Tidemill Academy Achieves Flagship Status

September 3, 2020

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Tidemill Academy in Lewisham has achieved Flagship School status.

Developing the Whole Child

The team at Tidemill is passionate about inclusive practice. As a school that is based in an area of high deprivation with a range of languages across the school and a high proportion of SEN children. The importance of a clear vision of inclusive practice is a high priority for leaders. As a team they have recognised that for all children to make progress and achieve their potential the school has to develop the whole child. The school has developed its values and ethos to be able to work towards this ultimate challenge. It was evident from the conversations during the review that the children are at the heart of all the decisions leaders make. They have recognised that as a school it is their priority to provide a wealth of experiences that the children can explore. Although there is a high priority on achieving in reading, writing and maths, the school values the wider curriculum subjects as an approach to achieve those high standards. The team is keen to take the children out and develop the children’s ‘cultural capital’. Leaders commented that they were looking forward to “being able to access London again”. Teachers and leaders shared their passion for being able to take children out to such events as Steve McQueen at the Tate. Art plays an important part across the school and whilst on lockdown the school team has promoted ways for children to develop their art at home using videos to demonstrate skills.

Meeting the Needs of All Children

The importance of the curriculum is a high priority to the team at Tidemill Academy. They have developed it using the IPC and National Curriculum to reflect the needs of their children. Teachers commented that “Art, Drama and PE underpins everything we do, it is essential that we embed and revisit and that we use our knowledge of the children to engage their interest.” The team has established good systems to support the handover between year groups from long term to medium term plans. Staff demonstrated a passion about the curriculum, recognising its importance in engaging all children in developing as key learners. The school has considered ways to develop children’s vocabulary within subjects including pre-teaching where necessary. The development of the Subject Leaders has also increased the commitment to ensuring the curriculum works for the children. The future development of the curriculum as the Flagship project reflects the high priority the team have on continually reviewing and improving it to meet the needs of all children.

Sharing Good Practice is Key

As a member of the REAch2 Academy Trust the importance of sharing good practice is a key focus. The school team is proactive in visiting schools as well as supporting schools with different areas of development. A recent example would be leading training on ‘How to be a Mentally Healthy School’ with Lewisham. Tidemill is also the lead school for the Endeavour Teaching School Alliance which enables them to build teacher capacity and expertise. This focus on sharing good practice also meets the IQM Flagship criteria that the school has “good mechanisms to disseminate, share, encourage and influence good inclusive practice between the schools”.

Enthusiasm for Inclusive Practice

Tidemill Academy’s team’s enthusiasm for inclusive practice and the commitment to IQM was tangible throughout the review.

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: info@iqmaward.com for further details.

Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.