Why this is leading practice
- The two schools’ commitment to inclusion permeates the daily life within The Campus. The focus on maintaining this vision is kept buoyant by school leaders who share a passion for outstanding inclusive practice.
- The commitment to inclusion is supported by robust practices that support sustainability. Theses include an exhaustive monitoring regime, a shared approach to the recruitment of staff that ensures the appointment of dedicated team members and a willingness to share practice and experience with others.
- The schools strive to exploit every opportunity for their pupils to work, play and engage in special events together. A consequence of this regime is that a rich understanding of one another’s lives abounds – the youngsters are all valuable members of The Campus community.
- The mainstream children are provided with an invaluable opportunity to understand others who have various disabilities. Through effectively engineered learning experiences this opportunity results in a highly developed awareness that strengthens the pupils’ understanding of the individual, society and inclusion.
- The children of both schools have an extraordinary opportunity to exploit their understanding of self and others. There is tangible evidence that the pupils have a robust appreciation that a community comprises a group of people with various personal qualities. This appreciation has helped develop an exceptional feeling of community within The Campus. One parent governor spoke of a very special place the like of which his children would never again experience.
Impact to date
- Herons’ Moor Primary, a newly established school in 2003/04, achieved its maximum roll much sooner than anticipated.
- Baytree Special School, previously located in old accommodation on another site, is also full to capacity. Indeed, a victim of its own success, Baytree will increasingly accommodate pupils with severe and/or multiple difficulties.
- The pupils of both schools flourish in a stimulating environment; attendance is reported as excellent and there is a waiting list for vacancies.
- All children are provided with daily experiences that involve mainstream and special school youngsters working and playing together.
- The testimony of parents, governors and outside agencies repeatedly report that the high calibre inclusive practices that the two schools offer the children as something very special.
- The school leaders have been invited to both local and national events to share their approaches with others – this has given the schools increased recognition.
Rationale / Start Point
- The two schools became neighbours in 2004 when they were accommodated in a state of the art centre named ‘The Campus’; the building won an international design award.
- To make the most of the opportunity to be in The Campus together and enable staff to provide opportunities for collaborative working the school’s developed shared a vision that focused on inclusion. A key aim would be to develop children’s enthusiasm for a multitude of joint activities that would be made available to all pupils.
Key Strategies
• A commitment to inclusion that is kept buoyant by school leaders.
• Inclusion is firmly embedded in the ethos and practices of the schools.
• A joint school approach to recruitment that supports the shared vision.
• A comprehensive programme of continued professional development.
• A robust regime of monitoring that aims to evaluate the success or otherwise of all initiatives.
• Collaborative development planning that also includes other Campus partners.
• A commitment to the development of each child within the two schools; this commitment aims to ensure that every child benefits from the inclusive practices.
• High quality communication with all, as a two way process, is employed as a strategy to include all stakeholders in the two schools’ futures.
Sustainability and Further Development
In addition to a commitment to the sustainability of the two schools’ passion to achieve outstanding inclusive practice, that permeates all staff, the partners have two further developments scheduled for the year ahead:
1 A large new room currently being created within The Campus is to form a joint school staff room, library and IT suite for whole staff use.
2 With awareness that Baytree Special School will in future admit pupils with profound and/or multiple difficulties a timetabled programme of action is being produced that will focus on how the schools will ensure their vision and practice meets the needs of these children.
A possible challenge to the commitment to sustainability occurred with a change of headteacher at Baytree in 2008. The appointment procedure not only proved an opportunity to recruit a candidate who was empathetic to the Herons’ Moor/Baytree ethos but also led to appointment of a new leader with additional ideas, skills and experience. Indeed, advertisements for any staff vacancies in either school contain within the respective job description a commitment to collaborative working with the partner school.