Wodensborough Ormiston Academy has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Flagship status.
‘By Working Together We Can Make the Biggest Difference’
Wodensborough Ormiston Academy is part of the Ormiston Academies Trust which sponsors a total of 42 academies nationwide, comprising 32 secondary schools, 6 primary schools, 3 alternative provision schools and 1 special school across 6 regions of England. The Trust has a shared mission statement across all of its academies – “By working together we can make the biggest difference, both inside and outside the classroom.”
Wodensborough is a highly inclusive school and has a growing number of students on roll, with the Local Authority (LA) raising the Published Admissions Number (PAN) from September 2022 to 230 students. Despite the increase in PAN, the school is currently oversubscribed in Year 7, having taken a cohort of 250 students in September 2023. The number of Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) students accepted by the school has increased as a result of the positive reputation of the school and the significant increase in local need alongside the school becoming the first choice with parents, due to its reputation for supporting students with additional needs.
The school welcomes students with additional needs which is clearly evidenced by the high number of students with EHCPs that the school supports. Currently, 80 students across the school have an EHCP and that figure is expected to increase by a further 21 in September 2024. The school has set up a bespoke post-16 provision for students with ASD and an EHCP, WOA6, which is successfully building links with other special and mainstream colleges to provide post-16 courses which support students developing life skills alongside continuing both academic and vocational study at their level.
The safeguarding team (the ‘We Care Team’) now has 3 non-teaching safeguarding team members. The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) monitors staff, escalates cases when needed and ensures tight paperwork. The safeguarding team has made 4 LA challenges, escalating the cases to senior staff within Social Services, all of which were successful. All multi-agency forum meetings have been taken up this year. Additions to the team include a new therapeutic mentor, an additional senior mental health trainee and an increased number of mental health first aiders. Disclosures through SHOUT are continuing to rise, with students being confident about sharing and the school has seen a reduction in reports of harmful sexual behaviours.
WOA was successful in being awarded the Ormiston Academy Trust award for Inclusion and Diversity this year. Students from Ormiston have been involved in the Trust Student Voice, which is the largest Student Voice across the country and have been involved in writing the new Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum with Middlesex University. Students have also taken part in a number of social action projects across the country, alongside students taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award and over 60 students being marine cadets. The school provides cadet uniforms for students who are permitted to wear their uniforms to school every Tuesday and Thursday.
Leadership is a Real Strength
Leaders are currently supporting staff, students and the wider community through the trauma of a Year 11 student being stabbed and killed 3 days before the IQM visit. Staff have worked relentlessly to ensure all students who need to talk, share emotions and make sense of the situation have someone to talk to. Staff are highly aware of the impact the tragic event is having on students across the Academy, with some students reliving experiences of loss of family members and friends. Students are being supported by the Educational Psychologist and staff were provided with training from the LA to enable staff to have sensitive and effective conversations during tutor time. Leaders have also taken up an offer from the Brotherhood Team who were involved in the ‘My Bro’ mentoring programme last year. The group has offered drop-in opportunities for key students to limit feelings of revenge within their cultural group.
Leadership in school remains a real strength and has been further developed through the appointment of a leader with responsibility for Adaptive Teaching. This role has involved the provision of a WOA toolkit aimed at meeting SEND needs through the effective use of the school’s passport system. This aligns closely with the school’s seating plans, making staff fully aware of how to support each individual child. The seating plans are available for every class on ‘Class Charts’. Each student will have an allocated seat within the class which is shown on screen. Key information regarding each student is then accessible through the seating plan including access to SEND passports. Staff are expected to add notes to their seating plan either online or on a printed version, highlighting triggers and support strategies for all key children. A paper copy of all seating plans is provided for cover staff ensuring minimal disruption and lack of consistency for all students even during periods of staff absence.
Leaders are successfully consulting with parents through a growing Parent Voice. The school now has a group of 15 parents who are regularly invited into the school to discuss policy changes.
The WOA ethos continues to drive daily life around school. The school believes in developing the whole child as an individual and, through its ethos, expects students to play an active part in their own future and WOA.
