Wyndcliffe Primary School has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Highly Inclusive School
Wyndcliffe Primary School in Birmingham is a highly inclusive school and the work that the leaders and staff are doing is exceptional. Inclusion practice, driven by their UNICEF Rights Respecting focus, is fully embedded across all aspects of the school. This is the school’s first IQM Assessment and they are already demonstrating the IQM values to a high standard and easily already meet Centre of Excellence (COE) standards. The Self Evaluation Report was completed to a very high standard and the school ensured our Assessor was able to speak to the right staff, Governors, pupils and parents during the visit, who all spoke very confidently and passionately about each of the IQM elements.
Wyndcliffe Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school situated in the second most socially deprived area of Birmingham. The school currently has 592 pupils on roll with a further 39 in nursery. The school has a high level of mobility, which is identified in the Inspection Data Summary Report (IDSR) with only 62% stability. 56% of pupils receive Pupil Premium (PP) funding, 21% of pupils are on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) register, 4.6% of pupils have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) plan and 89% of pupils have indicated English as not being their first spoken language. Attainment on entry is very low for the children and the children join the school with language deprivation and many social and emotional needs.
Welcoming Ethos
Numbers entering the school in Reception have fallen over the last two years, but the transient nature of the school’s community, taking many families who have been placed in temporary accommodation means places are filled further through school. The falling numbers within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) have allowed the school to further develop its Resource Base for Autistic children. The Resource Base, set up in partnership with the Local Authority, opened with 7 places in 2019. This has now developed into a 44-place Resource Base working across Key Stage (KS) 1 and KS2 for pupils; (The Hive in KS2, Honeycomb in KS1). There are currently 41 children in the Resource Base for Autistic children across the two sites. These children attend from across the city and some children arrive on transport as they are based further afield. Wyndcliffe also provides places for 9 children in the Honeypot (a hub set up and funded by the school for the children who have additional needs and need additional support in a smaller classroom who do not as yet have EHCPs in EYFS).
Visitors regularly comment on the inclusive, welcoming ethos across the school and the Visitors’ Book is full of delightful positive feedback. Standout comments include: “Wow! I don’t think I have visited a school before that is so inclusive and welcoming.”; “What a breath of fresh air this school is!”; “Delightful school – warm and welcoming by all.”; “Amazing session with brilliant pupils – journalists of the future.” (ITV)
Visions and Values
Wyndcliffe Primary School is a highly inclusive school where practices are fully embedded and ‘lived’ by pupils and adults alike. The vision and values are clearly displayed and followed. All stakeholders are aware of the school motto, TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) which, alongside the Leigh Trust values of CARES – ‘Creativity, Aspirations, Respect, Excellence and Supportive’, creates the overall ethos for the Trust of a “TEAM that CARES”.
The school prides itself on having inclusion at the heart of everything it does. What is highly apparent is the dedication and drive of the staff to make a positive difference.
The staff met at all levels were committed and passionate about meeting the needs and making a difference for every child. The school has gained the full trust of the community and has developed a reputation within the local community as being fully inclusive, going that extra mile to be able to support children who were unable to manage in other settings.
The school has particular key strengths with Pupil Oracy in developing confident, thoughtful speakers from an early age and in Pupil Leadership. There is a real passion, motivation, commitment and energy across the whole community and a desire to do and be the best you can be. The curriculum has been carefully planned and matched to the community it serves. Consistency of practice and expectations is at the heart of leadership. The Executive Headteacher and her team set high expectations and monitor practice closely to ensure environments are fully consistent and support the learning experiences of every child. Clear expectations on presentation and behaviour are also highly evident.
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.