Rotherhithe Primary Flagship Award

June 16, 2026

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Rotherhithe Primary School is an inclusive primary school in the Borough of Southwark. The school serves a diverse cohort with a range of needs including economic deprivation, Speech, Language and Communication needs, Autism, and SEMH needs. The school is proud to have a large percentage of pupils with English as an Additional Language and has seen an increase in pupils with complex needs who benefit from a specially developed alternative curriculum. Rotherhithe acts as a champion of inclusion in their local area and are consulted regarding EHCP placements. Every member of staff within the school is passionate about inclusion and there is a culture of inclusion being a shared responsibility. Pupils are also aware of inclusive practices and share these beliefs. Children with neurodiversity and physical disabilities are celebrated.

Wellbeing and mental health

Rotherhithe Primary School has been focused on strategies to strengthen early identification and literacy around Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs. Senior leaders have worked to build a whole-school, consistent approach to regulation and wellbeing for all. The school is proud to work with Groundwork’s “Wellbeing in Education” team, benefitting from a Senior Wellbeing Practitioner who orks closely with the school and delivers a range of different support initiatives.

Brain Buddies is a 10-week programme which helps pupils in Year 4 learn to identify and regulate their emotions. Pupils take part in body scan meditation and can name how they are feeling. They learn about brain development and develop a toolkit of strategies including chair press-ups and hot chocolate visualization and

breathing. Contributions and opinions from the pupils are welcomed. For pupils in KS1, the Emotion Explorers programme introduces concepts of emotional literacy and self-regulating.

Rotherhithe also boasts a Communication and Connections group facilitated by Groundwork, which focuses on supporting pupils with neurodiversity and/or social and communication needs. This allows for peer interaction, practicing communication skills and preparing for transition.

The Senior Wellbeing Practitioner also works with families, supporting parents with mental health issues or helping parents to support their children. Workshops have been delivered on topics requested by parents, and this has helped all children become more included and involved, at home and at school.

PE For All

Rotherhithe is committed to including all pupils in high quality Physical Education, especially those who were not fully accessing mainstream PE for various reasons. Barriers could include low self-confidence and self-esteem, limited independence, speech and language needs, sensory processing needs, and difficulties with competing, winning and losing. To address this Rotherhithe works with a sports coach from the Millwall Community Trust to deliver interventions based on developing core skills such as jumping, throwing and catching, alongside motor skills, with support from the SENDCo and PE Lead.

Pupils can then apply these skills to their whole class mainstream PE lessons. This extra support has seen pupils who previously did not participate included in PE lessons with their peers, with pupils demonstrating increased resilience and ability to take part in competition. Rotherhithe also works with the Southwark PE and Sports Network which provides training, a curriculum and extracurricular opportunities, all suitable for pupils with SEND. These include events such as the SEND Festival of Sport.

IQM is proud to award Rotherhithe School the Flagship School Award in recognition of their work.