Murray Park celebrates double award success and recognition for leading practice

A Derby secondary school is celebrating a double award success after its approach impressed assessors and earned it recognition as a leader in the field.

Murray Park Community School, in Mickleover, has been awarded Centre of Excellence status by the Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) after impressing an assessor during what was originally a review to renew its existing Inclusion Quality Mark.

IQM is a nationally recognised accreditation which assesses how successfully schools embed inclusion across areas including teaching, leadership, curriculum and school culture.

During the in-depth two-day assessment, the strength of inclusive practice at Murray Park prompted the assessor to recommend the school for the higher Centre of Excellence accolade. The recommendation was subsequently approved by an IQM panel.

Centre of Excellence is the second level in IQM’s framework and recognises schools demonstrating exemplary inclusive practice. It also gives Murray Park the opportunity to share its expertise and successful approaches with other schools.

As part of the assessment, the assessor visited lessons and spoke with pupils, parents and carers, staff and external agencies to see first-hand how inclusion is embedded throughout school life.

The report said: “Leaders have successfully created a culture of ‘belonging’ and the school’s vision is to ‘provide an ambitious and inspirational education’ for all their pupils through a strong set of values: Perseverance; Respect; Independence; Dreams and Excellence (PRIDE) and these drive their unwavering commitment to ensuring that all pupils receive an exceptionally positive educational experience, regardless of their starting points, needs or circumstances.”

The achievement comes in the same half term that Murray Park secured the Bronze Inclusive Attendance Kitemark.

The Kitemark is a staged accreditation which recognises schools for developing and embedding effective approaches to attendance, with Bronze representing the first stage of the programme.

Together, the awards recognise Murray Park’s approach to inclusion and attendance, with the school working alongside families and partner organisations to remove barriers, improve attendance and ensure pupils feel they belong.

Assistant Headteacher Theresa Lucas, who leads on attendance and inclusion at Murray Park, said: “We have made significant changes within our school and have worked hard to alter the way pupils and parents look at attendance, helping them to understand not only why it is important, but what young people can miss when they are not here.

“We have made attendance everybody’s business. It isn’t something that sits with one member of staff or one department; it is a whole-school approach and everyone has a part to play.

“A big part of that has been understanding the barriers which can make it difficult for some pupils to attend school and putting practical support in place to help overcome them.

“One example is our Breakfast Base, which encourages pupils to be in school early and ready for lessons and is now accessed by more than 300 pupils. Initiatives like this are about much more than simply getting young people through the school gates; they help pupils feel comfortable, supported and that they belong here.

“We have changed the way we talk about attendance, moving away from percentages and looking instead at the number of days missed. We believe this gives pupils and parents a much clearer picture of attendance and makes the information far easier to visualise. This has had a huge impact.”

“We also talk about the unmissable experiences that come with being in school. Education is obviously incredibly important, but school is about more than what happens in the classroom.

“When a pupil is absent, they might also miss a school trip, an activity or simply time spent building friendships and being with their peers. Those experiences are an important part of growing up and belonging to a school community.

“We also help pupils and families understand the relationship between attendance and achievement, and that being in school regularly gives young people the greatest opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“We believe that work has helped to shift the mindset around attendance at Murray Park. It is increasingly understood as being about opportunity, achievement and belonging rather than simply a percentage on a piece of paper.”

Each week, form groups receive dedicated attendance slides featuring positive messages and key statistics, while awards are presented throughout the year to recognise excellent attendance and a positive approach to school life.

Acting Headteacher George Hagen said: “To receive two awards recognising our work on inclusion and attendance within the same half term is a fantastic achievement and something everyone at Murray Park can be incredibly proud of.

“Inclusion is at the heart of our school and this recognition reflects the commitment of our staff, pupils, families and partners to making sure every young person feels that they belong.

“Becoming a Centre of Excellence is particularly special and gives us the opportunity to share the good practice happening at Murray Park with other schools, while continuing to develop and improve what we do for our own pupils.”