Lyneham Primary School in Wiltshire has achieved the Inclusive School Award.
Inclusive Practice
Lyneham Primary School is an excellent example of inclusive practice. The Headteacher and Deputy Head/IQM Lead are passionate about the progress of all the children in the school and have created a learning environment where children develop both their academic skills as well as those of being a citizen of the future. The school’s motto is Belong, Believe, Achieve, reflected through its clear vision of providing high quality teaching and learning opportunities to ensure children have the skills to face future challenges and successes. The school has six core values – Aspiration, Perseverance, Responsibility, Respect, Kindness and Co-operation. Throughout the visit each of those values were reflected either through conversation with members of staff, parents and governors, children or via the displays and evidence in the classroom and books. Parents described
“the very special atmosphere within the school where children are polite and help each other.”
Children described their values as
“making people think more, be respectful to each other.”
In both halls, displays represented each of the values and assemblies regularly reference them. Ofsted, during its visit in February 2018, identified as a strength the fact that “Leaders have developed the core values and ethos of the school well. Pupils speak confidently about these values.” Leaders are focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning as their main priority. Governors commented on the
“Headteacher’s commitment to teaching and learning with his delegation of the overseeing of the current building project to the School Business Manager so that he could retain his focus on the pupils’ progress.”
Learning for All
The emphasis on learning for all was evident throughout the visit. The classroom displays have been developed as focused learning walls with the daily progression of learning evident. WAGOLL Boards are also evident providing excellent examples of what the learning should look like. Children described being able to use the display to help them with their learning. The school has established a system of “Tickable Targets” to again, support the children in progressing in their learning. One child commented that the
“Targets help me and my friend to get better at writing.”
Children have a purple pen to respond to learning. Formative Assessment is a focused aspect of the classroom practice with teachers and teaching assistants offering verbal feedback and using the daily assessment for learning sheets to review and adapt the learning for pupils.
Reviewing Pupil Progress
The school has established routines to review pupil progress with termly pupil progress meetings. SEND pupils have Pupil Passport which are reviewed regularly with teachers and the SENCO. Parents have regular meetings with staff and a written report three times a year which updates them on the personalised Tickable Targets that their children are working on. There has been a clear improvement in all pupil outcomes over the last three years with the improved focused approach to high quality first teaching.
Transition
As a school that has a high proportion of Service families (75%) the school has a high level of in year pupil change (30%). It has therefore recognised the need to address those children’s needs with the introduction of a Transition co-ordinator. The co-ordinator has developed an effective transition programme for children both entering and exiting the school.
An Effective Transition Programme
On entry, she shows parents around, meets with them, provides information to teachers and ensures that there are meetings two weeks, four weeks and six weeks between for teachers and parents to review progress. The children are assessed on entry and a programme of catch up is put in place if required. The children also have access to the lunchtime Pit Stop club for the first few weeks where they can eat lunch in a quieter environment as well as play with a smaller group of children. A buddy system is also available to them. Each child has a Lyneham Primary School Passport which enables them to find out about the adults in the school and who to go to if they are upset or unwell. They are able to write down information about their class from their teacher’s name to the names of the children in the class. Finally, they have a little questionnaire where they can comment about their worries about school from playtimes, friends, assemblies to the different ways of learning. A similar Passport is given to the children on exit as well as a card from the Headteacher and a special goodbye in Assembly.
Parents Feel Welcomed
Parents commented on the incredible feeling of being welcomed that the Transition co-ordinator had provided and the quick assessment of their children on entry leading to their rapid inclusion in the school. The school has two full time ELSAs as well as a Play therapist to support children as part of that transition should they need it.
Established Systems of Monitoring
The leadership team has established systems and programmes of monitoring to review the quality of teaching and learning. These include the use of the Framework for Teaching Evaluation when completing lesson observations to ensure consistency of practice. There is a focused Performance Management System in place for both Teachers and Support Staff. Staff commented on the training opportunities available to them and the strong team ethos across the school. Comments included
“we are always sharing ideas and evaluating our practice”.
Communication has strengthened across the school with weekly TA Briefings keeping them informed, as well as opportunities to plan with teachers and discuss the pupils’ needs. Staff acknowledge that they were “very lucky working in the school” as they recognised that they all had different skills to offer and were keen to support each other.
Restructuring the Current Curriculum
Leaders in the school have identified that their curriculum needs to reflect the values of the school as well as the transitional nature of the pupils. The leadership team have therefore been working on restructuring the current curriculum so that children will be able to more effectively develop the skills they need for the future. Children will have access to Knowledge Organisers so that even new children entering the school will be able to access previous learning.
