Prince Henry’s High School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Inclusive Centre of Learning
Prince Henry’s High School is a popular non-selective academy of almost 1,300 students from Year 9 – Year 13 situated in the town of Evesham, Worcestershire. Although cohorts of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) students, Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) 0.6%, SEND Support 2.6%, and ‘disadvantaged’ students Free School Meals (FSM) 10% and Pupil Premium (PP) 0.9% are below national average in number, the school is fully comprehensive.
Its catchment includes some ‘leafy’ areas of detached housing, Victorian terraces, and pockets of urban and rural deprivation – nearly 50% of students are ’bussed’ to school from outlying villages. The Travelling Community has a long history in the area. Most of these families are now very much settled in housing and their children are integrated into the local community and Prince Henry’s. Staff have worked hard to acknowledge, address, and support the culture of this particular cohort, as they do for all their students.
The school has a long history going back to the 17th Century and it was a Grammar School until the early 1970s. It is clear that Leadership has gleaned ‘the best of the old’, forging it with ‘the new’ and has successfully developed and sympathetically evolved both the physical environment and the ethos and culture to create an outward looking, inclusive Centre of Learning. The belief in opportunities and support for all is strong among all stakeholders. There is a very healthy combination and balance of constructive challenge, holding to account, mutual trust, and respect amongst all involved in the school: Governors, Leadership, Staff, Students and Parents, with wellbeing, ‘fitness to learn’ and personal achievement at the heart of decision-making.
Unique Individual Qualities
The relatively large number and range of values upon which the culture of Prince Henry’s is built reflects the importance placed upon unique individual qualities, good character, and personal development. There is an expectation of and support for high standards of conduct and achievement in the belief that all students have strengths and talents to be discovered and nurtured and can experience success. Outcomes in a wide range of subjects are good at KS4 and KS5. Success in other areas, outside of exam performance, is equally highly regarded and celebrated.
The financial commitment made to providing bespoke facilities for students with a variety of SEND and/or Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) challenges is testament to the commitment of Prince Henry’s to including all young people in their learning community, irrespective of abilities and needs. Leadership is determined that all subjects, core or not, should have excellent facilities and resources to maximise the learning potential for a modern world in each subject area.
The protection and breadth of curriculum subjects, underpinned by judicious grouping of students, enables staff to address their interests and any support they might require, whilst ensuring that they have necessary knowledge and skills to be able to make positive choices in their future lives. The warp and weft of a combination of timetabled subjects, extra-curricular activities, Enrichment Course and Electives and Service Programme (Y12) helps to create confident, positive young people who are well equipped to follow their chosen paths and make a valuable contribution to society in their own individual ways. Financial support is made available to students and families in order that they can avail themselves of opportunities during the course of their time at the school, if required.
High Quality Teaching
The importance placed on high quality teaching and learning at Prince Henry’s cannot be underestimated. In leading the Teaching School Hub, including the SCITT Programme, it works closely with universities and other schools in researching and sharing best pedagogical practice. Within the school, this is driven by the Teaching and Learning Group. Strategies and techniques are shared with staff and monitored both quantitatively and qualitatively for inclusion and impact on all.
Teachers and Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) are encouraged and supported in developing their personal knowledge and skills through a range of Training opportunities. Those our Assessor met felt that consideration was given to their wellbeing and that they were given autonomy but were suitably held to account, whilst also supported. Consequently, staff are happy working at Prince Henry’s, turnover is low and commitment, stability, and security benefit students.
The Headteacher’s targets set by Governors permeate through the staff body, as appropriate. He has skilfully managed to create a strong sense of ‘family’ and shared vision for inclusion and achievement within a large school, whilst also appreciating and allowing departmental and individual autonomy, reflecting both the positive power of the uniqueness of the individual and the synergy of the whole school ‘team’. All this is monitored within a robust, challenging but supportive structure and clear systems of assessment and evaluation for all.
Mutual Respect
The aura of mutual respect which pervades Prince Henry’s school is particularly impressive. Students feel that they are consulted, listened to and that they are able to play a meaningful part in both the everyday life and ongoing evolution of their school. They are encouraged to have a strong sense of personal and social responsibility.
Supportive and accessible frameworks are in place to enable them to demonstrate this in their study habits, commitment to work and also through revealing understanding of and support for others with varying needs within the school and wider community through leadership and positions of responsibility. Opportunities for recognition and appreciation of these qualities are many and judiciously appropriate. A sense of dignified ‘Service’ for others is strong. This is symbolised in the frequency of attractive, formal Tea Parties for groups of students (and staff), reflecting the importance of positive interaction, doing something for others to show gratitude and the power of a genuine ‘Thank you’, irrespective of position, power, or status. The formality of the presentation and service on these occasions also provides opportunities for all students involved to practise and demonstrate their individual social skills.
Leadership is very much aware that the demographic and employment opportunities in the local area are constantly changing, and links are fostered with groups, organisations, and employers to enable students to engage in the community in various ways.
Calm, Happy, Purposeful Place of Learning
Prince Henry’s High School is a calm, happy, purposeful place of learning. All students are made welcome, both in Year 9 and Year 12, when actions are taken to promote peer bonding and understand Prince Henry’s ethos. Individual academic needs are energetically and committedly catered for within a wholly inclusive environment. At the same time, students can sample a range of other activities and experiences, allowing them to discover new interests and develop wider skills which will enrich their lives now and in their futures.
As one parent reported, “You’re a ‘person’ here and they (the staff) bring the best out of them (the students)…they play to their strengths…they find what makes the individual tick.” This was enthusiastically endorsed by another parent who said, “My son hasn’t missed a single compulsory day in the five years he’s been here – he loves it that much!”
The confidence which parents have in the school is testament to the richness of education in its broadest sense which all students at Prince Henry’s receive.
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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