Horton Park Primary School Achieves Centre of Excellence Status

A Beacon of Hope 

The phrase “The School is a Beacon of Hope” was heard at the school and encapsulates the heart and vision of the school team. The children’s holistic development is at the centre of their work.

Staff Work Hard to Support Families

Horton Park Primary School is a school that has expanded to a two-form entry school. The school is notably proud to serve the Canterbury housing estate, and the staff work hard to support families and children by working closely with the community. Canterbury has a diverse population. A high percentage of learners are from ethnic minority groups, many of the white British families are of Irish and Scottish origin and around 60% of learners are Muslims, mainly of Pakistani origin, with several Eastern European and mixed-race children. There are several African and Caribbean, Kosovan and Iraqi families. Some other languages children speak are Mirpuri Punjabi, Urdu, French, Hindko, Arabic, Kurdish, Polish, Latvian and Slovak. The Community Manager, Mr Naveed Mushtaque works closely with families to fully engage them in the life of the school.

Working Collaboratively with Other Schools

The school is also an Exceed Academies Trust school and works collaboratively with other highly successful schools to ensure the best opportunities are provided to the children and the community. The CEO of the Academies Trust is Mr Duncan Jacques and he supports the school in their endeavours and was present to offer input on one day of the IQM visit. 

Sources of Evidence

This visit was the first to Horton Park Primary in its journey towards meeting the requirements of the Inclusion Quality Mark.  On my visit to the school, I had the opportunity to analyse information provided in the IQM Self Evaluation report, engage in learning walks, visit classrooms, interview groups of pupils, governors, staff, parents, mentors, Teaching Assistants, the LAC Review Officer as well as spending time with the SENDCo (Inclusion Manager), Headteacher, Deputy and Community Manager.

Involving All Stakeholders

Files of documentation were made available including photos of events in which the school had engaged. It was clear that the IQM documentation involved all stakeholders in the school each having had the opportunity to contribute towards the Self-Evaluation Report document. This was a strength of the whole process, as the collaborative approach meant shared understanding.

School Website

Prior to my visit to the school, its website provided key information about the school’s policies and practice.

Where Everyone Learns to Succeed

The school aims to ensure that it is a place, ‘Where Everyone Learns to Succeed’.

The school has three core values:-

“We make sure that everyone in our school community is continually learning, valued and respected.

We work together to broaden all our horizons and for each of us to explore our opportunities, so we make positive life choices.

We are forward looking and ambitious, and we use our resources for our community today and to make a difference in the future.”

Meeting the Needs of Their Community

The school has developed strong links with the other four schools in the Trust, however the Trust believes that successful schools develop their own identity and individuality and are best placed to meet their own community’s needs. This is certainly reflected in the work of Horton.

Engaging with the Community

Engagement with the community has been a key aspect of work for Horton Park Primary. The staff have reached out to parents and community groups to build a sense of trust between all parties. This has enabled them to have beneficial conversations to support the learning process.

Close Partnership with Parents and Carers

The very experienced SENDCo along with the school team, nurtures the close partnership with parents and carers of children with special educational needs. Equally, teaching staff know to contact parents if they have any concerns about a child’s progress and development. The school seeks to ensure children are treated with respect and that work set is at the right level for each child. The school staff endeavour to personalise learning for all children.

The Special Needs Co-ordinator helps staff in planning special individualised programmes, with the intention of including all the children.

A Collaborative Approach

The teamwork in the school is second to none. There is a collaborative approach to all ventures. Everyone has a voice and the views of children are valued.

Good Levels of Progress

The school team’s hard work has enabled the children to attain good levels of progress and the school is now in the top 3% of schools nationally and is the 39th highest performing state primary school.

A Positive Working Atmosphere

Visitors and new families alike are soon immersed into this welcoming school. Children are communicative and eager to share their work. A positive working atmosphere exists in the school. The curriculum offered is exciting and has relevance to the children’s interests. Maths is contextualised, role play areas and continuous provision supports and extends children’s thinking so that they are using maths in a real context, for example, the garage in one classroom. Children are encouraged to consider their environment and the importance of the environment. They are aware of developments in their immediate locality and can articulate their views in relation to this (for example, the building of flats).

Inclusive Assemblies

Care has been taken to consider the religious and cultural backgrounds of children, offering assemblies in which all can participate together plus faith assemblies to achieve a balance of opportunities and shared understanding.

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: info@iqmaward.com for further details.