St Ciaran’s College Achieves Flagship School Status

August 24, 2026

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Congratulations to everyone at St Ciaran’s College on achieving IQM Flagship School Status. This prestigious recognition celebrates the school’s exceptional commitment to inclusion, innovation, and ensuring that every pupil is supported to thrive.   

Inclusion Drives Success 

St Ciaran’s demonstrates a strong commitment to inclusive practice across all areas of school life. Through its focus on relationships, use of technology to support literacy, and strategic use of data, the school is continuing to evolve in response to the needs of its pupils. 

Leading With Purpose 

Within St Ciaran’s the leaders have a strong vision centred around four key words, one of which is Inclusion. Having this clearly articulated vision has helped to focus and drive school improvement, and the school’s Centre of Excellence IQM action plans sit within their wider School Development Plan. Inclusion is central to all that they do, and the leaders evaluate, plan, and continually innovate and improve to ensure the best outcomes for their pupils.  

Belonging For All 

St Ciaran’s has taken an inclusive approach to integrating pupils who have additional needs. They have learning support provision but include pupils in their Year Groups rather than having a separate base class. This works well for the school, and they report benefits in terms of both social and academic opportunities. There is a room available for any student who needs time away from the busy school environment. It can be used by pupils at break and lunch times if the canteen and other areas are too overwhelming. Pupils spoke positively about this area and the support they get from staff there.  

Opportunities Beyond Classrooms 

Pupils at St Ciaran’s benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities including after school clubs. These include languages, drama, rugby and Mathletics. Pupils have a voice in planning clubs and the school has responded, bringing in external coaches to provide activities such as basketball where needed. 

Strong Start Together 

St Ciaran’s College has developed a strong transition programme for pupils coming into the school in Year 8 from Primary settings. They have ongoing Primary links and an after-school club as well as organised football tournaments. This means that by the time their place is confirmed, all new pupils will already have visited the school and met some staff. A transition day is held in June during which testing takes place to allow the school to plan for pupil groupings for September. 

Celebrating Sixty Years 

As St Ciaran’s starts to prepare for their 60th year, the excitement and ‘buzz’ is already tangible. The anniversary is marked with a bright display as you arrive at the school and several pupils talked about the choir’s upcoming trip to Rome as well as the next school show which will take place in December. These will be huge events for the school and wider community and will showcase their talents and pride in their school. Staff spoke about how past pupils and other stakeholders attend school shows and what a lovely opportunity this is to bring the school community together.  

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.