Malet Lambert School in Hull, part of The Education Alliance, achieves the Inclusive School Award with Flagship School status for the second time.
The Inclusive Ethos
The inclusive ethos is engrained in the culture at Malet Lambert. There is a warm, friendly atmosphere and visitors are welcomed by staff and students alike. When walking around the school during the review, all observed interactions between staff and students were positive. Students’ attitudes to learning in lessons are good, as is their behaviour. There is a comprehensive support package for students to enable all to be successful. In his welcome on the website, the Headteacher explains that they
“put the needs of individual pupils at the heart of everything we do.”
The non-existent permanent exclusion figures evidence this genuine commitment to including everyone and catering for individual needs. Due to its ever-growing success, the school’s published admission number (PAN) has been increased by 25%, with current Year 7 and 8 having 350 students in each year group.
An Exciting New Project
To further enhance the excellent inclusive practices, the Inclusion Team has worked with students to create a vision for an Alternative Curriculum Environment (ACE). They plan to renovate an outbuilding to provide a new space for this exciting new project. During the review, a selection of students who have been leading plans for the development of ACE presented their ideas to me. This was the highlight of my visit as the children were articulate, enthusiastic, and charismatic. They shared a clear vision for the project. They explained how they intend ACE to be used to:
“enhance life and social skills, support students with their sensory needs, encourage self-sustainability and entrepreneurial skills, offer and develop career opportunities” and “develop agricultural and gardening skills.”
The ACE building will:
“provide meeting rooms for parents and outside agencies including coffee mornings and workshops” as well as “provide an outdoor learning environment.”
The project outline and building plans have been well-thought through to provide holistic spaces including a kitchen area for life-skills sessions, a sensory garden with a greenhouse to be able to grow their own produce and a sensory room, providing a calm space to relax, for therapy sessions.
The Curriculum is Inclusive
The curriculum at Malet Lambert is fully inclusive and accessible for all. During the review process, I met with a friendly group of students who regularly access Inclusion Support. They were enormously proud of the school and, in particular, their sporting achievements. One young lady showed me the sporting trophies she had helped win recently in a local inter-school competition. The Teaching Assistant, who leads physical support, works closely with Physical Education teachers to adapt the provision so that all students, regardless of physical ability, can take part and achieve successfully.
Further evidence of inclusivity at Malet Lambert is the change of use of the previous isolation room to become a Reflection Room. Any students removed from lessons, due to poor choices, will spend time reflecting on their choices. Part of the process involves a survey completed on arrival in the Reflection Room. The data from the survey is sent directly to the House Pastoral Team who identify any concerns or needs which require further support and intervention. The Leaders have appointed a new Reflection Room Manager to ensure the experience is impactful and that it leads to not only improved behaviour choices but higher engagement levels across all lessons.
Diversity is Priority
The Inclusion Team describe the inclusive ethos at Malet Lambert as:
“happiness, engagement, and equality.” They want “every child involved” and “every child engaged” through a “tailored approach.”
Due to the influx of students for whom English is spoken as an additional language, the staff feel that diversity is a current priority. There is an increasing number of students at Malet Lambert who speak English as an additional language (EAL). There are 94 EAL students on roll, with 24 different languages and 22 diverse nationalities amongst them. To cater for the increased demand, the school has appointed an EAL Coordinator whose role it is to assess students’ English language level on arrival then implement the relevant intervention and support accordingly. Each child’s linguistic competency in English is categorised into ‘fluent,’ ‘competent,’ ‘developing competence,’ ‘early acquisition’ and ‘new to English.’ 86% of the school’s EAL students are either fluent or competent in English. To support the EAL students across the curriculum, each teacher has an EAL ‘toolkit,’ with a checklist of strategies and prompts to include all EAL learners in the lesson. The EAL Coordinator has also created a clear overview of the provision for each of the distinct categories of language proficiency. The school’s swift response to cater for the growth in this area of need demonstrates their passion to ensure all children are included in all aspects of school life.
Students are Nurtured
Malet Lambert is a genuinely inclusive school where students are nurtured, and where adaptations are made to ensure all learners can be successful. It is clear from the review process that the staff continue to be fully committed to inclusive education, with many areas of excellent practice. All staff involved in the meetings throughout this review process are fully aligned to the school’s ethos. All students observed and spoken to as part of the review are happy and thriving in the inclusive, academic environment.
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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