Lickey Hills Primary School and Nursery has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Thriving and Inclusive School
Lickey Hills Primary School and Nursery is a thriving and inclusive school situated in a beautiful natural environment. It prides itself on creating a warm and nurturing atmosphere where children can thrive academically, socially and emotionally. With a team of dedicated staff and excellent facilities, the school aims to provide a well rounded education for every student. It is a larger than average 2 form entry school serving an area of very low deprivation. Of the pupils, 81% are white British and 2.7% have English as a second language. The school is a vibrant welcoming place that is fully inclusive and open to all. This is characterised by strong relationships and high levels of trust among stakeholders. Pupils are happy, polite and well mannered. They feel safe in school, know that their opinions matter and their voice can influence decision making.
The school is well resourced and has the luxury of multiple break-out spaces and additional teaching spaces. This is mirrored in the high quality surroundings which include sensory circuits, a well developed Forest School area and a pond that is used to enhance learning.
Explore Beyond the Classroom
There are a wide range of extra-curricular activities available at Lickey Hills Primary School and Nursery including The Hive after school club. These activities provide opportunities for students to develop their talents, pursue their passions and build new friendships. Whether it is participating in sports teams, joining clubs or engaging in artistic and cultural endeavours, students are encouraged to explore their interests beyond the classroom.
A number of senior staff hold the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordination (NASENCo) which highlights the school’s commitment to inclusion. The existence of a Language Base for 20 places further underlines this and results in a higher than usual proportion of pupils who receive Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support.
Staff workload is monitored well through Governor wellbeing surveys and they feel very well supported by senior leaders. Subject leads, for example, have been given time to release staff to complete monitoring activities around their action plans. Staff meeting time is also allocated to allow staff to conduct assessment activities. There is a staff running club that often has 13 attendees who enter runs together and, on the day before our visit, had undertaken a 7k local run. Staff engage in social activities, including a quiz with parents and wellbeing drop-in sessions are available for parents which have proved popular.
Culture Vulture Passport
British values are promoted through assemblies and embedded through the curriculum, for example, by celebrating the recent coronation. All year groups have a culture vulture passport that captures visits to places of worship, external visits and visitors to school. Parents and grandparents are very generous with their time and often visit to share their skills and talents such as playing instruments and creating specialist art.
Cultural celebrations are addressed through assemblies and links are strong with the local church who helps to run a harvest festival with donations to a nearby food bank. Christmas shoe boxes were donated to support refugees. Children in Need and Comic Relief days are also held to raise money and staff dress up when children do. Fundraising has also been undertaken for cancer research which is close to the hearts of a number of families, including a pupil who recently completed their treatment and is now in remission.
Play leaders from Year 6 volunteer to support play in Key Stage 1 (KS1). They are trained through the sports alliance about purposeful play and games that they can introduce to pupils. They wear high visibility tabards which help identify them to the younger children. This is important in modelling expected behaviours among the younger children while building self-esteem through valued social roles for the Year 6 pupils.
Highly Desireable
In-Service Education and Training (INSET) days are framed as Teacher Education Days to focus on bespoke Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to help better meet needs and support understanding of metacognition. This allows specialist input from therapists in areas such as Speech and Language Therapy (SALT), emotion coaching, Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy (PACE), trauma awareness, attachment, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), etc. This builds capacity and ensures that areas more commonly associated with health than education can be drawn upon to support pupils through a multidisciplinary approach. This is highly desirable, given the increased complexity of need, and leads to more Quality First Teaching (QFT) which is to the benefit of all pupils.
There is a KS2 choir and Year 6 end of year production as well as a nativity play at Christmas. All pupils have access to individual and group instrument lessons and they engage in slam poetry and are all eager to perform.
The school concentrates on a limited number of key improvement objectives each year which often go across more than one year so that improvement becomes deeply embedded, epitomising the change, less to improve but to embed more the philosophy of school improvement.
Lickey Hills Primary School and Nursery is an inclusive and nurturing educational institution that prioritizes the holistic development of its students. With its values driven approach, diverse curriculum, focus on positive behaviour and engaging extra-curricular activities, the school aims create an environment where every student can flourish.
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