St Michael’s Church of England Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.
Happy, Nurturing and Diverse Environment
It’s not everyday you are blown away by a unique Christian school serving its majority Muslim faith families and pupils. St Michael’s CE Primary School is a large primary school with 502 pupils on roll aged 2 to 11-years-old and it is simply thriving! Our Assessor witnessed first-hand a warm, welcoming ethos. 92% of its children speak EAL with 31 languages being spoken across the school. The main language that is spoken is Urdu with the majority of the families originating from Pakistan. Since this was our Assessor’s country of origin, they could personally relate to the learning journeys and barriers for learning of the pupils and families at this school. This made the visit even more inspiring.
The Chair of Governors of 8 years in her own words declared, “I love the atmosphere in school and it’s the children and dedicated staff what makes our school so very special!” Having had the pleasure to visit the school, it is clear that St Michael’s provides a very happy, nurturing, and diverse environment for its children and all of the school’s stakeholders to continue their learning journey and to flourish and grow. St Michael’s is simply one big, happy, inclusive family.
The newly appointed Headteacher is no stranger to the school. As the previous longstanding Deputy Headteacher of 10 years, the respect and trust built on during this period has paid dividends, as he was successful in taking the helm in November 2022. Since then, with the support of the Governing Body, he has recently been appointed from within and extended his Leadership Team, including a Deputy Headteacher, who started her journey at the school as a Newly Qualified Teacher 18 years ago, an Assistant Headteacher who had been there for 23 years and 2 newly appointed SENDCos, again who had been at the school for in excess of 8 years. As well as this, 2 staff have secured Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLR) to further promote the school’s vision for further engagement and developing aspirations amongst the children and families.
‘Fire in Their Belly’
This recently formed extended leadership team is evaluating their newly found roles and not afraid to look at fresh perspectives with renewed rigor and enthusiasm. This is especially true of the 2 newly appointed SENDCos. Both have ‘fire in their belly’ and cannot wait to evaluate their respective roles and responsibilities. This was evident in their evaluation of inclusion at St. Michael’s and their areas of foci, which includes ‘going back to basics’ to ensure the foundations remain strong. Our Assessor applauded this approach.
Having visited this good school, our Assessor can emphatically say that inclusion is implicit at St Michael’s CE Primary School. All policies, systems and approaches at St Michael’s are planned with an inclusive mindset to ensure that all children can thrive. During the visit our Assessor saw many examples of this approach which are testimony to the ‘thread of inclusion’ which runs through all systems and policies in school.
Relationships and communications with parents are a strength at St Michael’s, hence community cohesion is strong. This is a school where nothing is too difficult or tricky and nothing is too big or too small. The school go above and beyond e.g., paying for a taxi to ensure a child could get to school when a family was having Domestic Violence issues. The school’s website, Facebook pages, letters and weekly newsletters keep parents updated. The hard copies of newsletters are an important way in which parents keep abreast of their children’s learning. This along with the support offered by the bilingual Teaching Assistant work well as she is able to communicate directly with the parents, in their first language.
Parent’s Value the School
Parents value the school’s impressive array of enrichment clubs, all 32 of them including the English and Maths booster club, which aid ‘catch up.’ Breakfast Club is free for children who are entitled for Free School Meals (FSM) and only a nominal amount for the rest of the school. Parents speak highly of the Community Café which is housed at St Michael’s Church.
When asked what else can the school do to improve, it took a very long time of pondering and finally one parent suggested if a shelter could be available on the yard during the wet weather. This was communicated to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as part of their feedback.
Pupils enjoy participating in the school’s 32 enrichment clubs. As a result of attending the IQM Cluster meetings an impressive club for VI pupils has been a success, which has included pottery and sporting sessions too.
