Staniland Academy Achieves Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status

August 20, 2026

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Following their initial assessment in April 2026, Staniland Academy was awarded the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status! 

A Culture of Respect, Curiosity and Joy 

Pupils’ respectful behaviour and zestful attitude towards learning, is highly commendable. This emanates from a thoroughly embedded and cohesive school ethos that looks for the individual talent and good in everyone and fosters mutual respect between staff and pupils. As was noted by Ofsted in 2025, “staff know the pupils and their families incredibly well and have positive and warm relationships with them”. This culture was very evident during the IQM assessment as pupils, understanding clearly what was expected of them, engaged in lessons, with keen curiosity and enthusiasm. Visitors are greeted with welcome messages displayed in many languages, alongside national flags. The overall atmosphere is joyfully captured by a large display in reception, made by pupils that illustrates the Spike Milligan poem, ‘Smile’.  

The Voyage Education Partnership  

Staniland School is a member of the Voyage Education Partnership, a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) in Lincolnshire consisting of eleven schools that are able to offer strong, symbiotic, support. Responding to the socio-economic needs of the region’s community, the Trust’s strategic aim is to improve the lives and life chances of more young people, with ‘diversity’ being one of their key values. They provide each Trust school with autonomy, integrity and a supportive partnership, driving education excellence, whilst also celebrating the unique characteristics of each member school.  

Empowering Every Child to Flourish 

The Academy is deeply committed to an inclusive curriculum where every child is encouraged and empowered to grow and flourish as a compassionate, resilient and responsible learner. Leaders set ambitious expectations so pupils can achieve well and contribute positively to any community they choose. Creating aspiration is a clear focus, with displays illustrating individual pupils career goals and work sector artifact cubes on display in KS-3. 

Celebrating Every Learner  

The school’s values are resilient, equality, smiling, pride, exemplary, compassionate and tolerance (creating the acronym, RESPECT) and these are woven through daily routines and relationships, pupil assemblies and visible displays around the school. The school community is vibrant, diverse and welcoming. There are 460 pupils on roll, with a wide range of home languages and 58% identified as English as an additional language. Leaders support a broad range of strengths and needs, including for the 19% of pupils identified with SEND, and they track inclusion carefully through tools such as pupil passports, learning plans and regular review meetings. 

Welcoming Every Family  

The school warmly welcomes families who join at different points in the year, including children arriving from a range of challenging family circumstances. Leaders respond with strong pastoral care and thoughtful induction, supported by transition conversations, clear routines and regular home – school communication through MyEd and Seesaw, so pupils settle quickly, feel secure and are ready to learn.  

Every Day Counts  

Attendance, to ensure both pupil progress and safety, is a key priority within the school’s improvement work. Leaders combine clear expectations with supportive, relationship-based, work with families, using attendance displays, class and individual certificates, and celebration assemblies to positively underscore the importance of school life. Ofsted noted that the “school has high expectations for pupils to attend school” and commended the school’s systems that they observed were “having a positive impact.” Rigorous monitoring and expedient follow-up of absence, including recorded actions and reviews and home visits, support pupils to attend regularly and engage consistently, leading to attendance levels that exceed national average levels.  

Helping Every Child Thrive and Aim High 

Leaders and staff are dedicated to ensuring every child thrives and feels happy, safe and secure as part of the Staniland community. They want pupils to develop confidence, curiosity and ambition so they can pursue future goals and embrace opportunities, including aspirations they may not yet have imagined, and they welcome external validation such as Trust reviews and Ofsted feedback to keep improving.   

Find Out More About IQM 

The Inclusion Quality Mark provides schools with a nationally recognised framework for developing and celebrating inclusive practice.  

If your school is interested in achieving the 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.