Outwood Academy Haydock Achieves Centre of Excellence
Outwood Academy Haydock has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Outwood Academy Haydock is characterised by outstanding relationships between staff and students, high expectations of all members of the school community and a deep commitment to personalisation and removing barriers to learning. The welcoming, inclusive approach is apparent from the moment you walk through the school gates. Staff are greeting students and ensuring they are fully equipped to learn. If they are not, there is no drama, the situation is soon remedied with students being given whatever they need to be ready to make a positive start to their day. The senior management team is omnipresent; they know the students well and engage with pupils and staff in an incredibly warm and positive manner. The school’s inclusive ethos is recognised across the Outward Family.
The Senior Regional Director of SEND described it thus, “The school provides a warm, welcoming and equal opportunities space for all. Children thrive as a result of the empathetic approach of staff and have a deep sense of belonging. The skill is the hub of the community.” A feature which is worthy of note is that everything on our Assessor’s visit is triangulated in terms of message, understanding and impact. All members of the school community are on the same message and that message is that students absolutely come first at Haydock.
Staff enjoy working at the school and staff retention is high. Joining Outwood Academies Trust has had a really positive impact, providing structures, teaching and learning Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Health and Safety support. The school has a highly effective Inclusion Hub. This inspirational environment houses the Personal Learning Centre (PLC), The Bridge, Stepping Stones, counselling and safe spaces and it also houses the SEND department and attendance team. The Bridge provides a nurturing and therapeutic space for pupils with Social, Economic and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. During our Assessor’s visit to The Bridge a couple of students were accessing the mainstream curriculum via Google Classrooms and a small group was working on a health and wellbeing unit of work as part of the Prince’s Trust qualification.
Stepping Stones is a provision for 25 pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The curriculum is delivered through a stage, not age approach and, where possible and appropriate, pupils access mainstream lessons alongside this provision. As a result of the high quality of literacy and numeracy teaching and the development of the pupils’ self-confidence and social skills, the majority of pupils who start in Stepping Stones are able to access the full mainstream curriculum by Year (Y) 9.
The school ensures pupils know about different religions, particularly those most prevalent in the local community. Pupils are given the skills to approach conversations around diversity with empathy and understanding. Pupils feel that the school is tolerant. They explained the impact that joining the trust has had in terms of their knowledge and understanding of diversity. They waxed lyrical about the library which, they said supports diversity in the school, “Celebrations of diversity propagate from the library. It is at the heart of Haydock.” They went on to say, “The librarian has put a lot of thought into making sure everything is correct and inclusive.” Books read in form time cover diversity and provoke discussion.
Read the full report on the IQM website.
