Stanton Vale School Achieves IQM Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status

August 17, 2026

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Congratulations to Stanton Vale School on securing the IQM Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status. This achievement recognises the school’s strong culture of inclusion and its commitment to creating an environment where all children can succeed and reach their full potential.

A School Where Everyone Belongs

Stanton Vale School is truly a heartwarming, compassionate place of learning. The exceptional staff that serve the school community have made, and continue to make, a profoundly positive difference to the lives of the pupils that attend the school as well as the pupils’ families.

Difference is celebrated here and each and every member of the school community is valued for being who they are. Despite the wealth of challenges and barriers to learning that the pupils face, staff demonstrate an unwavering drive to ensure that every pupil that attends fulfils their potential and thrives. High expectations are evident everywhere, seamlessly blending with a genuine sense of joy, care and compassion.

Transforming Lives Through Relationships

The core values of Stanton Vale are Working Together, Respect, Aspiration and Potential. These guide the school community through everything they do. Every member of the community is valued, cared for and thoroughly supported. Parents speak about the extensive support they receive as families and the proactive way staff identify and help families access support services.

Staff feel inspired by the pupils that they teach and care for day in and day out. They work with incredible commitment, patience and determination but also with, as one staff member described, ‘a sense of fun.’ They value the excellent support they receive from the Senior Leadership Team, the consideration for their own wellbeing as well as the vast range of opportunities they receive to enhance their own professional knowledge and expertise.

Relationships within all aspects of this community are rooted in respect, trust and compassion. This encompasses relationships between pupils, relationships between staff members and relationships between staff and parents. The group of parents that the assessor spoke to on the review day were overwhelmingly positive about the school and the high quality of care and support that their children received at Stanton Vale. Many of the parents that the assessor spoke to highlight the challenges they had experienced from the education system prior to their child joining Stanton Vale and the lack of faith and trust that had developed because of their previous experiences. However, they described in depth the transformational process of seeing their children start and then begin to thrive at Stanton Vale and how their trust was restored. One parent stated, ‘From the very first moment it was like someone putting an arm around me.’

Learning with Joy and Purpose

Throughout the assessment it was a joy to see the children and young people engaging in their learning in a variety of situations in lessons delivered with passion and purpose by the highly skilled staff. Older pupils had visited the local shop and were reflecting on learning based around the Chinese New Year. The assessor met a pupil with profound physical needs, smiling with pride having recently been appointed as a Reading Mentor for younger children. In all the classes that were visited, and the interventions that were observed, pupils were clearly enjoying every moment of their bespoke learning experience. The assessor was struck by the wealth of adaptive resources and specialised equipment that were available for pupils and by the incredible passion, patience and joy from the staff as they supported their pupils to learn.

The MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) programme is a key part of the curriculum for pupils with physical disabilities. For some children, being able to move independently over a small distance would have a profound effect on their ability to access life opportunities and necessities.

At the heart of the Stanton Vale curriculum are hands-on, multi-sensory activities that spark curiosity and ignite a love for learning. Whether exploring the farm, playing with an orchestra, or embarking on Duke of Edinburgh adventures, the pupils at Stanton Vale engage in meaningful, real-world experiences that deepen their understanding and foster a sense of wonder.

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.