The school’s sporting prowess is something that the children speak very fondly of. As the holders of Lancashire’s Cricket Cup and Dodgeball and Athletics finalists, just some of the school’s achievements, and all just from the last academic year, St. Michael’s is basking in the glory and rightly so! Children enjoy all the clubs that the teachers provide and would love a swimming club as a next step. Little do they know that this is already in hand.
Relationships Amongst the Pupils are Strong
Children enjoy learning how to ride their balance and paddle bikes with enthusiasm. Lessons were taking place on the school’s large, impressive, green site. Staff interactions with children are a real strength, all enhance and model the school’s high expectations ensuring that relationships stay strong and is a strength of this community.
Relationships amongst the pupils are strong too and the children can articulate why. One junior aged pupil communicated that they are happy as everyone enjoys helping each other and this makes them feel better. Children particularly enjoy learning about each other’s faiths and as a next step the children identified trying to learn each others language would be a great next step. There are times when children get angry, however their emotional literacy enables them to use techniques and strategies to calm down and self regulate. The value of being able to forgive was also impressive as children spoke of how they could do this over time.
When speaking to pupils about their aspirations for their future lives the children’s responses were vast and included becoming a police officer, jockey, footballer, teacher, and doctor to name a few. Children spoke highly of their teachers and staff as they recognise that their teachers help them to achieve their present and future goals. Teachers and staff support them by asking questions, encouraging them to try again and help them to understand any problems. Mini chants help the children to remember their learning.
When asked what headline would describe their school, children came up with … “Sharing, Caring and Learning Together” … the school’s motto! Other suggestions were “Top Bolton School” and “St Michael’s shining brightly”. All are explicit and tell us that the children are very proud of their school.
Staff Speak Highly of the School
St Michael’s CE Primary School staff all speak highly of their school. One staff member said, “No one clock watches here and we all get along.” Most staff deliver more than one enrichment school club weekly and all are more than happy to do this. Our Assessor witnessed 3 lunchtime clubs which were taking place. All were impressive, including St Michael’s Choir, Mindfulness, Forest Schools, and The Faith Group. Children were participating enthusiastically. The staff ran these clubs with due diligence and energy! Well done, everyone!
It is evident that staff are working exceptionally hard in their delivery of an inclusive curriculum and provision. Could the children work a little harder through the incorporation of a few more leadership roles across the school? There are already Faith Ambassadors and Curriculum Captains – could these roles be extended further? Also, staff agree on the emphasis on ‘keeping up’ rather than ‘catching up’ in light of this could the KS2 sets for English and Maths be reviewed?
Parents at St Michael’s feel highly supported and feel proud of their school. They cannot speak highly enough of the leadership team and staff. Parents feel valued and trust the school with their children’s education and therefore their future. This is a great relationship which continues to blossom.
Discussions with the school’s Governors and support staff indicate that along with the school’s leadership team, there is a clear commitment to inclusion. Everyone, including pupils, parents and staff feel very well supported. All the adults within the school are enthusiastic about the inclusion agenda and can see that the strategies being invested in are paying huge dividends.
Absolute Admiration
A special mention to acknowledge the impact of the school’s Christian ethos must be made. It is the glue which holds the staff team together, and therefore the teamwork in this school is second to none. Everyone our Assessor spoke to was just in absolute admiration for each other and the school’s Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and his newly extended Leadership Team. One senior leader stated, “we are unapologetically proud of our Christian ethos” and it was evident that these values held the school together in their determination to achieve success for all.
It is clear to see that Inclusion is at the heart of all aspects of its work and pupils thrive in an environment where everyone works together to secure success. The school boasts an increasing number of ethnically diverse students and pupils exude exceptional tolerance and respect for one another. They go about their daily work supporting and looking out for each other, whilst developing Christian attitudes and values. These values complement the values of the families that attend this school. This is one reason why this community works so well. A huge well done to everyone involved.
The Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, Assistant Headteacher and SENDCo’s for Inclusion are the driving force within the school with support from the staff team. Together, they put inclusion at the top of their agenda.
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:
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