St Piers School (Young Epilepsy), Lingfield in Surrey has achieved the Inclusive School Award.
Introducing St Pier’s
Pupils, staff, and visitors are very warmly welcomed into St Piers School with the school’s values resonating throughout from the moment you walk through the door. Staff embrace the values as action words that are embedded into school life and leaders have prioritised developing staff and pupil understanding of the values and what they mean for school life. School values are proudly displayed in each classroom alongside class photos.
Parental Praise
Parents speak very highly of the school and give credit to the personalised approaches that allow their children to reach their potential. It is clear that the transdisciplinary approach is very well received with parents praising the holistic support their children have. Constructive relationships were highlighted during the meeting with parents grateful to have a voice and input into their children’s school life.
Student Centered
Staff to student ratios are high to ensure students receive the correct provision and can access a wide range of activities. It is very evident that staff at all levels have the pupils at the centre of everything they do, and all have a firm understanding of pupils’ individual strengths and needs. During a learning walk I observed pupils across the school engaged in motivating activities that were personalised to pupils’ needs. The range of abilities within the school is vast and staff are continually supported to develop their skills and understanding to best meet the needs of all pupils.
Confident Students
It was an absolute pleasure to meet with a group of pupils from the school, they were all very keen to tell me what they think of their school, and all communicated to me how happy they are at school and how well supported they feel by staff. Pupils are provided with opportunities to spend time with peers from outside their classes, taking every opportunity to generalise social skills. Staff had prepared the students with the questions I would ask which allowed the pupils to respond confidently. Pupil voice is a valued practice at St Piers and pupils are provided with regular opportunities to express their views and preferences across their school life, this is evident in the curriculum development.
Amazing Facilities
St Piers has amazing grounds and facilities, and staff plan to use these in the most beneficial way to support pupil progress and generalisation of skills. A learning walk through the outdoor woodland and Forest School highlighted the school’s desire to think outside the box and spark pupils’ imaginations. This was highlighted beautifully through the use of the enchanted story door that pupils walk through at the beginning of a session to motivate and engage.
Upcoming Event
A new garden area is currently under construction which is planned to provide students with further cross curricular opportunities to generalise and consolidate skills. This includes a very exciting beehive! Community links are supporting with the project, strengthening existing relationships.
Immense Care and Support
Staff plan for EHCP outcomes to be met through a personalised approach to learning with EHCP outcomes central to planning and pupil progress. During the meeting with parents, they all spoke passionately about the care and attention that is given to their child’s individual needs and how well their children progress in line with their intended outcomes.
Thoughtful Provision
The entire site is carefully considered and adapted as required to ensure all pupils are able to access and take part in all activities. Staff and pupils are actively encouraged to take risks to ensure that pupils have the most beneficial experiences to support the development of life skills. St Piers has completed significant curriculum development over the last few years and use innovative approaches to ensuring all pupils are able to reach their potential. The curriculum is ambitious for pupils and is under constant review and reflection to ensure it remains appropriate. Within the curriculum there is recognition of incidental learning with an emphasis of pupils being supported to generalise skills outside of the classroom.
Dedicated Staff
A meeting with support staff emphasised staff dedication to go above and beyond in order to support pupils to be the best they can be. A strong sense of teamwork amongst teachers and support staff was evident and support staff feel they have opportunities to input ideas into planning. Leaders may find it useful to reflect on the support provided for LSAs asked to lead classes to ensure high expectations can be reached across the school.
Wellbeing Support
Leaders are mindful of staff wellbeing and are constantly reviewing ways to develop practices to further support this. Examples of activities on offer to staff to support their wellbeing are yoga classes, an employee assistance programme and hot chocolate and marshmallows around a campfire! Staff speak highly of the support available to them and are grateful to have mental health first aiders in school to talk to when needed. A next step for leaders may be to consider the workload of teachers and the impact this can have on them being out of the class to complete it.
Specialist Services
Leaders have developed strong links with therapy teams and therapists successfully upskill class staff to ensure pupils are supported effectively throughout the day. This supports staff to become ‘experts’ in each child and this is evident when walking through the school.
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