Another successful year for Inclusive Practice!

Well another successful year for the inclusive practice at Ranelagh. We were heralded as champions for promoting inclusion across the school by an external assessor from the IQM. We were awarded once again the Flagship status for inclusion, this means not only do we place inclusion at the heart of everything we do, but also help other schools not only in Newham but across the country to do the same.

We were recognised for our Social Inclusion Model, which forms the cornerstone of our vision, whereby children irrespective of needs and abilities work, learn and play alongside each other. Our learning and curriculum was praised for the way in which it reflects our wonderful diverse community and in which children learn about and value each other’s rich heritage.

Despite having limited ‘Green Spaces’ the school makes use of the local parks which includes both West Ham and the Olympic Park making sure children get the opportunity to learn about their natural environment - this is a wonderful testament to our commitment of being a forest school and to the importance of the children’s mental and physical  health.

The children also get the opportunity to visit museums across London to learn about the past, present and future-those rich and memorable experiences that they will remember for a very long time!

The assessor was impressed with the manners and caring nature displayed by the children, this is a school where they help each other out, and iron out their differences in an amicable way.

The assessor agreed that Ranelagh is indeed, a special place where all children are welcomed, and where both staff, children and parents does everything possible to make sure the children can be the best that they can be.

 

         

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Ranelagh Receives Prestigious Artsmark Platinum Award

Ranelagh has been recognised for its incredible commitment towards the creative arts education with the prestigious Artsmark Platinum award (the highest accolade) from Arts Council England.

The council commented that our commitment to providing a wide range of high quality artistic and cultural experiences for pupils at our school was exemplar and we have developed “many rewarding and authentic partnerships that have stretched teacher’s expectations and resulted in making measurable positive impacts on pupils learning and outcomes.” Further to this, it was noted that we, as a school, should consider further how we can share out outstanding areas of practice on a wider platform - a true feather in our cap.

Ranelagh’s curriculum ensures that the arts are at the centre of learning – both developing skills in the arts and also as a tool for cross-curricular learning. Don Wry, our Ranelagh Curriculum leader, submitted the statement of intent two years ago and has worked with his Arts team to implement his vision within the school and develop it within the Trust.

Paul Reeve, Director of Education, Royal Opera House stated, “The arts have a vital role to play in the educational and personal development of young people; equally, they can contribute hugely to the dynamism, vibrancy and identity of a whole school. Artsmark is a great way of acknowledging and encouraging these things, and also the exciting contribution that collaborations with arts organisations and artists can make to a school’s provision.”

Ranelagh has collaborated with Shakespeare School’s Festival (Julius Caesar is to be performed at Stratford Circus on 7^th November), the Barbican Centre and Newham’s Every Child programme to name but a few.

The Head of School said, “It is the absolute commitment of our teachers and teaching assistants to encourage creativity within our children which has led us to receiving this amazing award. The Arts enrich children’s experiences and it is vital, in a an ever- changing world, that we give our children the opportunities to be creative as this will give them a rich  understanding and allow them to be equipped for the challenges of the 21^st Century.”

 

Religious Education Gold Quality Mark

Just before the summer break Ranelagh was awarded with the Religious Education Gold quality mark by the Religious Education Council of England and Wales. The council is tasked with recognising and celebrating outstanding learning in Religious Education across the country and has decided that Ranealgh is worthy of the gold status, the highest possible award.

Religious Education plays a vital role in our schools curriculum and is integral to our school ethos. It helps us develop life skills and teaches us important values like love, honesty, forgiveness, kindness, justice, respect for others and our environment and perhaps most importantly tolerance and equality, values which are essential in today’s modern world. Ranelagh is extremely proud that we are one of the few schools in Newham to have achieved the REQM Gold. The assessor, who visited our school and spent time talking to our RE Leader Ms Afshan as well as children and other staff commented that “Ranelagh puts RE at the very heart of its planning across the curriculum, basing it around religious, cultural and ethical themes. The pupils enjoy the subject and make a positive contribution towards whole school planning. They are highly motivated by the positive ethos of the school and everyone is clear about not only the importance of a good RE education but also how they can further improve in RE.”

 

Inclusion Quality Mark - Flagship Status

Ranelagh is very proud to announce that we have once again been recognised for outstanding practice and inclusion in our school. For the past five years we have been an Inclusion Quality Mark School and for the past two years we have been classed as a Centre of Excellence, a very prestigious award. However, as we always continue to strive for greater heights, we have now been awarded 'Flagship Status,' the highest possible accolade in this field.

