Rotherhithe Primary School Retains Flagship School Status

August 17, 2026

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Congratulations to everyone at Rotherhithe Primary School for Retaining their Flagship School Status, marking their 9^th year as a Flagship School. This award recognises how the school continues to demonstrate a deeply embedded inclusive ethos where pupils benefit from a culture where wellbeing, ambition and inclusion are central to daily life.

Inclusion Is Everyone’s Responsibility

Rotherhithe Primary School is a truly inclusive school in the London Borough of Southwark. Rotherhithe has a good reputation for inclusion locally and is regularly consulted regarding EHCP placements. Staff feel strongly about inclusion, and there is a shared belief that it is everyone’s responsibility. The SENDCo explained, “Our Executive Headteacher and Head of School are passionate about inclusion meaning that everyone believes in inclusion.” Pupils spoken to during the review echo this belief. When asked what makes their school inclusive, pupils articulated that it is “accessible for all, including physical disabilities,” and “We have a really good SEND community. I remember from our assemblies that many children have neurodiversity, and this is celebrated.”

Putting Pupil Wellbeing First

For the last couple of years, Rotherhithe has worked with Groundwork’s Wellbeing in Education team. A Senior Wellbeing Practitioner has worked closely with the school, delivering a range of support including whole class wellbeing programs such as Brain Buddies, group and 1:1 intervention alongside working with parents. This has enabled both preventative and responsive approaches to pupil mental health.

Building Confidence Through Sport

Rotherhithe is committed to ensuring all pupils have access to high quality PE and this is a priority on the School Development Plan. Inclusive PE was chosen as their IQM Project as leaders had identified that a number of pupils with SEND were not fully accessing their mainstream PE lessons. Barriers included low confidence, limited independence, speech and language needs, sensory processing challenges and difficulties managing competition, particularly around winning and losing.

The school works with a sports coach from Millwall Community Trust, who delivers PE lessons across the school. With support from the PE Lead and SENDCo, the coach developed a small group SEND PE intervention for targeted pupils in KS2. The weekly intervention focuses on developing core skills such as jumping, throwing and catching and coordination, alongside gross and fine motor skills. The coach explained how pupils then apply their learning from the intervention into their whole class PE lessons. This intervention has recently been expanded for pupils in Reception and KS1.

The Next Chapter in Inclusive Learning

With the previous two projects now well established in the school, Rotherhithe will continue to enhance their inclusive offer by embarking on a new project. From discussions with leaders, there will be two strands of work: the development of a sensory curriculum and sensory room and improving the writing and phonics curriculum for pupils operating below the Early Years Foundation Stage. To support the development of the sensory room, Rotherhithe will work with Cherry Garden Specialist School and schools from the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) who have already effectively implemented these spaces within their own provision.

Find Out More About IQM

The Inclusion Quality Mark provides schools with a nationally recognised framework for developing and celebrating inclusive practice.

If your school is interested in achieving the IQM Inclusive School Award, contact the IQM team on 028 7127 7857 or email admin@iqmaward.com.

To find out more about IQM and request a free information pack, visit www.iqmaward.com.