Lessness Heath Primary Achieves Flagship Status

September 7, 2022

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Lessness Heath Primary School in Kent has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.

A Warm Welcome

Lessness Heath Primary School greets visitors with a warm and caring welcome. The diverse community that the school draws from is wide-ranging in its needs and aspirations and mobility is high.  The school meets this challenge thoughtfully and is mindful of remaining cohesive in its approach.  The school is based on one site, that comprises several buildings and generous outside space including the forest school. Across the school, the threads throughout were clear to see in aspects such as equality.

A Magical Experience

Even before entering the building, the staff were helpful, welcoming and conscious of the procedures to welcome and admit visitors to the school.  DBS checking and signing in were thorough and efficient.  The new senior leadership team has managed significant change as a unified team.  The Headteacher talked about the vision with passion and careful consideration has been given to the rethinking and communication of this involving all stakeholders.  She has a desire for pupils to receive a magical experience during their time at the school.

Pupils Attain And Progress

The Headteacher and SLT have a clear vision for the school.  The Headteacher communicated the belief that the experience pupils have in primary school should be magical and that the curriculum and strong practice in early years needs to be enhanced by the ‘sprinkles’ on the cake, that is the legacy work.  The SLT has identified the importance of digital equality in this vision having added the role of computing lead alongside English and maths.   Assessment structures ensure that key areas of learning development are identified and pupils are supported to attain and progress.  The inclusion lead plans to build on this by introducing iASEND as a means of assessment for pupils with special educational needs.

Effective Strategies

During the tour of the school, the balance between a coherent environment and individuality was evident.  Simple and effective strategies like uniform hessian display backing and an acceptance of reuse and recycling add a sense of a ‘home from home’ throughout.  The presence of Lola the dog, the chill-out space and the reading café all compliment the impression that this school is well maintained and cared for.  Outside it was clear that the playgrounds, field and forest school are all well utilised.  Zoning is used to provide varied options for pupils at unstructured times and early years classes have access to well-organised outdoor space.  This opportunity is extended to older children through the outdoor classroom, which has been newly planted with an orchard and flowers from a local business and contains a science garden.

A Passion For Equality

The Phase Leaders, who also lead on Educating for Equality, spoke with a personal passion for equality.  They have been at the forefront of the project with the school one of the first to achieve the Champion Award.  The pedagogy underpinning implementation is innovative, creating a safe space to look at many sensitive issues such as unconscious bias in a truly non-judgemental fashion that fosters critical thinking. This is encapsulated in the concept of moving from tolerance to appreciation.  The impact on policies and practice extends to recruitment, CPD and uniform.

Parents Have Trust

Parents have such trust in the school that they were able to share their experiences.  They cited the impact on their children and families, and a few comments were

‘My child says that this school has given the borough a good name.’  ‘My child has a passion for learning and reading, this school is so community minded.’

One parent shared a deeply personal story that clearly demonstrated the school’s ability to change lives.  Outside agencies contested to this in their meeting stating the proactive whole school approach, the building of relationships and quality dialogue as maximising the input from their services.

Pupils Feel Supported

At lunchtime the environment was calm and nurturing, offering the pupils an excellent space at unstructured times which meets a wide range of needs.  The pupils felt challenged and supported in lessons and could give specific examples for themselves and also their peers.  One stated that:

‘Aspiring is one of our values’ when the word arose.

Throughout pupils were polite, courteous and growing in confidence.  One Pupil Leader shared that the older person that was their buddy said during a Zoom call that ‘You have made my day.’  Pupil Leaders also shared that they have duties on the gate, meet weekly to support each other and the types of, and reason for, recycling that they are currently focused on.  One pupil has coined the phrase ‘Nurture the Nature’ and it is intended to use this next year in the school’s bid to become an eco-school.

A Clear Vision Of Inclusion

The chair of governors clearly knows the school well.  One described the ‘flow’ of all the elements and that systems and diligence were key reasons for this.  They said that the school tries very hard to keep pupils in school and that reintegration is strong.  The school provides very clear data, reporting against the key objectives with attendance improving as a direct result of the school’s offer.  The Headteacher has a vision of inclusion that is informed by listening meaningfully to the stakeholders.  The leaders have a magical and nurturing place to learn, where pupils are encouraged to be caring and responsible.

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: info@iqmaward.com for further details.

Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack