Ranelagh Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.
Total Inclusive Ethos
Ranelagh Primary School is at the forefront of Inclusion practice in this country. The social model is totally embedded within the culture and ethos of the school. All children, including those from the Resourced Provision, are based in a mainstream classroom, with no designated, separate room for the pupils with ASD.
This total inclusive ethos has been made possible due to an inspirational leadership team that has successfully shared its inclusive philosophy with all the staff and parents at the school. Teachers explained that the senior leadership team leads from the front. The Governing Body is very committed to the school and acts as a critical friend, not afraid to ask challenging questions. Its range of skills and experience add significant value to the school’s work.
The environment is used very effectively to meet all needs. The use of the new sensory and soft playrooms is carefully structured with the right number of resources, appropriate use of symbols and objects of reference to make it accessible and there is a sense of purpose as a learning space.
The model’s success is partly due to the strong emphasis that is placed on everyone’s professional development.
The school is a research-based school with all teachers working on a research question linked to one of three areas: Growth Mindset; The mixed year ½ class; The effect of neurodiverse strategies on neurotypical children.
Valued Within the School
Teaching assistants are experts in the interventions that they lead and are very responsive to the needs of their assigned pupil at Ranelagh Primary School. They have access to focussed, relevant training sessions on a fortnightly basis. It was great to hear that these TAs lead training sessions for other TAs which show how they are valued within the school. Teaching assistants have also worked with teachers on how to best interact with children.
There is a consistency around displays, the use of symbols and learning walls in each learning space and classroom. A good example is in the life skills room which is used for cooking and other interventions. All cooking vocabulary is supported by symbols as it is understood that this benefits children with retention and helps their working memory. The use of green and red trays for some children, linked to the TEACCH methodology, gives a structure to the learning that they need.
All children in all classrooms have access to Colourful Semantics, the Zones of Regulation, visual timetables and are introduced to the metacognition visuals to help support their access to the curriculum.
Each pupil can access the class texts. Staff may have prepared a sensory approach to the book or they may have made an abridged copy of the main text, so all work is age-appropriate but accessed at different levels. The school is operating with 24 personalised timetables, mostly divided into 15-minute sessions, which means that the school is confident that all needs are being met.
The middle floor has pods in the central area in between two rows of classrooms. The pods are used for targeted interventions and offer a distraction-free environment for more focused, small group tasks. They are fitted with symbols, resources needed and are a bright, inclusive space that is still part of the main school. Engagement for Learning reminders for staff are on display.
Five children from a range of year groups, who are currently Inclusion Ambassadors, impressed with their knowledge about “people with different minds” and how they help support them both in class and in the playground. Parents commented on the high level of tolerance and empathy from all pupils towards their children.
Celebrate Success
Children are assigned buddies in their class who help them navigate to the playground and assembly for example and keep an eye out for them. They celebrate their success with them in assemblies at Ranelagh Primary School.
One Year 2 boy was able to say that the purpose of the Now/Next board that he helps a peer use, is so that he is not nervous about what is happening.
A Year 6 pupil said that it is really important to have everyone in the same school so that when they are adults, they will be able to understand everyone’s needs. This high level of understanding from young children was very impressive.
Children love Ranelagh Primary School. They told our Assessor that if they have any worries, they can put them in the “My Voice Matters” box and a teacher will talk to them about the concern. They said teachers make lessons fun and give them ways to remember things. They value the many educational visits and clubs that are on offer, Year 6 are particularly looking forward to their trip to the Lake District later in the year.
Ethos of Social Inclusion
This ethos of social inclusion is not at the detriment of academic progress. The children follow a rigorous and stimulating curriculum with a strong emphasis on the arts. One example given was learning about seed dispersion through the medium of dance. Art, drama and music are equally important as more academic subjects. Regular progress and standards meetings about all children mean that everyone is challenged at their own level with a scrutiny of their current progress.
Parents speak very highly about the support that their family receives for their child. One of the Assistant Heads runs Triple P sessions each Friday around Positive Parenting which are well-attended. Parents are welcomed into the school to see the pupils doing their maths and English in lessons as well as recently attending science workshops.
One parent was quite emotional speaking about an assembly she saw where her child was on stage, with all his peers, something that she had not imagined being possible due to his significant needs.
Parents are incredibly appreciative of the work done by the Inclusion Lead and SENCo who are always available. They mentioned that the Headteacher is very approachable.
One of them added, “When I come here, it feels like part of my family. It is so important to me as I need such a lot of help with my children.”
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.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.