Selwyn Primary Achieves Centre of Excellence Status

October 11, 2019

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Selwyn Primary School in Newham achieves IQM Centre of Excellence status.

Everyone is Valued

Selwyn Primary School is an inclusive school where all the school community are valued and given the best opportunities to develop. During the recent Ofsted visit the school retained its Outstanding status. Ofsted stated, “The school has an entirely inclusive culture and contributes very well to preparing pupils effectively for life in Modern Britain” March 2019.

Receptive to New Ideas

The Senior Leadership team are highly valued by their staff who praise them for always being available, receptive to new ideas and very supportive. Teaching assistants were particularly appreciative of changes made to the new appraisal process, which is more focused on their well-being, as well as now attending annual review meetings and speech and language therapy sessions with parents. Teachers mentioned the emphasis on additional training and continuing professional development at all levels. One member of staff who is currently employed by an agency really appreciated the opportunity to go on an ASD training course.

Working in Partnership

The school is outward looking and keen to support and work in partnership with other schools. This is articulated on the school website as follows, “As our Trust grows, we are interested in working in partnerships with other primary schools both within and beyond the boundaries of our borough.” Schools are invited to contact the school.

Welcoming and Supportive

“I have hit the jackpot with this school,”

said a Teach First trainee as she described how welcoming and supportive the school have been to her. She praised the support from her mentor and all the Senior Leadership team.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Children are polite and friendly to visitors. The school council described their school and the adults as being kind and helpful to them with their learning. The school council and Head Boy and the child standing in for the Head Girl were very articulate and had obvious pride in their school. They spoke about the range of after-school clubs, favourites being the football club, choir, homework club, bench ball and tennis club. Two year 5 pupils spoke about the Brilliant Club and the opportunity they had to go and visit a high-ranking university. Residential clubs were very popular, particularly the five-day Year 6 visit to a working farm in Wales. Year 5 were looking forward to the opportunity to compare the city and the countryside by visiting Stratford and then Epping on the same day.

Support for Pupils

Pupils spoke spontaneously about using the Place2Be provision as a resource if they needed extra help with problems that were worrying them. They all know the counsellors’ names following an awareness-raising assembly and the procedure that needs to be followed. They spoke about the book, “The Colour Monster” and how it links to feelings. There is a copy of the book in each classroom.

Very Good Progress

Progress is very good as reflected in the recent Ofsted report: “Current pupils make strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics throughout the school. As a result, the vast majority of pupils reach standards at least in line with national expectations. A large proportion of pupils attain higher standards.”

Speech and Language Therapists

The school has two full time Speech and Language therapists as part of the school staff. They provide support to the 32 children with Hearing Impairments. One very impressive part of their work is that when they deliver Speech Therapy sessions on a 1:1 basis, parents and interpreters if needed, are also present, to develop their skills in working with their child. In effect, this becomes a coaching session for parents. Speech therapists support teachers with strategies to help them with Quality First teaching: this means that all teachers feel responsible for students in their class.

Good PE Practice

One example of good practice was observed during a fully inclusive PE lesson where the class included children with a physical impairment, hearing impairments, and ASD. Everybody was learning and having fun, cooperating with their peers as they practised the requirements for their upcoming sports days. The school has 2 sports coaches to develop physical skills with the pupils. One of them also runs a bespoke PE session for children with additional needs to work on skills such as fine and gross motor skills and turn-taking.

New Initiatives

The school has started a new initiative called the Learning Zone where 10 children with more complex needs are educated together. This new model is at the early stages of development and will develop further when the children move into the purpose-built rooms in September.

Education, Health and Care Plans

Annual reviews for children who have Education, Health and Care plans are person-centred with the views of parents and the child being at the forefront of future planning. Parents of children in the Nursery and Reception class are invited to attend the last 15 minutes of their child’s session each day so that they feel involved in their child’s education.

An Extensive Rebuild Programme

The school is undergoing an extensive rebuild programme. This will give more space and allow the school to benefit from specialist teaching rooms as well as an enhanced EYFS provision and new Reception area.

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: info@iqmaward.com for further details.

Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.