Smart Start
The School’s ‘Smart Start’ daily form time has been extended this year to a 30-minute session and now counts as the first teaching period of the day. The Smart Start includes registration and a timetable of activities across the week including assemblies, tutor reading and a well-planned personal development curriculum. Within this, students are taught Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG), Citizenship, Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC), RSHE, Mental Health, Online Safety, Character Education and Diversity. Students access Smart Start very positively and this is having a positive impact on attendance.
Students can earn daily ‘PAUSE’ points during SMART: P- Punctuality; A – Attendance; U- Uniform; S – Strong Relationships; E – Equipment.
The PAUSE points collected build to a half-termly reward. A ‘Kick Start’ programme runs in place of Smart Start for key identified students requiring additional support at the start of the day. Students in ‘Kick Start’ have daily meet and greet provision, tea and toast and access to the Personal Development Curriculum in smaller groups.
Exceptionally Calm Behaviour
Behaviour across the WOA during the visit, especially within corridors during lesson changeovers, break and lunch time was exceptionally calm as a result of the students fully committing and demonstrating the expectations. Staff regularly model the expectations in their movement around school providing an environment of respect and positivity. Leaders, staff and students have recently reviewed the behaviour policy. The review honed in on different behaviours, ensuring there was a clarity of understanding around each behaviour. Time was spent with students explicitly demonstrating the different behaviours, showing what a good one looks like and modelling what defiance and bad language look like.
Clear expectations have been set across the community with a well-developed understanding of the expectations, rewards and sanctions. Further development work on behaviour is planned for this term with a focus on developing a ‘Relational Bank’ to support disadvantaged students. Leaders are looking to develop a focus on positive praise for students who in their everyday lives are experiencing significant negativity. Many vulnerable students have been identified as having limited positive relationships with adults, leading to experiencing limited praise. The behaviour curriculum will continue to focus on modelling what a ‘good example looks like’. An audit is planned to identify those vulnerable students with negative home backgrounds, who would benefit from regular praise. A system of building up strong, positive relationships for each identified student with a small number of adults within the school will be piloted.
WOA continues to offer a broad and balanced curriculum at KS4 and KS5 blending work-related learning with basic skills and pupil interests. The introduction of a Life Skills package at KS4 for EHCP students has supported students’ development and successfully prepared them for the WOA6 environment and curriculum. The Life Skills package includes developing self-awareness and self-motivation, managing transition, careers, managing finances, preparing for employment and developing independence skills. Staff are ensuring the WOA6 curriculum retains its focus on work-related learning accompanied by a robust programme of study in literacy, numeracy, ICT and RSHE which challenges each learner from their given starting point and allows them to feel a sense of achievement, whilst preparing them for life beyond WOA and preparing for adulthood.
Support for Students
Support for students to be successful at GCSE has been extended this year through the addition of a second Year 11 Study Centre, successfully picking up school refusers and students whose attendance at school had become a major concern (below 37%) as a result of SEMH and anxiety. These students are taught in a bespoke area at the front of the school or in a section of Harison Block and students work on their GCSEs whilst in the study centre alongside the provision of emotional support. Students in the study centre do not have to wear school uniforms, with those based in Harison Block attending in their PE kit. Students in the Study Centre have a different start time and finish at lunchtime. The study centre has been highly successful in raising attendance levels and ensuring all students leave WOA with some qualifications. Support for these students is provided during examinations with the students taking the exams within the study centre. The school continues to support all students through exams providing access arrangements where appropriate.
All year 11 students receive a study/revision stationery pack along with a ‘pen of power’ (a quality pen) for use in exams. Worry stones are also provided for identified students to take into their GCSE exams.
Our Assessor added, “Wodensborough Ormiston Academy continues to demonstrate a high commitment to inclusion and is working very closely with both Sandwell and Dudley Authorities to meet the needs of SEND students, particularly in post-16 education. My visit was really positive, highly informative and very enjoyable.”
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.
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