 

Only around 100 UK schools have achieved IQM Flagship School status. This award recognises those unique schools who have held IQM Centre of Excellence status for at least 3 years; and played a strong leadership role in developing inclusion best practice across a network of schools.

 

The assessor spent an entire day gathering data and evidence to support the assessment, speaking to staff and senior leaders as well as parents, children and governors. The assessor was particularly impressed with the vision and leadership of Mrs. Patel and Mrs. Chowdhury - our dedicated Inclusion team and also Mrs. Lawrenson, our Head Teacher, commenting that they are "a reflective but dynamic and driving force within the school... ensuring that inclusion remains a key focus of the school."

 

Being an IQM Flagship Status school now means that Ranelagh will be sharing our practise and expertise with a much wider audience, across the country. "Other schools may find Ranelagh expertise invaluable," the assessor noted "especially as the school has begun to create an assessment and provision map for use with children who would have been tracked using P Scales."

 

Overall Ranelagh is absolutely delighted that the hard work of all our stakeholders has once again been highlighted and our brilliance has been recognised. To read the full report click the attachment below.

 

TFL STARS award

Ranelagh has been recognised for all of the hard work we have done as a school to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable school travel with an accreditation from Transport for London.

The TFL STARS award recognises those schools that work towards inspiring young Londoners to think differently about travel and its impact on health, wellbeing and the environment. (To learn more about the award click here). Ranelagh has received this award as a celebration of our active students – in fact those schools who are part of the STARS accreditation show an eight per cent increase in the number of children who walk to school and a three per cent increase in the number of children who cycle, something which Ranelagh can definitely attest!

 

Ranelagh: A Leader in Autism Education

Ranelagh has been recognised by the Ambitious Education Trust (AET) as a leader in providing good autism provision. As such, the school (along with 2 other schools within our multi academy trust) is now an accredited trainer providing help to schools  centred around good autism practice. This accreditation, supported by the Department of Education, is all the more valuable as we are now the only multi academy trust who can share good practise and knowledge regarding autism across the whole of East London.

Ranelagh has already provided training to other SENDCos, teachers and assistants in raising awareness of autism and planning effectively for children with autism. This has proved significantly popular with other school across East London and a series of whole day and twilight training insets are already planned for the near future.

 

 

 

Ranelagh Receives Prestigious History Award

Once again Ranelagh continues to impress - we have recently been recognised as an outstanding provider of history by the UK Historical Association. The Quality Mark is an award that recognises the excellence of history provision in a school and it assess and values the history provision of the teachers, the curriculum and the school as a whole, as well as what is being offered to children.

 

Through a rigorous and meticulous analysis of the teaching, learning and provision here at Ranelagh we were successfully awarded the highest honour, the prestigious Gold Award. The assessor spent the day observing lessons and talking to our children as well as analysing our entire curriculum, concluding that we met the criteria for 'gold' in every single category.

He commented that, "during observations it was clear that the history curriculum is enjoyed by students and enriches the life of the school in general.  Students discussed their learning in history with enthusiasm, and displays of history work were very much in evidence in classrooms, corridors and the tableaus in the main hall," adding that " the curriculum planning is meticulous.  All subjects including history are carefully mapped out to ensure that they complement each other.  At this level, historical concepts and processes are embedded in a series of ‘enquiry’ questions that have been carefully thought through to provide a wide range of interest and motivation to all children."

The award would not have been possible were it not for the brilliant ongoing leadership of our Humanities Coordinator, Mr Hughes, who works tirelessly to ensure that our children not only enjoy history but that they acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to comprehend, analyse and critically think about events and people in the past. Well done once again Ranelagh!
 

Remarkable Read Write Inc.

For another year running Ranelagh has been awarded the Ruth Miskin Training Accreditation Badge for excellence in teaching and delivering Read Write Inc. As a school we have continued to excel in raising the children’s standards in reading and writing and we’ve also been recognised for our outstanding support for our most vulnerable readers with extra one-to-one teaching every day. Ranelagh continues to ensure that all staff members are highly skilled in Read Write Inc. and that the children continue to make outstanding progress. Well done Ranelagh!

Ranelagh Hosts a Gold Club Event

On Thursday 10th March Ranelagh Primary School opened its doors to welcome colleagues from across London and the South East to its inaugural Gold Club Workshop. "Effective Interventions to Close Attainment Gaps,” was devised and presented by Deputy Head, Leigh Welburn, and her team.

In the Autumn term, Executive Head Teacher, Angela Tapscott, and her dedicated staff were delighted to be one of the 7% of primary schools in London awarded Gold Club status, by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. At the same time, Ranelagh was also awarded 'Inclusion Quality Mark' status. As a result of these achievements, Ranelagh Primary School has been recognised as a 'Centre of Excellence'. 

