Cranford Primary Achieves The Inclusive School Award

Introducing Cranford Primary?

Cranford Primary School is a thriving 3-from entry school with 659 pupils on roll aged between 3 to 11. The school serves a diverse community and takes immense pride in being a school that sits at the heart of its community with the well-being and welfare of the pupils and their families firmly at the front and centre of everything they do. 79% pupils are from ethnic backgrounds which represent the cultural mix of the local population. 79% of the pupils have English as an additional language. There is high proportion of pupils who have an Educational Health Care Plan with 11% of pupils on the SEND register. Most of these pupils have language and communication, behavioural, emotional, and social difficulties. The school also has a large number of pupils on the autistic spectrum.?

Warm and Inclusive?

Cranford Primary School is a place where pupils and their families are welcomed into a warm and inclusive atmosphere. It is an environment where every stakeholder is given a voice and the well-being, social and emotional needs, and inclusion of all is given high priority. The school not only ensures that pupils’ academic needs are met but there is also an emphasis on developing the whole child. This nurturing and holistic approach to developing pupils’ character is a key feature of the school. Senior Leaders set the tone for inclusion and ensure that the vision is communicated clearly. There is a sense of a shared ownership of this vision across the school.??

Relentless Determination?

In this school, there is creativity in learning, relentless determination, and willingness from all staff to support the school in its inclusion practice. The broad and balanced curriculum at Cranford prepares all groups of pupils well for their next stage in education. It makes a significant impact on pupils’ acquisition of knowledge, understanding and skills thereby contributing fully to the emotional, social, moral, and cultural development.?

Continuing Success?

The school continues to succeed in meeting the needs of all its pupils and creates an environment where all pupils and adults flourish and develop life-long skills for learning. The school was graded ‘Good’ in its last inspection and staff have worked hard to ensure that it continues to achieve high standards of education despite the challenges it faces. The impact of the school’s ethos and curriculum has been validated through a range of external quality assurance.?

Creative and Effective Support?

The SENDCo who is currently the Deputy Headteacher, plays a major role in creating the climate of success for SEND pupils and works very closely with parents and families. She has identified and deployed an extended team who recognise the need to support the wellbeing and emotional health of vulnerable learners, offering excellent support. Staff are very positive about the school and go the extra mile to maintain the inclusive ethos, which is evident within all of its policies, systems and practices. Collaboration and a strong CPD programme are planned to support them professionally and to develop in-house expertise. Parents appreciate the advice the SENCO gives and that they are fully involved in all decision-making processes for their child. They were highly complementary about the Deputy Headteacher in the way she knew the children by their names. One parent said, “she is always at the gate saying good morning to the children by their first name. I don’t know how she remembers every child’s name!” Another said, “This school goes above and beyond to serve the needs of the children!”?

Successful Partnership at All Levels?

All staff at Cranford Primary School have high expectations of all the pupils and they work hard to ensure that pupils’ individual needs are met in order for them to achieve their full potential, have ambitions and be independent in their thoughts and actions, with an overall view of empowering pupils with the skills and knowledge required to contribute to the challenging society they live in. Staff all commented that at Cranford, their well-being and welfare is important to the Senior Staff. They collectively felt that they were supported and listened to as well as being valued members of the school team. They all have access to continuous professional development and are actively encouraged to continue to develop themselves professionally.?

Mutual Respect, Peace, and Harmony?

?All pupils have the right of entitlement to equal access to learning, equal benefit from participating in every area and aspect of the school’s life. The staff promote positive attitudes and awareness of all issues to do with all groups of vulnerable pupils including SEND, FSM, race, and disability groups. Middle Leaders and teachers are passionate about their work and ensure that all learners in their care thrive and excel academically, socially, and emotionally. The school’s aim is very much to create an atmosphere of mutual respect, peace, and harmony where pupils can flourish and feel safe. The school celebrates the way in which all pupils contribute to the school as a rich and diverse community and leaders ensure that pupils, parents, governors, and staff are included in the process.??

Consistency of Approach?

Leaders have established effective systems and structures to enable the school to promote its inclusive values. Leaders have developed a clear monitoring plan that reflects the high expectations they have of the staff team. The impact of the rigorous approach to monitoring enables Leaders to regularly self-evaluate and then to reflect on planned developments across the school. A flexible range of reasonable adjustments and different strategies are used to ensure that all pupils are enabled to progress from their starting points. Several pupils told me that they enjoyed their lessons and that their teachers made learning fun. Teachers work closely together to ensure consistency and continuity across the curriculum.??

Bright and Well Resourced?

The learning environment is very positive with displays in the classrooms and corridors celebrating pupils’ achievements. Classrooms are well organised and resourced. The staff have positive relationships with the pupils and have high expectations of all of them. Pupils are given frequent opportunities to work together and to support one another’s learning. They are encouraged to listen to each other as well as other adults and to respect, value, and learn from opinions which are different from their own. As a result, pupils cooperate well and demonstrate consistently positive attitudes to learning.?

Effective and Efficient Governing Body?

Governors are knowledgeable about the school and there is a good balance of expertise on the Governing Body. Governors visit the school to look at different aspects of the school’s work. They are committed to diminishing any apparent gaps in progress and attainment of the most vulnerable pupils. The Governors and Senior Leaders ensure that educational visits are subsidised so that none of the disadvantaged pupils are left out and that they have an entitlement to the same cultural capital and opportunities as their peers.?

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 feel free to telephone: 028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm) or email: [email protected] for further details.?

?