Shoreditch Park Primary School, Hackney in London has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status for the second time.
The School Vision
Upon entering Shoreditch Park Primary School, their vision, values, and commitment to promoting an inclusive environment is evidenced through displays of ASPIRE characters and their characteristics. The key characteristics of ASPIRE – Achievement, Self-awareness, Pride, Inclusion, Respect and Enquiry – are all linked to a cartoon character, which makes them both engaging and identifiable for the children, whatever their age or ability. The ASPIRE curriculum is clearly interwoven throughout the school. The school describes it as ‘an aspirational curriculum and school vision that empowers children to flourish in their academic, personal and social learning.’ This is evident by looking at the school environment and what children are learning in and around the classroom. Apart from PSHE lessons, the attributes of ASPIRE are taught through the curriculum which was evidenced by looking around the school environment and the classroom learning.
There Are Clear Structures
Through discussions with the Inclusion Team, there are clear structures in place to support children and families relating to SEND, mental health, behaviour, attendance, and safeguarding. Mental health support is a key part of the School Development Plan. The team has weekly meetings to discuss the caseload of children who have needs in any of these areas and then actions are set out to help them. By doing so, they believe no child falls through the net. This Inclusion Team is due to expand, so they will have two SENCos instead of one. Each SENCo will have a different focus to work on e.g. provision mapping and action planning or intervention work and coaching for teachers. Once pupils have been identified for support, there are numerous interventions that can be put in place, for example, Lego/jewellery therapy, Circle of Friends and Nurture Groups (including Art and Gardening). There are also several speech and language groups that focus on – playground games, negotiating rules, and zones of regulation, to name but a few. Through walking around the school playground, the gardening nurture group could be seen in action. Regular meetings are held with class teachers to track the progress of interventions over time. The progress of their outcomes is used alongside other assessment tools such as SDQs and Boxall Profile to measure the success of any interventions put in place.
High Expectations Are Set
During the learning walks, it was clear that the classrooms were organised to meet the needs of all pupils, and also to promote independence at all levels. In the ARP, there is a ‘Zones Room’ where children can go to self-regulate, a child can take their timer, pick an activity, regulate, and leave independently with an adult. The organisation of the free—flow morning where children can enter the classrooms for ‘check-in’ time to have opportunities to speak to various members of staff and/or play music, eat fruit, read books, or play games, was observed in several year groups. Classroom teaching boards display activities and/or scaffold sentences to encourage children to talk about their feelings e.g. ‘I feel……because…….’ Visual schedules are used in all classrooms to support a wide range of children. High expectations are set for all pupils, regardless of their needs. An ASPIRE lesson was observed in the ARP, where six high-needs ASD children were sharing what they felt proud of, and they were able to respectfully listen to others’ responses. During the post-lunch check-ins, children as young as Reception were observed to be sharing their feelings with the class – ‘I am in the red zone because I am excited term is finishing.’ The children then took part in a mindfulness activity before starting their afternoon sessions. Using the Zones of Regulation enables children to identify a range of emotions, but also independently recognise why they are feeling this way, so they can self-regulate.
Pupils Are Confident
Pupil survey results show that pupils feel much more confident in their support for mental health needs. Through meeting with a group of pupils ranging from Year 2 to Year 5, they were able to clearly articulate their zones check-in sessions and the various strategies that are in place to support their emotional wellbeing, including, a book corner to calm down in. They were also able to describe how the adults were assigned to support mental wellbeing (Place2be, ELSA, counsellor) and how these helped them:
‘Miss C helps me with my self-esteem and my mental health,’ ‘She helps me with my feelings and emotions,’ ‘She takes all the worries out of me.’
Various Opportunities
Pupils were able to talk about the range of clubs and extra-curricular activities that are on offer at the school, including a range of trips they have the opportunity to take part in. These include various sports clubs, choir, and before/after school clubs. The children seemed excited about opportunities to play instruments, like the violin. The children spoke animatedly about trips to different museums in London related to their curriculum topics too. Pupils spoke positively about their ASPIRE curriculum and topic weeks they have taken part in, such as art week, where they enjoyed being able to make things out of clay. One pupil said,
‘I like how the teachers help you when you are stuck, and they are nice.’
Wellbeing is Key
Discussions with school staff indicated that staff wellbeing was also a key priority for the school, as well as that of pupils. Staff are offered counselling support by the WAMHS practitioner where needed, and they can talk or email her at any time.
Inclusive Practices Will Continue
It was clear that the school continues to be committed to ensuring high-quality inclusive provision for all. It is also clear that moving forward, the driving force for school leaders is to continue to improve its diversity and inclusivity practice while continuing to embed those already in place.
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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