St Margaret’s CEVA Primary School, Ipswich in Suffolk, has achieved the Inclusive School Award, with Centre of Excellence status.
Inclusive and Welcoming
St Margaret’s CEVA Primary School attracts a diverse community. The School motto is ‘transforming lives,’ which supports the school vision and ethos of supporting the rounded development of the child. The school has recently doubled in size and having always been a church school this could have posed a threat to the intrinsic culture and inclusivity of the school. However, Leaders have used the growth to the schools advantage in so many ways and the children, staff, and parents who spoke about the growth now all believe that it has been a positive move forward for the school. Leaders use multiple classes to change class lists within year groups every year, allowing opportunities for new relationships to develop between the children and social interaction opportunities to be exploited. Sometimes the classes are brought together to be taught in larger groups and classes often go on school trips together. Particularly as the children grow towards their secondary education, this is exposing them to a greater variety of teaching pedagogy as well as opportunities to mix with a greater variety of children their own age.
Effective Transition
The number of pupils supported by an EHCP is below national. The SEN population is broadly in line with the national average. The school deprivation indicator shows that the school is broadly in line with national levels. On average three or four pupils a year move to a grammar school and approximately eight move to a private provision. The schools challenge is to bridge the attainment gap for the less affluent families that cannot access these types of provisions. The Pastoral Team often supports applications to the secondary sector to ensure deadlines are met. Leaders and Governors recognise that effective transition is key and as part of the school development focus plan to look at how families are supported to move successfully through the transition phase into the secondary sector, as well as into the provision at the Early Years stage.
Dynamic, Forward-Thinking Leadership
The Headteacher is strategic, and the Deputy Head leads the school on a day-to-day basis. There are team of Assistant Heads also supporting and leading on various areas of focus. Staff say the work life balance is good and there is a supportive well-being package available for staff, including a School Counsellor, who can be accessed during school time, free of charge. Activities are also run such as Yoga, Christmas craft accompanied by reflective sessions.
Empowering Pupils
The values and vision of the school continue to be central to everything they do, including curriculum planning, policy, and well-being. The vision and values of the school sing. The children are the core purpose, and they have, without exception, articulated the success of what it is the school are trying to achieve.
Mutual Respect
The staff are the first to echo the inclusive phrases that filter down from the leadership. The influence of the church is there, clearly having a positive influence on children and staff, but it’s not a pressure and is certainly not an expectation. It is a part of life at St Margaret’s and highly respected for the role it plays in bringing the family together. The common thread running through statements from children and adults throughout the visit were, Jo (or teachers) trusts us, everybody supports each other, they care about you, and they know me.
Overcoming Barriers
Sometimes the core purpose of learning can get lost in a pastoral message. But at St Margaret’s it supports growth. Growth for children that started with a language barrier but are now thriving, growth for those that have a learning barrier and are still finding success in the classroom and growth for those that have a recognised aptitude for something and could be grown further in that area. Growth is there for staff too; I particularly like the examples of Teaching Assistant’s that have been championed and signposted on to take additional responsibility. But also, the staff that left, have not always been happy in pastures new, and have come back and have felt valued again in their professional capacity and then there are those staff that have been allowed to adapt their working lives to co-exist alongside their personal lives and still feel as though they can contribute effectively to both.
Waffle Therapy
A mention must be given for Waffle, the Headteacher’s dog. Waffle made an appearance on the second morning of the visit and is clearly a well-known, well-loved member of the school community. And although Waffle had a little incident publicly, in the true nature of the school inclusion culture, Waffle wasn’t banished, and following a short and swift team wide response to save his blushes, Waffle was allowed to calmly continue on with his therapeutic work of the day, work which is so obviously beneficial to staff as well as to the students.
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.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack