West Rainton Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.
Excellent Sense of Community
West Rainton Primary School (WRPS) reminds us of the African proverb, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’. This is very real and lived at WRPS and there is an excellent sense of community.
Leaders and all staff have high expectations for children to achieve in all areas and whilst teaching and learning of the curriculum is a priority, it sits closely with a strong sense of belonging and citizenship. There is an expectation that pupils contribute to the life of the school and the community and world around them. These expectations are so embedded that the pupils’ sense of self-worth, and their vision for their futures is bright. The pupils build resilience in tasks in and out of the classroom and their behaviour is excellent. The pupils see themselves as role models for each other. One pupil said, “it is everyone’s job to help each other”.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is targeted to support whole-school development but also considers people’s personal journeys and their individual development needs. Leaders look for opportunities to continue to develop as a school. The leaders are keen to work collaboratively, and outreach work is usual. The school is well respected in the Local Authority and by local trusts. The school shares and celebrates their successes and all involved in the life of the school share a sense of pride of being part of West Rainton Primary School.
Safeguarding Remains Key
Safeguarding remains key; it is apparent on entering the school that there is a culture in all areas of school life. They are up to date with changes in Keep Children Safe In Education (KCSIE) 2023 and it is very visible who is responsible for safeguarding in information displayed in school. The pupils talked about West Rainton Primary being a safe place and said they know what to do if they are worried about something.
The pupils understand the behaviour policy and expectations are clear; the pupils said that everyone respects each other, and they explained that only very rarely, pupils forget to make sensible choices. The pupils said that it was not the end of the world if pupils forgot how to behave, and they said that everyone must help each other to remember how to make good decisions and that we must learn from mistakes.
The pupils talked about a coloured card system and said it was easy to understand and follow. The pupils gave real examples of how pupils, new to West Rainton, have enjoyed joining their school. The pupils talked about being encouraged to talk to any grown up they feel comfortable with. One pupil, who has joined the school in Key Stage 2 (KS2), said they feel very safe and happy at West Rainton. It is important to leaders that pupils respect everyone and the work around diversity was spoken about by the pupils very positively. The pupils said how we must make certain everyone must be respected.
Leadership of positive behaviour is recognised by the Local Authority (LA). The school leaders’ expertise is shared as the Headteacher sits on the LA behaviour panel which aims to support pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
Personal Development is Carefully Planned
Pupils’ personal development is carefully planned, and they gave many examples of visits and events that they look forward to, such as the main school production in December. They recognise that staff give up their own time on an evening and weekend and pupils think this is kind of them. They have a good understanding of the world around them and beyond and they were keen to share the positive impact the events organised by staff had on them and are grateful of the adults’ hard work. The pupils appreciate the sports opportunities and clubs they are encouraged to participate in.
Pupils sometimes move in and out of school. The pupils told our Assessor that everyone welcomes new pupils, and it is their job to help new pupils to settle in. They said the school welcomes everyone and that they like making new friends. The pupils talked about interesting lessons and a curriculum that is fun and helps them remember information.
Staff workload and wellbeing go hand-in-hand. The school recognises the need to balance work and home life; everyone is expected to work hard but the school has a culture of shared and collective responsibility. Everyone knows they play an important part in the life of the school and leaders appreciate the work of all involved and this was evident in the warm relationships throughout the school.
Great Place to Work
Staff shared that West Rainton Primary School is a great place to work and relationships are very strong. Staff say that they can speak to leaders and there is an open-door policy. They feel that the strong leadership and support is valued and they appreciate that their ideas are actioned. They talked about Local Authority subject leader network meetings that they are encouraged to attend and how this has helped with workload and in the development of their own professional development.
Staff feel empowered to act upon initiatives and explained that this encourages them to become deeply invested in making a positive difference.
The school website shares the school’s ongoing commitment to their self-evaluation with a variety of quality mark awards.
Critical Friend
The Governing Body is very committed and leaders genuinely welcome the voice of Governors in being a critical friend. Governors are frequently invited to take part in school life, taking part in visits to school so that they can see the work of the school first hand. They know about school priorities and will give time to supporting wherever they can. They are also invited to leadership meetings to observe decision making and are encouraged to contribute. A Governor talked about the high level of trust that parents have in school staff and could example where parents had spoken to them directly about how staff have supported them.
Parental engagement is seen as critical in developing the whole child. The school fosters strong relationships with families and carers at the earliest opportunity and this is reflected in the daily life of the school and the views of parents. The school sends out annual questionnaires which report that parents are extremely satisfied with the work of the school.
A parent, who arrived with children who were new to the school, talked about the approachable and friendly staff. The parent appreciates the emphasis the school has on personal development and talked about how this has had a major impact on their own child’s academic achievement.
A parent also talked about being able to communicate easily with the school through the Class Dojo app and the comprehensive website. The school website evidences the community work and showcases the real experiences the pupils have in belonging to their home, their city, and the North East. A parent shared how they liked how the school celebrates the successes of the pupils with the website as well as giving useful information.
A parent summed up the ethos of the school that, “staff are happy to help, and nothing is a problem”. The school brochure’s first message is, ‘Working together for Success’, and West Rainton Primary School certainly lives up to these words.
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.
Want more information on the IQM Award? Click here to request your free IQM information pack.
• Our inaugural National Inclusion Conference will take place on the 27th November, for further details click here.