St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.
Supports Pupils
St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School is a two-form entry, mainstream, Catholic school with a nursery, based in central Acton within the London Borough of Ealing. There are currently 20 pupils who have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and 22.7% of pupils are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM).
St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School supports the pupils to achieve well and data records show, that pupils in all phases, achieving age-related expectations, are above the national average. The school has a committed drive to identify, support, monitor and closely track the ‘Focus 20’ group (lowest attaining 20% of pupils). The school maintains case studies of individuals, and these demonstrate their success.
‘We Grow, Learn and Achieve’
The Headteacher states, “our school motto, ‘we grow, learn, and achieve by following Christ’, at its very heart encourages strong links between school, home and parish, where all children are nurtured within a supportive Christian environment and their potential valued … spiritually, morally, academically and socially”.
On arrival at the school, the IQM assessor observed a prominent SEND notice board outside the school entrance. It advertised local and school support groups and highlighted staff to contact for support as required. Useful QR codes are displayed so that parents can access information later, via their phones, if they wish.
Safeguarding checks and procedures are managed very well. The IQM Assessor’s paperwork was checked thoroughly, and office staff ensured that the IQM Assessor knew the members of the safeguarding team by referencing the safeguarding team poster. The IQM Assessor was reminded to ensure that a member of the safeguarding team was informed if any concerns with pupils or staff were encountered.
Visible and Approachable
At the start of the day, the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is visible and approachable at the three school gates (EYFS, Key Stage 1 (KS1) and KS2). The IQM Assessor observed that parents felt comfortable asking questions, asking for information to be passed on, and were able to hand in forms confidentially. The Senior Leadership Team’s (SLTs) welcome was inviting as they often used the pupils’ names when they said, “good morning”. Using the pupils’ given names, helps the pupils feel a sense of belonging and safety. Pupils replied politely and were happy, calm, and eager to get to their classes to learn.
The Zones of Regulation are embedded in every class (observed by the IQM Assessor) and the ‘snack and chat’ provision led by the Learning Mentor is in place to ensure that pupils who are not feeling their best, are supported to be ready for learning. One of the parents reported that their child had accessed the ‘snack and chat’ intervention to help their child regulate and be ready for learning on entry into school. The parent reported that the intervention, “really helped and after a few weeks, it was not needed anymore”.
Safe and Secure
The IQM Assessment Day was also a day when a group of parents were attending the new ‘stay and share’ sessions with their children. Parents were signed in and received stickers to indicate they were staying in school. All other parents waved goodbye at the school gates and the flow of pupils into school was relaxed and efficient. A parent of a child with medical needs explained that they had been able to spend time in class and liaise closely with the class teacher at the start of the year and this had helped her to feel safe and secure knowing her child’s medical needs were understood.
There is a real sense that St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School is a caring, supportive, inclusive, and successful school. The school’s coaching groups contribute to this. Following whole school training on adverse childhood experiences and restorative coaching techniques the SENDCo and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Lead developed a powerful coaching programme. All staff have a vertically grouped, Year 1 to Year 6 coaching group which remains static throughout their time in school. At the end of an academic year as a Year 6 pupil leaves, a Year 1 pupil is added to the group.
The coaching group meets weekly, and all pupils work on a discussion, subject, problem, and debate. The PSHE Lead emails ideas and the area for discussion the week before, giving staff time to prepare for the coaching session. Last week’s proposed question was, ‘should animals be free or in zoos?’ The benefits of these coaching groups are multi-layered. The community and nurturing support they provide across the school has been amazing. All the pupils have a voice. All the year groups are intertwined with older pupils supporting younger pupils and younger pupils feeling that they can approach older pupils for advice and support. The coaching leads are from all working members of the school, the SLT, cleaners, catering staff, support staff and teachers are coaching their own group. The coaching groups are also hugely supportive of the safeguarding team and their work to support and protect pupils and families.
Proud
St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School is very proud of its bespoke, inclusive, progressive, diverse, integrated and connected curriculum, they have named it, ‘Building the Kingdom’. Their website states, ‘with the National Curriculum as our statutory framework, we have chosen overarching themes which reflect our local, national and global community with strong links to social justice and the greater good’. The school’s curriculum is planned on a two-year cycle in EYFS and a four-year cycle in KS1 and KS2. It is planned by the teachers, for their pupils. The school website states that, ‘Building the Kingdom is a highly ambitious curriculum aimed at challenging every one of our children to discover an authentic love of learning for life’.
Pupils told the IQM Assessor that they felt safe in school and said, “teachers teach us lots in school about real life and get us ready for real life”. Another pupil said, “the good thing about school is we get to vote for things, all views are considered not just the views of one or two”.
Pupils are Proud
Pupils are proud to share their Learning Journals with their parents on ‘stay and share’ sessions. The IQM Assessor reviewed a selection of these journals recording the integrated humanities learning from a range of year groups and from a range of mixed-ability pupils. The pupils were proud of them, and progress was clear to see. Pupils are keen to correct their work and respond to teacher feedback.
Verbal feedback and pupil voice are recorded to support attainment records. Scaffolding, adaptive teaching, oracy and knowledge retrieval are features of classroom teaching and learning. Classrooms have working walls and visual supports with school-agreed symbols and visual timetables to support all pupils. The use of colourful semantics, Zones of Regulation and active learning were evident and embedded throughout the school. All classrooms have Zones of Regulation toolkits which have toys to support pupils to self-regulate, ear defenders, sets of social stories and worry monsters.
Staff wellbeing and support are important to the school and confidential feedback is encouraged. Feedback has enabled the Staff Wellbeing Committee to action support in a more discreet way such as the use of QR codes for staff to access support from local partnerships or an ‘app’ to support relieving stress. The school has offered a quiet space for staff to be mindful as they requested this resource. The school’s commitment to releasing teams for termly planning also supports the wellbeing of the staff. Staff treats such as pizzas, end-of-term breakfast, Freedom Fridays, ‘big birthdays with a zero’ treats, and staff recreation opportunities like badminton and yoga, all support staff wellbeing and are appreciated.
Parents of children with medical needs and with SEN said they were, “beyond happy with the school”. This is a testament to the work and commitment the whole school team provides.
St. Vincent’s Catholic Primary School provides evidence of continuing to meet the standards for the Inclusion Quality Mark in all the elements. There is a continuous and evolving culture of critical reflection and action which is evident at every level of the school. This ensures that St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School remains inclusive, effective and progressive.
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.
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