip”
were enthusiastically shared. They also explained how they had to apply for the roles with reasons as to why they would like to be Peer mediators, School Councillors or Eco Warriors. The aim of
“developing responsible citizens of the future”
was evident from the enthusiastic descriptions of litter picking in the park, to the description of growing and eating the vegetables in the garden from the Eco Warriors. The School Councillors had enabled more water fountains and contributions to the local Foodbank. The children were very proud of the school values
“Respect, Integrity, Creativity, Excellence and Resilience”
and were able to comment positively on the regular Circle times they have to support the understanding of the values. During the learning walk on the West Norwood Site, there was time to observe part of one of the Circle times led by the Learning Mentor. Children were keen to contribute and listen to each other.
A Wide Range of Learning Experiences
The children have a wide range of learning experiences with regular trips to engage all. On the day of the visit, the Year 5 children were visiting Dover Castle. Other children had brought in models of castles that they had made at home and there were interesting displays in the classroom. The children are able to access a wide range of resources in the classroom independently should they require them. Children with specific needs may have a workstation in the class or individual support. Workstations are consistent with now and next boards as well as visual timetables. They can also be personalised if that is an appropriate provision for the child.
Pupils Above National Average
The children described being able to put their hand up as a sign that they require help, as well as being able to ask a friend or try one more time. They had a good understanding of the feedback and marking approach commenting that
“the teacher will mark in green pen and they correct in blue pen.”
They were also aware of how they needed to improve their learning. The impact of these strategies can be seen with the end of year outcomes. Outcomes for summer 2019 indicate over 35% of children achieving greater depth in Reading, Maths and SPAG. In Key Stage 1 the greater depth is over 30% in Reading and Writing and 29% in Maths well above the National average. At the end of EYFS the pupils were above national average with 76% of children attaining the Early Learning goals. Phonics is also well taught with an outcome of 91% in Year 1. The school has clearly worked hard towards its Ofsted target of “improving the consistency of teaching and learning to ensure that the most able pupils are always provided with sufficient challenge across all classes and subjects.” As an inclusive school the leadership team has recognised the need of high-quality teaching for all children.
Appreciative Parents
Parents were very appreciative of the expert support they have received from the school. The team has kept them informed and consistently tried to adapt the provision to ensure that children can make individual progress and also be a part of the community. Children are fully included in the wide range of visits that the school undertake from day to residential trips. Staff complete the specific risk assessments required and undertake extra training to manage individual children if required. Time is spent on preparing children for transitions with the development of a Transition Booklet and the opportunity to visit classrooms and meet new teachers. The staff respond positively to outside advice, spending time to ensure the appropriate paperwork is in place and that meetings are attended. They are also able to support parents in improving their skills with their children. A parent observed that because of the expert advice from the school, her child was able to express feelings and they talked together much more to resolve issues. A possible future development to improve parental support would be to offer a coffee morning for those parents or carers of children with SEN.
A Rich and Varied Curriculum
This is a school that recognises the importance of children feeling happy and confident within themselves to be able to learn effectively. Leaders have focused on developing children’s resilience and positive mindsets to learning. They have begun to explore the importance of memory and meta-cognition as well as the value of mindfulness to enable children to feel secure and able to take risks in their learning. The school offers a rich and varied curriculum with a wide range of trips to engage and excite the children. Systems are in place to track children’s progress. A range of therapies from Lego Therapy to play therapy, traditional 1-1 and group interventions, adults with roles such as an ELSA, Learning Mentors and Counsellor are on offer for individual children. The Inclusion and IQM Leads have led the implementation of the 2018-19 Action Plan to ensure that the Centre Of Excellence targets have been met.
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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