Oakwood Junior School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Made to Feel Welcome
The first member of the school community to greet our Assessor on the day of the IQM visit was Ron, the school’s wellbeing dog. Pupils explained, “You can go and play with Ron, he has made people feel more confident to share their feelings and he makes upset children happy.” “If he sees you crying, he will lie next to you.” “The dog really likes books; he will let you read to him.” This positive, energetic greeting set the tone for the day. Staff and students were friendly, welcoming and demonstrably proud of their school. An amazing 97% of parents said that they are made to feel welcome in the school. 100% said that their child is happy, feels safe, is well looked after, is well taught and makes good progress at Oakwood Junior school.
The school says it has an open-door and that is most definitely the case. SLT meet and greet parents as they arrive and are highly visible around the school, accessible to staff and pupils throughout the day. This open-door ethos extends to Odyssey Collaborative Trust as for example, the CEO runs drop-in sessions for staff.
Curriculum is Ambitious
The Head accurately describes the curriculum as ambitious and fully inclusive. Leaders and staff work tirelessly to achieve the school aim of, ‘Every child is a learner and can achieve’. The impact of this is that all pupils are making ‘well above average’ and Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) ‘above average’ progress.
Time which pupils spend out of the classroom is minimised and interventions are specific and tailored to meet the needs of individual pupils. The Head is passionate about inclusive strategies. She said, “Pupils have only one childhood and they should get the most out of it that they can.” She is totally committed to the aim that “Every child should leave the school as a reader.” This is reflected clearly in all the school is doing to promote reading for pleasure. The pupils have access to a wealth of literature. The Assistant Headteacher was keen to share that for her, the shared read session is the best time of the day. 
The school was calm and orderly and pupils with challenging needs were handled with respect and kindness. Staff are very resilient and go above and beyond to meet the needs of pupils and their families. The pupils are, quite simply, put first at Oakwood.
The school is in the heart of the community. Many staff live in the community and the school represents a safe place for pupils. The receptionist is well known to parents and does a great job getting reluctant children through the door in the morning. The contextual, local community knowledge is a strength of the school. The school welcomes and encourages parental contact. Parents are encouraged to speak to any adult in the school who will then pass on information to the relevant member of staff for follow up.
Inclusive Approach to Education
It is clear that Oakwood has an inclusive approach to learning. A Governor described Oakwood as an inclusive school supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. The Headteacher keeps the Governors well informed about inclusion and SEND. He commented that behaviour is good as a result of high expectations and the consistent application of the school’s behaviour policy.
Teaching and learning is good and as a result the progress of pupils is very good. Staff have high expectations and clearly want the best for the children. They are committed and passionate about what they are doing and keen to learn and develop their knowledge and practice.
The Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCo) is proactive and systematic in the way that she ensures each child with SEND gets the resources and support they need and are entitled to. It is clear that all teachers are teachers of SEND. The staff are very proud of the fact that at Oakwood, children with significant needs are successfully learning alongside high achievers in truly inclusive classroom environments.
There is an embedded culture of removing barriers to success. The heavy investment in staff CPD is having a marked impact. One member of staff explained “I feel more inclusive in my teaching practice.” Staff described a culture where if they want CPD the Head will give it to you and also the time to put it into practice. A member of staff said “we are now creating our own CPD.”
Strong Culture of Safeguarding
The school has a strong culture of safeguarding, led by the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher, who are designated safeguarding leads. The Deputy and SENCo are mental health first aiders. As part of Derby Abuse Together they have excellent communication with local police and are notified of social care involvement and incidents in the community as they happen. This allows them to put support in place for the child immediately.
The learning mentor, also DSL trained, will pick pupils up to offer support, and Action for Children, a local agency, will also support with low level concerns and early help signposting. Domestic Abuse is the highest contextual safeguarding priority for the school. Family support workers deliver the Freedom Project for children who are witnesses or victims of domestic abuse.
The school has a comprehensive provision map in place which records all interventions in place to support pupils. These include physical literacy, lego therapy, lucky lunches and daily readers. At the end of the year the provision map for a year group is shared with the next year’s teaching team to ensure continuity of support. Staff speak highly of the effectiveness of the transition process between year groups.
The school has some additional key staff who make a real impact on the day-to-day experience of pupils at Oakwood. One of these is the learning mentor who works as a pastoral lead, focusing on removing barriers to learning. He mentors children who are referred to him and checks in on students formally and informally. He helps pupils to regulate their emotional responses using the zones of regulation.
The sports coach runs 6-week physical literacy programmes, working with children to develop their fine and gross motor skills. This is a comprehensive programme with progress tracked against age related milestones. He spoke passionately about inclusive strategies in sport, working with non-participators to try and overcome the reasons, so that pupils are included moving forward; an example of the ‘no opt out’ ethos at Oakwood.
Staff Wellbeing is a High Priority
Staff wellbeing is a high priority for leaders. The Head has established a culture of reciprocal goodwill. The Trust ran a mental health awareness inset day which was well received. Staff take turns at being the ‘Wellbeing Fairy’, providing small, anonymous tokens of appreciation for colleagues. Staff mental health is supported by a mental health newsletter, signposting of support agencies, check-ins with colleagues, staff meetings and informal peer support. Staff training is highly valued by staff and contributes to high staff morale. Support is provided for teachers delivering outside their specialism, for example, Derby County in the Community run teaching PE sessions for staff. The school has moved to live marking and feedback in lessons which has had a positive impact on workload.
The staff, pupils and parents work together to ensure that all pupils have the same access to learning opportunities and are totally committed to providing the support, scaffolding and intervention required, so that ‘every child is a learner and can achieve’. This common purpose is evident in all aspects of school life.
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.