Governors are Heavily Involved in Monitoring
Governors are part of the monitoring system reviewing the school development plan as part of their visits into school as well as meeting with members of staff. A Governor regularly attends SLT meetings. They have also been involved in the development of the new curriculum. The school has a range of policies in place that support the Inclusive approach with named Governors identified in policies such as SEND.
Leaders are Focused on Improvement
Leaders are focused on improvement, inviting Local Authority reviews as part of their regular review of progress. At the recent review in February 2019, the local authority graded the school as Good reflecting on the positive learning environments that had been established in all Key Stages. The school works with its local cluster of schools in Wiltshire with regular training opportunities available as well as the sharing of good practice. The Headteacher has also set up links with schools further afield including a school in London that recently achieved an Outstanding grade. This outward looking approach contributes to the highly reflective evaluative aspect of the school in refining its Inclusive practice.
Links with Parents and the Wider Community are Valued
The school values its links with parents and the wider community. They have established a Forest school in the local copse with the support of the local farmer providing access through his field. The Forest School is able to extend the learning opportunities on offer to the children. The Fijian community treated the school to an afternoon of song, food and dance to celebrate Fiji Independence Day in October. The event was well attended by pupils and over 400 parents. The Fijian pupils and parents took a real pride in sharing their traditions and this event reflects the importance the school places on being part of the community life.
A Remembrance Garden
As a school with a high proportion of military families the school has established a Remembrance Garden. Children from the Art Club created a Poppy Mural for the wall within the garden. Each year the Year 5 pupils lead the Remembrance Service which is well attended by pupils, parents and members of the local community.
Extra-Curricular Activities
The school has developed its offer of clubs within the school both before, during and after school. All members of the teaching team lead a club as well as some members of the support team. Clubs fall into three categories: Team Lyneham including sporting opportunities such as football, rugby, dodgeball, netball and team games. Create Lyneham includes art, craft, storytelling, bush craft, Italian and radio club. Home Lyneham includes sewing, gardening, healthy lunchbox and first aid (to name but a few). Children earn badges for their attendance and commitment to a club over two half terms.
Supporting All Students
Parents and staff commented on the inclusiveness of the clubs. A child with specific needs who wanted to be part of the Radio club was worried about taking part in the Radio centre. The member of staff let the child sit outside the room listening and included them by referencing them being the outside broadcasting team. The following session the child joined in with the club in the room.
A Journey of Improvement
Lyneham Primary School has been on a journey of improvement since it was graded as Requiring Improvement by Ofsted in January 2014. The substantive Headteacher was appointed in September 2015. The school has seen rapid growth since July 2015 (when NOR was 211 compared to 348 at present) due to the re-opening of MOD Lyneham. The school is in the 80th percentile for size of school nationally and is set to continue to grow with the drawback of troops from Germany, many of whom will be housed with their families in married quarters at Lyneham. The school population is estimated to grow to approximately 600 pupils over the next three years and phase 1 of the expansion plans are currently underway to construct a purpose built EYFS ‘play barn’ and new hall with additional classrooms to follow. The Phase 2 expansion plans have been put on hold following a review of the actual figures.
School Context
Approximately 70% of the school’s pupils are from service families spending between 6 and 36 months on roll at the school. The school is in the 20th percentile for stability. The school deprivation indicator is 0.05 compared to 0.21 nationally, falling into the 20th percentile. This is due to high levels of employment as more than 70% of families are employed in the military.
A Cohesive Teaching and Leadership Team
Following the recruitment of the current Headteacher, there was a period of significant turnover of staff at the school. This has now settled and there is a well-established cohesive teaching and leadership team. Lyneham Primary is more ethnically diverse than most Wiltshire schools with approximately 25% of pupils from ethnic minority groups.
Sources of Evidence
Evidence was gathered from a variety of sources within the school. The range of evidence was extremely useful presenting a full picture of life in school. Meetings on the day with Governors and Parents, the Senior Leadership Team, Children, Support Staff and Teachers. A Learning Walk also informed the evidence base.
Self Evaluation Report
The Self Evaluation Report reflects the high quality of evaluation that exists in the school. It is comprehensive and reflects the school as seen by the assessor. Lyneham Primary is an excellent example of a school committed to meeting the needs of all its children. Its unswerving approach to the implementation of inclusive practice creates an environment that develops the whole child.
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.