William Ford Church of England (C of E) Junior School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Safeguarding Considerations are High
William Ford Church of England Junior School is a three-form entry school in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham which has the highest level of deprivation in London, with the local ward (Village Ward) amongst the 10% most deprived in the country. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average with 34.9% of pupils being eligible for free school meals. Following recent NHS weight screening checks, pupils at the school are recorded as being in the top 10% nationally for obesity. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is much higher than average. With many of the pupils experiencing or witnessing conflict and violence outside school, contextual safeguarding considerations are high on the agenda for staff.
With the needs of the local community becoming ever more prevalent, the school acts generously to each other. William Ford C of E Junior School has systems in place where parents can contact the school during out of school hours if they need support and/or advice. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has one of the highest percentages of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) pupils nationally, hence the Headteacher has offered an adapted area to better support children with more complex SEND, supported by the Local Authority (LA), which is due to be opened soon. Currently the proportion of pupils with SEND at William Ford C of E Junior School is broadly average.
Transformational Education
The school vision statement is ‘Learning from Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, to work diligently, act generously and live at peace with everyone.’ Psalm 34:14 – Seek peace and pursue it. Inspired by their Christian vision, the school’s intent is to empower, engage, ensure, and enable their pupils, as they believe education is the route out of poverty and to a successful future. William Ford C of E Junior School curriculum summary states ‘The school’s transformational education provides a route out of poverty through the raising of aspirations and encouraging our pupils to work diligently, providing a mirror into their own culture along with a window to the culture of others in order to promote tolerance, understanding and peace – all enshrined within British and Christian values.’
The Headteacher joined the school in September 2020 and has initiated a new leadership structure to benefit the pupils, staff and local community alongside managing the resources available to the school. William Ford C of E Junior School have valued the Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) structure to help them record, celebrate, and embed their inclusive practice. They have a School Development Plan (SDP) which will continue to develop their inclusive practice and disseminate their experience and knowledge in this area.
‘Purposeful Learning, Engaging Activities’
William Ford C of E Junior School create ‘Purposeful learning, engaging activities.’ A curriculum where children have a real or fictional purpose to the learning or are working towards a purpose at the end of the unit. This gives the pupils the knowledge that they are working for a purpose, they can bring about change, and feel inspired. This in turn embeds the learning. In every lesson, and for every child, there are opportunities for collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.
Pupil progress meetings are held with all year group teams and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) on a termly basis. William Ford C of E Junior School identify individuals, groups and classes that may need additional support and provision. The meetings monitor all pupil’s attainment, identify gaps, plateaus, or dips etc and discussions will consider life experiences, difficult circumstances, and any other impacting situations or additional learning needs the pupil may be experiencing. Plans are put in place to support these needs and are closely monitored by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Co-ordinator (SENDCo) and the Inclusion Leader. Provision maps are in place and a variety of interventions to develop, Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, reading, writing, maths, and communication are accessed by those who need it.
Pupils access many opportunities to learn about their local area, community, and the wider world through links with local organisation, charities, and wider world child sponsorship initiatives.
School is Passionate
The school is passionate about ensuring pupils are exposed to the wider world and the possibilities and opportunities it holds for them. To this end, the school aim to develop the pupil’s cultural capital through 11 experiences that the pupils are all encouraged to experience before they leave the school. These are experiences the pupils would not access without the support of the school. The school works hard to create hope, ambition, and a can-do attitude for their pupils so that they have high expectations for themselves and their futures.
Parent/carers feel that their children are happy and safe at William Ford C of E Junior School, and they feel well informed in several ways. Parent/carers feel that the staff are approachable and really listen to them.
William Ford C of E Junior school works with a Cluster of local schools to moderate and share and develop their teaching, learning and inclusive practise. Continuing professional development within the school is regular, bespoke, and impactful. It is purposely supported by the staffing structure plan, enabling curriculum leads to develop learning and pedagogy to ensure the best outcomes for the pupils.
‘I Feel Really Safe’
Pupils were asked to tell the IQM Assessor how they felt about their school. One pupil said, “I feel really safe.” Another commented that, “Without this school, for me, my life is nothing.” Another pupil said, “I like this school as they always make you feel part of it, and you never feel left out.” Comments that confirm the true inclusive nature of William Ford C of E Junior School.
When leaders, learning support staff, parents/guardians and Governors were asked to describe the inclusive ethos of William Ford C of E Junior School in one word, they responded following some reflection, with these words ‘Ambitious, deliberate, team, important, kind and happy.’ Carefully chosen words, which really reflect the school’s Inclusion.
William Ford C of E Junior School value the IQM Award structure which has helped them to develop their practice and identify their next steps.
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.