Shoreside Primary School Achieves IQM Inclusive School Award

August 24, 2026

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Shoreside Primary School has been awarded the IQM Inclusive School Award in recognition of its strong commitment to inclusion and its ongoing efforts to create a fully inclusive educational experience that reflects the needs, aspirations and lived experiences of all members of its school community. 

“Everyone involved, no one left out or behind.” (Quote: pupil from Year 6) 

Walking into Shoreside, the strongest impression is not a policy, a document, or a slogan, it is a feeling of belonging that is deliberately engineered through routines, relationships and high expectations. This resonates with precise choices of evidence-based thinking by leaders (aligned with research by Ainscow and Booth). You see it in the calm start to the day, where adults are visible and approachable, families are met warmly, and pupils enter classrooms ready to learn. You hear it in the way pupils talk about inclusion, not as an abstract concept but as something lived daily; “everyone involved, no one left out or behind.” And you feel it in the culture for adults: staff describe Shoreside as a “safe space” where colleagues and leaders listen and act when someone is struggling. 

A Commitment to Every Child 

At the heart of Shoreside is a clear moral purpose, “each and every child.” This is paired with a practical commitment to removing barriers to learning and participation. The school does not think about inclusion as “extra”; it is the lens through which curriculum, safeguarding, attendance, wellbeing, behaviour and staff development are designed. For families, this translates into trust and confidence, a significant change over a number of years of commitment and hard work. Parents describe the emotional relief of seeing their child happy to attend and feeling supported from the earliest years; 

“It is such a weight off my shoulders… my child gets everything she needs because the teachers and staff take the time to listen to her and to us as parents.” For another family, the impact is equally clear: when their child struggled socially, staff listened and put tailored support in place, including social stories, leading to thriving academically, socially and emotionally. 

Building Independence Through Inclusive Practice  

What makes Shoreside distinctive is the way it blends warmth with carefully chosen precise strategy. The calm environment is not accidental, it is supported through meaningful, accessible regulation spaces and predictable routines that help pupils be ready for learning. Pupils can describe and use regulation language (for example, a 3-year-old referencing “zones” with him mum), and they know there are “countless spaces” (Year 6 pupil) to help them regulate and refocus. Staff have implemented sensory circuits and purposeful calm spaces in ways that pupils experience as normal, not stigmatising. Where pupils need additional support, technology and adaptations are used to increase independence, children can access personalised supports, and the school’s approach to enabling pupils to take ownership of adaptations in upper key stage is recognised externally as notably forward thinking. For example, using CANVA AI to produce personalised and meaningful adaptive teaching approaches that pupils can manage themselves with a view to building self-awareness and understanding of what helps them to learn in readiness for Secondary school transition.  

Broadening Horizons Through Soaring Futures 

The curriculum offer is equally inclusive and aspirational. Shoreside’s school development priority, Soaring Futures, is not just enrichment; it is a structured commitment to widening horizons so pupils can see opportunities in careers and life, including creative and performance arts. This is complemented by a thoughtful personal  report on IQM Inclusive School Award development mapping, clubs, leadership roles and trips that deliberately ensure pupils who may not access experiences outside school still receive rich cultural capital. Staff describe intentional rotation so that “everyone has the opportunity,” and pupils’ own feedback demonstrably influences the offer (e.g., improvements to play spaces). 

Strong Partnerships and Recognition  

Crucially, Shoreside is not operating in isolation. External validation from the Local Authority is strong: the school is described as a setting that would be used as an example of good practice, noted for engagement, openness, and consistent implementation of advice, doing what is asked “and above.” The Local Authority advisor also highlights robust universal and adaptive teaching as a key strength, with the school typically exhausting strong provision before requesting external support and then implementing recommendations effectively. This kind of professional trust and partnership is difficult to build and is a strong indicator of sustainable inclusion. 

Find Out More About IQM  

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.