Park End Primary School in Middlesbrough achieves IQM Centre of Excellence status.
Open and Honest Discussion
All the Senior Team are keen to have open and honest discussion about the work of the school and all are willing to reflect on practice and keen to hear of new ideas. Park End is a large school, with nursery provision on site. Since 2016, two-year old provision has been established and the team is seeing the benefits of this for the children, as the provision is well organised, and the Head acknowledges that practice is strong.
Creating an Inspiring Curriculum
This is an inclusive school, staff, parents and governors are keen to support all children. All children’s needs are considered, and staff work hard to meet these varied needs so that the children can have the most appropriate provision. They are enthusiastic about creating a curriculum which inspires and meets the needs of the children.
A Strong Pastoral Team
A strong pastoral team has been established so that appropriate support can be given to children. The Head and Inclusion Lead have ensured that it is possible to respond quickly to personal and social issues and are able to support and guide parents to enable them to provide the best for their children. The Head of Inclusion/SENCO maintains an overview of children’s needs and she liaises effectively with the team to ensure that processes are implemented and needs are addressed. She is currently supporting another school in the absence of the SENCO.
Supportive Governors
Governors are supportive of the endeavours of the leadership team and are able to engage in discussion about matters relating to school. They feel that they are consulted on school-based issues. They understand their roles and work to offer support and challenge.
Sources of Evidence
A tour of the school was undertaken, and this included visits to classrooms to observe aspects of good practice and the work of the children. Changes planned to the building were also discussed, a new roof being installed over the summer and a Hub is to be established to enable the school to have a multi-purpose base for the work of the SEND, Mental Health and Care team. A tour of the school started in Nursery and a walk was undertaken working through Foundation and through to Yr 6 who were just at the point of Transition to Secondary education. The Head ensured that I had access to all areas of school which enabled discussion to ensue about successes and ways forward.
Children were Fully Engaged
Throughout the visit, we saw children fully engaged in the learning process, good use of teaching spaces and study spaces were evidenced, and the school was well maintained. As we walked through school, we had the opportunity to ‘drop in’ to classrooms in KS2, KS1, Foundation and Nursery where we were welcomed by staff and children. The Head and I could see that, children were on task and had meaningful challenges and areas of enquiry in which to engage. The Head seeks to ensure that everyone has a clear view of attainment and that all the team work together for the benefit of the children. We saw aspects of maths being taught in some classes, appropriate challenge was offered and, in some cases, team teaching (2 teachers) was used to ensure that sufficient direct teaching was offered to enhance learning.
Supporting Learning
In the main corridor we saw that some small teaching spaces were used as a based to support learning including reading. Library resources were readily available to support the children and were labelled and stored for ease of retrieval. Displays in corridors link to work undertaken and the staff have plans to review the focus of this, to include achievements of prior pupils, roles that ex-pupils now have e.g. teacher, sportsman, nurse etc. Classrooms are well-organised, IT is accessible, and rooms are well resourced.
The Outdoor Learning Environment
The Head took time to share the outdoor environment. Whilst she recognises there is work to do on the main yard, the facilities for nursery and Foundation are inviting and exciting for the children. We saw children in the 2-year-old provision taking risks and problem solving. Consideration at all times is given to appropriate health and safety in the context of the outdoor equipment, which is pleasing.
The Benefits of Enabling Learning Outdoors
The School team recognise the value of the outdoor classroom and the benefits of enabling learning outdoors. They enrich the experiences of children by taking children on visits out of school and having visitors in school to share information with the children.
Leavers’ Assembly
An assembly was taking place on the final day of the assessment to which parents were invited. The children entered the hall in an orderly manner and were keen to participate. This was well attended by parents who were welcomed into school. It was with real pride that the children received awards for their endeavours, and everyone showed emotion and delight at the children’s successes. It was a privilege to be part of this on the last day of school, especially as the Yr6 children were moving on to secondary education.
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)
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