Milton Court Primary School Achieves IQM Centre of Excellence Status

September 2, 2026

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Milton Court Primary School has achieved IQM Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status. The assessment highlighted a school that serves a community with significantly higher levels of disadvantage than those seen nationally, yet demonstrates exemplary inclusive provision and is already demonstrating Centre of Excellence-level inclusive practice, focusing on refinement, sustainability and wider system leadership rather than improvement from a deficit perspective. 

A School Where Everyone Counts 

The warm and friendly welcome visitors receive on entering Milton Court is consistent and unwavering. Throughout the visit, every interaction reflected this positive culture. 

All of the groups spoken with confirmed that this welcoming ethos is embedded across the school, with many describing Milton Court as: “a family.” Families clearly place a high level of trust in the adults who work within the school, and there is an evident warmth, mutual respect and sense of belonging shared between children, staff and parents. 

The school’s values underpin every aspect of its provision. Leaders have established a culture where the school adapts to meet the diverse needs of every individual, rather than expecting children to adapt to the school. Staff consistently articulated the belief that: “everyone counts,” regardless of background, ability or individual circumstance. 

Inclusion Beyond the School Gates 

A further strength of the school is its Understanding SEND Together parent group, led by the school’s SEND Governor. The group provides parents and carers with regular opportunities to access specialist advice and support from a range of external agencies, including the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service (STLS), School Health, THRIVE practitioners, the Autism Education Trust, and Kent PACT (Parents and Carers Together). 

Milton Court’s commitment to inclusion extends well beyond its own community. 

The SENDCo is recognised as a Kent Inclusion Champion and is leading work across the local area to develop a continuum of need and provision. She has also produced a series of professional webinars for SENDCOs across Kent, sharing effective practice and building capacity within the wider education community. Similarly, the school’s Adaptive Teaching Lead works collaboratively with colleagues from other schools, providing coaching and professional guidance to improve teaching and learning. 

Learning Brought to Life 

Milton Court’s curriculum is built on the belief that every child should be supported to thrive both academically and personally. Learning is brought to life through a wide range of meaningful experiences. Several lessons were observed where learning was brought to life through engaging and purposeful activities. In the Year 5 mathematics lesson, the children explored positive and negative numbers through an active learning task in which they represented values and arranged themselves in numerical order before responding to further challenges. 

In the Year 5 science lesson, children investigated water resistance by testing models made from playdough. The practical enquiry encouraged them to make predictions, test hypotheses and evaluate their findings. Similarly, in a Year 1 lesson, children were highly engaged in an outdoor activity that one child enthusiastically described as a: “treasure hunt”. The school also benefits from a unique historical resource in the form of original Second World War tunnels located beneath the site. These tunnels are used to enrich the history curriculum, providing children with a rare opportunity to experience an authentic environment linked to their learning. 

Removing Barriers to Learning 

The school places a strong emphasis on hands-on learning and the use of manipulatives to make learning active, meaningful and accessible for all children. Practical learning is an established expectation across the school, reflecting the belief that children develop a deeper understanding when they actively engage with their learning. Support for pupils with English as an Additional Language is well established. Targeted interventions are provided, with personalised word banks and communication resources such as WIDGIT and Makaton used to meet individual needs. 

A Highly Personalised Approach 

Leaders described how some children experiencing heightened anxiety are supported through individual visits to their future secondary school, transported by staff using the school minibus or car where appropriate. This thoughtful and flexible approach exemplifies the school’s determination to remove barriers and ensure that every child experiences a successful transition. The SENDCo provided a particularly strong example of the school’s commitment to inclusion by explaining how she had designed and built a bespoke workstation to meet the specific needs of one child. The workspace enabled the child to work independently while retaining the opportunity to collaborate with classmates whenever they chose to do so. 

Changing Lives for the Better 

Staff expressed how much they love working at Milton Court and are: 

“proud to be changing lives for the better”. No one at the school sees deprivation as a barrier as the staff strive to lift aspirations through the belief in what they do for the children. Milton Court Primary School deserves recognition for its exemplary inclusive provision. 

Find Out More About IQM 

If your school is interested in achieving IQM Inclusive School Award, contact the IQM team on 028 7127 7857 or email admin@iqmaward.com.

To find out more about IQM and request a free information pack, visit www.iqmaward.com.