St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School Achieves IQM Inclusive School Award

September 7, 2026

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St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School has achieved the IQM Inclusive School Award in recognition of its deeply embedded culture of inclusion and its unwavering commitment to ensuring that every pupil can flourish.

The assessment highlighted a school where high expectations, personalised support and a strong sense of community work together to ensure that every child is able to “let your light shine”. 

A School Where Every Child Can Shine 

“Let your light shine” is the key message below the school’s name on its website and paper headings. This simple but important philosophy informs the community of the school’s intent; that all of its pupils will succeed and shine in their own way. 

The school’s excellent work is demonstrated through the stories of some of its pupils with the highest levels of need. Some profound challenges and barriers to inclusion exist for these children, but the school works exceptionally hard and shows real persistence to ensure that they not only access every part of school life, but flourish, achieve and develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging.

The school adapts for profound physical needs in some cases, drawing on the expertise of external partners, the willingness of staff to learn and develop and the strength of the community to overcome barriers. Technology is used innovatively so that pupils with physical needs can demonstrate understanding and achievement and access the full curriculum. The work in some of these pupils’ books is inspiring.

Inclusion Through Opportunity

“All achievement is of equal value,” explained one of the Senior Leaders, describing the school’s approach to ensuring pupils succeed. Leaders have identified the ‘non-negotiable’ experiences that every pupil must have during their time at St Vincent’s. These include being part of a leadership group, representing the school at sport, performing in a theatre, learning to play a musical instrument, attending all school visits and residentials and making good academic progress. The progress of every learner towards taking part in these activities is tracked carefully. Where there are barriers, these are identified and addressed. Pupils with barriers, such as additional needs or social disadvantage are considered very carefully and they are given priority to after school clubs with limited places. This approach ensures that all pupils have access to experiences that are life enhancing, develop their interests and help identify their talents, and develop their cultural capital. 

Exceptional Pupil Leadership 

The leadership shown by pupil groups is exceptional and a stand out feature of the school’s wellbeing and development offer. Pupils lead across a wide range of areas, including sustainability, online safety, wellbeing and sport. Each leadership group must identify their key goals and intended actions and demonstrate how these contribute to the school’s values. This ensures that they gain an understanding of what these values mean in the context of their school, their local community and the wider world. 

Pupil leadership is exceptional with a number of pupil groups operating, all with a mission to ‘make a difference’ and all reporting on their success. For example, Reading Ambassadors act as buddies for younger children, look after the school library and promote reading through events such as book swaps, Wellbeing Champions organise events to raise awareness of wellbeing and mental health and Digital Champions help to keep fellow pupils safe online.  

A Community Built on Shared Values 

The school’s values and mission statement were developed collegiately with stakeholder involvement. The tagline “Let your light shine” is clearly rooted in the school’s Christian ethos as a faith school and is a simple reminder that guides every individual in their actions and decision making. Staff feel that the school values are: “truly lived throughout the school.” They mention the teamwork and the way that everyone takes personal responsibility as the drivers of the school’s success. Staff are proud to be part of the school community. “It feels like a family and once you are part of it, you never want to leave.” 

Pupils are equally proud of their school and have a strong understanding of inclusion. 

“It means that you are accepting and welcoming.” “It’s about making sure that everyone’s ideas can be heard.” They also show understanding that inclusion is about making sure that everyone can achieve. “The school pushes us and helps us to do our best.” 

Making a Difference Locally and Globally 

Children from the school choir and ‘Mini Vinnies’ group meet with their adult counterparts from the local St Vincent De Paul Society to compare the work they do and learn about further ways they can help in the community. Many fundraising events are organised by pupils, and they have supported charities such as Cornerstone, Fairtrade and Francis House Children’s Hospice. Mini Vinnies pupils also support Kirinya Children’s Centre in Uganda through the Helen Owen Foundation, raising funds for resources and building global links through pen-pal exchanges. 

“No stone is left unturned and no element overlooked as the school works continually to be the best it can be for every member of its community.” 

Find Out More About IQM 

If your school is interested in achieving 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.