Sevenoaks Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.
Open, Friendly Happy Atmosphere
Sevenoaks Primary School is a three-form entry mainstream primary school with an open, friendly, happy atmosphere. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) lead by positive example and set the tone for the supportive community ethos where courage, perseverance and a love of learning are fundamental values.
The school has continued to move forward with its high expectations for inclusion and it is encouraging to see that there has been no loss of momentum, despite the change in the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) since the last IQM review, demonstrating how the values and vision for inclusion underpin all school developments.
The Senior Leadership Team is highly respected by staff and everyone in the school strives to do their very best for all pupils; they are positive, energetic and are fully committed to the children in their care. Staff, including Governors and the Senior Leadership Team speak highly of the school and about its supportive nature.
One staff member described the Sevenoaks school team as being her, “second family” and another stated that, “we work well together as a whole school team; this is a huge factor in why I am so happy here!” Pupils are genuinely at the heart of everything the school does and they are supported, fostered and encouraged to be independent during their time here.
The Headteacher summed up the ethos of Sevenoaks in one word: nurture. Throughout the review day, this same word was given by teachers, Teaching Assistants (TAs) and parents when asked to describe the school, evidencing clearly how effectively wellbeing and the school’s vision has been embedded.
Teamwork is an Important Feature
Teamwork is an important feature at Sevenoaks with all staff working together to remove barriers to learning and enable all pupils to reach their full potential. They find many ways to share ideas and good practice and they have a very positive approach to meeting diverse needs and to tackling challenging issues. This is due to the tremendous richness of skilled support from the Additional Educational Needs (AEN) team who go out of their way to find solutions to any issues they are faced with, in terms of pupil’s needs. The AEN team meet weekly to discuss all pupils on their caseload, with wider staff invited to these meetings when appropriate. All views are shared and next steps of support needed are planned with the child at the centre.
Sevenoaks prides itself on knowing their families well and the SENCo reports that parents want to keep their children in the school, even if they move away, due to the wide offer provided for families. The open-door policy for parents means that they can access advice and support on a range of issues and can be signposted to other agencies where appropriate. The school has both a food bank and a hygiene bank, from which families can confidentially request support, and referrals to social care for Early Help are accepted due to the quality of the referrals made.
High Ambitions for all Pupils
Sevenoaks Primary School has very high ambitions for all pupils and aims to ensure good progress for all through a combination of excellent teaching and high expectations. There is a Driving Standards team in place, made up of the SLT, phase leads and subject leads. This team meets each half term and focuses on the progress achieved and next steps needed to ensure the vision continues to move forward. Outcomes and successes from these meetings are shared with all staff.
This focus on reflection and explaining why things are happening is crucial for a shared understanding and commitment to the vision. The school has developed and delivers a rich curriculum that is bespoke and responsive to their pupils’ needs. The positive ethos of the school was clear when our Assessor completed a tour of the school where an atmosphere of happiness and activity was seen.
The school environment is conducive to learning with colourful displays, a sensory room and lots of areas for breakout learning, just outside the classrooms, that are not separate from the rest of the class. The relationships observed between staff and pupils highlight the positive environment that has been created, with pupils working individually and in groups with their support staff, where appropriate. The pupils were very welcoming and excited to greet visitors and it was lovely to see children so happily engaged.
The pupils spoke very highly of their school and its staff, for whom they have great respect and they know that they are listened to and cared for. Lessons observed during the tour were interesting and challenging. Teaching is planned with all pupils in mind and lessons encouraged the active participation of all. Staff have a clear knowledge of pupils’ individual needs through regular dialogue with parents, outside agencies, the SENCo and rigorous monitoring. Examples of the rich curricular opportunities include ‘Forest School’ lessons in an area of the school’s beautifully planned outside space, with an expectation that each year group annually participates in a school visit that takes them beyond the local area.
Emphasis on Wellbeing
Sevenoaks Primary School has a unique Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) provision, with an emphasis on wellbeing for both pupils and staff. The school has continued to develop its Thrive provision and now have four trained Thrive practitioners, enabling support to be offered by the school rather than having to outsource. The practitioners now deliver a range of interventions such as Draw and Talk, ELSA and Relax Kids therapies.
Formal referrals to other agencies are also being made for more vulnerable students following Thrive sessions. As a result of embedding Thrive, not only are the pupils now better able to regulate themselves and come to lessons but also parents, who are spoken to as part of the Thrive process, are reporting that their children who previously would have come home from school anxious, are now much happier and more relaxed. Training on the school’s approach to wellbeing is now an important part of the induction process for new staff, with training taking place before the staff join the school. This ensures a shared understanding and a consistent approach at all times.
Positive Shift in Staff Mindset
Since the last review, an audit of the school behaviour system has taken place and a new Relational policy is in place and is now embedded across the school. The SENCo explained how the system of ‘self-regulation’ works and showed that the new relational system takes better account of pupils’ needs so that they can emotionally regulate and begin to manage their own behaviour. All staff have been trained on using this system and are using scripts of language to help pupils articulate and identify how they are feeling. This open dialogue has led to a positive shift in staff mindset with staff realising the importance of taking time to have these powerful conversations and as one staff member put it, “to recognise that time itself is an intervention which can prevent escalation”. When meeting with the pupils, they spoke positively and confidently about this new policy and how they feel it has transformed the ethos of the school. One pupil reported that, “100% I would be supported if I had a bad day”.
Our Assessor met with two parent Governors on the day of the review who agreed that visible changes have been seen in the way staff interact with pupils and that the restorative conversations that now take place give the children the groundwork to help them understand their emotions. One Governor gave an example of how their child is using this learning outside of school and was able to recognise a change in her emotional state, when on holiday, and articulate this clearly.
Building Links With Parents
Building links with parents and carers has continued to be a priority this year. The parents our Assessor spoke to during the assessment day were exceedingly positive about the school and that it is an open and honest place, where they feel comfortable, listened to and valued and where not only will their children be supported but also they know they will be supported as a family.
The parents felt very strongly that the school was very proactive and identified needs quickly, with one parent commenting, “they forecast which help might be needed and put it in place quickly. We don’t need to do anything.” School communication with parents is very good and the school is proactive in letting parents know how well their child is doing, without them having to ask for the information all the time. Whilst Sevenoaks is a large primary school, the parents agreed that it, “feels like a family” and one parent said that he and his children, “felt seen; not just a number”.
Our Assessor believes the school is moving from strength to strength and have taken staff, Governors, parents and pupils together on this journey to ensure that mental health and wellbeing remains at the heart of what they do. All staff, parents, and pupils spoken to were extremely positive about the school’s work.
There is a very genuine sense of team effort here, of mutual support, of listening and of including everyone, whether they are adults or children. The staff have worked exceptionally hard on what it means to be inclusive and have achieved some great successes around these targets. There has been a lot of intense work completed by everyone, where innovative strategies, such as their approach to mental health and scripts of language to support this, have now become embedded and their Relational Policy is now a live working document.
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.
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