Reach Academy has achieved the Inclusive School Award
Allows for Relationships to be Built
Reach Academy is part of Ethos Academy Trust. Reach Academy, and its predecessor school, Westfields, is a well-established school for children in Key Stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) with Social, Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) needs. The Academy has recently changed its educational delivery model, providing education for students with EHCPs on a long-term placement model.
Reach Academy serves KS3 pupils only, with the KS2 students and KS4 students at other Ethos Academies locally. This has allowed a wider ‘all through’ model. The new Head of School brings a lot of experience, having previously worked in the KS4 Academy before joining Reach in January 2025. Staff feel that this new model allows for relationships to be built, developed and longer term.
Pupils arrive at 9:45 for breakfast, with a settling activity as up to 42 students are on PAN at any time. The majority are transported in by taxi, with students from Kirklees, Bradford and Calderdale. Five group model in each group, two TAs and a teacher delivering to eight students per group. A team of inclusion workers then support, delivering additional interventions in the areas such as SEMH, Sensory, literacy and numeracy. There is a nearby ‘break out’ room available for every class group and this supports intervention and regulation activities very well. The school uses a modified ‘Nurture UK’ model to deliver its learning and this appeared to be employed very successfully throughout my visit.
In addition, the team will also support an enhanced transition and induction programme to ensure the best possible start to their education at Reach.
Spacious Classroom
Shortly after arriving, our Assessor was privileged to spend time with a group of Key Stage 3 students for breakfast activities and they talked in depth about how the school was supporting them while we played a game of Uno. Their spacious classroom was laid out in a very nurturing way, resembling very much a ‘home’ environment with dining table, kitchen area, work tables and soft seating space. Zones of regulation mats are employed to encourage the students to indicate how they are feeling at the start of the day and this is revisited after breakfast.
The group communicated fluently and there was understandable excitement over the upcoming mornings activities. The students had planned and were going to cook their own lunch – butter chicken curry. School leaders have high expectations for the students and aim to prepare them as best as possible for their next destination. This includes developing social skills including the shopping for their catering ingredients. For some this takes place online, for others it involves a trip to the supermarket to build on their confidence, life skills and independence.
Postive Relationships
Throughout the day, our Assessor was impressed with the positive relationships between staff and students, the high expectations and a ‘can do’ attitude that school leaders had for the students regardless of their starting points. All students were in school uniform and wore it proudly. They love being Reach Academy students and it shows.
Whilst the school day and curriculum are bespoke and adapted to the needs of its students, there is a common thread that runs throughout. The day starts for all with the ‘Nurture Breakfast’ where staff gain an understanding of the mood and challenges that the students are feeling at the start of the day before core 45-minute lessons deliver core subjects including literacy, numeracy, vocabulary acquisition in the morning before switching to more practical subjects such as forest schools, music, art and outdoor education after lunch.
The SENCo uses Boxall profiling to assess SEMH need and student ‘readiness to learn’. Intervention is then linked to the Boxall strands and progress reported to the Executive Principal in a termly report by SLT.
The learning walk took our Assessor throughout the school. There has been much renovation of the school to utilise as much of the building as possible. The school has a small indoor gym, basketball court, outdoor gym, forest school area and hard surface playground. More development is planned with a sensory room underway and also plans to improve the sensory garden/horticulture area.
Best Education Possible
During meetings with the Head of School and SENCo, our Assessor felt the passion that school leaders have for supporting and providing the best education possible for their students. There is evidence of ‘reasonable adjustments’ in every learning space. Weighted blankets, fiddle toys and wobble cushions are commonplace and much appreciated by the pupils. Classrooms are personalised with individual ‘learning mats, bespoke lighting, décor and soft furnishing appropriate for the pupils taught within.
The students spoken to are involved in and express their preferences in much of what they do. For example, during the breakfast time, they discuss the school meal menu as a group, make their choices and then one of the students collects the order alongside one of the teachers each day from the serving hatch of the kitchen.
The week culminates in a celebration of the students’ successes through a whole school assembly. Held virtually, each class participates online via a video conference and shares the celebration.
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.