The March CE Inclusive School Award

June 23, 2026

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The March CE Primary School is a one-form entry primary school in Sussex which feels the benefit of being an academy within the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust (DCAT). The school is explicit about being a Christian School community, with the word ‘love’ being the first thing seen as you access its website, and the values of the school are communicated explicitly with the following strap line on the website: “With God’s help, we will live kindly, love each other, learn and laugh together’. Leaders believe in achieving a deep understanding through research and data and are keen to make evidence-informed decisions that are centred on knowing every pupil as a unique, loved individual.

Warmth and Inclusion

The school works hard to advocate for pupils who do not have pupils or carers advocating for them. The needs of pupils attending the school have increased in recent years, but the school takes a thoughtful approach and works to support every child attending the school.

The Chair of Governors has articulated that inclusion means a “warm embrace in terms of the Christian ethos”, and how that ethos is synonymous with inclusion, because every individual matters.

Inclusion at The March CE Primary School is kept central to the school’s ethos and all aspects of school life benefit from an integration of the Christian values of compassion, respect, and love. There is an intent to ensure all students feel valued, respected, and supported. The school appreciates how important their processes for understanding the diverse needs of pupils, particularly those with SEND, and how to adapt teaching methods to these pupils suitably.

Respecting all voices

Actively listening is an evident value prevailing in the March CE Primary School, which the leadership recognises as a driver for inclusion. The SENDCo models active listening at meetings with parents, and the senior leadership understands that respect come from staff and pupils being able to listen to and value one another.

Recently the school has had a drive to illuminate diversity through an initiative where voice was given to pupils, especially more marginalised pupils, to present what they would like to see happen or change, for the school to respond more effectively to their needs. This was done through showing videos in assemblies of these children talking about their lived experiences. The impact of this on understanding and inclusion has been considerable.

The school demonstrates sensitivity towards broadening cultural awareness and a genuine concern over ensuring that the school is sufficiently welcoming to those who may feel that they do not belong.

The head of school describes how the curriculum design at The March CE Primary School contributes to the inclusion endeavour.  The principle of effective sequencing and spiralling enables learners to revisit knowledge and their learning. This enables all pupils to have another chance to consolidate on their learning. There is a belief in the value of thematic units within the curriculum, with leadership stating that pupils feel topic approaches to learning are often, “more relevant and engaging…especially when they include real-world links, visits, and projects.” The school seeks to go above and beyond in giving pupils experiences and keeping every learner engaged, and this is seen in the importance given to what the school refers to as ‘The Cultural Capital of The March’.

There is a strong conviction in The March CE Primary School that staff should work to enable the school to “fit the child”, rather than the child having to fit into the school.

This makes The March CE a truly inclusive school, and IQM is proud to award them the Inclusive School Award.