The half-day workshop demonstrated how the staff at Ranelagh have used 'Intervention to Close Attainment Gaps' to good effect in their primary curriculum. The day began with coffee and introductions, followed by a tour of the school and opportunities for the delegates to observe one to one tuition in maths, reading and writing. 

During the session, English Lead, Susie Tsui commented, "It was an absolute pleasure hosting the Gold Club event. The attendees were extremely enthusiastic about what we had to share. As we walked around the school, to watch the intervention sessions, the Gold Club delegates regularly stopped me to discuss the activities they found inspirational. The event made me realise how proud I am of the systems that we have in place at Ranelagh and how effectively we all work towards valuing each child equally."

Assistant Head Teacher and Inclusion Lead, Sehnaj Patel, joined the workshop and gave a presentation outlining SEN policies at Ranelagh. She demonstrated how Ranelagh do not purchase expensive schemes, but use outstanding teaching practices, cultivate links with parents and the community and use inexpensive resources at hand, to ensure that all pupils, whatever their abilities, are taught the basic skills in maths through ingenuity, hands-on tasks and repetition of activities. Sehnaj Patel said, "It was an extremely successful event and I was proud to demonstrate our outstanding teaching and learning practices. All of our teachers and CSPs work together to achieve the attainment targets set for all of the children at Ranelagh. There is constant dialogue between all members off staff who deliver teaching, so that each pupil can attain the highest goals."

The day was deemed a great success by delegates, representing Kent, Croydon, Walthamstow and Tower hamlets, who were impressed by the standard of training given. One commented that, "Having tried a similar approach previously, I now have renewed enthusiasm. The leaders have shown how consistency and determination lead to success."

Following a very successful day, Leigh Welburn and the Ranelagh staff are looking forward to liaising with the delegates in the future and sharing further experiences and the school's resources, to ensure that attainment gaps are permanently closed.

On a final note, Leigh Welburn stated, "Through Gold Club Workshops and welcoming colleagues from the UK and abroad, staff at Ranelagh can share the excellent resources, strategies and ideas with other schools and have open and honest dialogue. This is what will strengthen the education of our children, ensuring they are fully equipped for the exciting challenges of the 21st Century."

Geography Gold Mark 

‘A truly comprehensive curriculum which showcases the units of work studied and that they are sequenced from EYFS to Year 6 to ensure clear opportunities to build on prior learning and skill development against the school’s skill grids.’ the words of the Geographical Association who awarded Ranelagh the gold mark Gold for the Primary Geography Quality Mark , the highest distinction.Praise was given for the clear opportunities children have to build and challenge their knowledge about their local environment, mentioning  children studying land use in urban and rural areas and developing this enquiry to compare their findings with land use in the local area.

It was vociferously agreed that the evidence proved that the children were challenged, they developed analytical skills and teachers constantly moved their learning forward. It was evident that children see themselves as geographers and use the language of geography to show this.

Children leave Ranelagh with incredibly strong knowledge of location and place; human and physical geography and are given many opportunities to develop their fieldwork skills.

 

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Ranelagh recieves Ruth Miskin Accreditation

Ranelagh has been awarded the Ruth Miskin Training Accreditation Badge for teaching Read Write Inc. lessons with "fidelity and passion" and for raising the children's standards in reading and writing across the school. The accreditors were amazed with the progress of the children as well as how Read Write Inc. lessons were delivered across the school. They concluded that "Ranelagh ensures that their staff are expertly trained and are given regular training to maintain confidence... the Reading Leader ensures that the children make rapid progress."

In addition, Ranelagh was sent a letter of congratulations from MP Nick Gibb, Minister of State for School Reform, for the high results achieved by Ranelagh pupils in the Phonics Screening check in 2015. Over 95% of the children in Year 1 at Ranelagh reached or exceeded the pass mark in the check, placing Ranelagh in the top 5% of all primary schools in the country.

 

"Win with Pride, Lose with Grace"

Congratulations to Ranelagh Primary School for achieving the Sainsbury’s School Games Silver Award for its commitment to the development of competitive sport at school and within the community. Ranelagh has previously gained the Bronze Award and are delighted to have made such a wonderful improvement this year.

The School Games is a Government led awards scheme, launched in 2012, in celebration of competitive sport. At Ranelagh it involves pupils, from year 3 upwards, of all abilities and backgrounds. As a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for Inclusion, the staff at Ranelagh have high expectations for their pupils and promote inclusive opportunities for all. The children are motivated and inspired to take part in competitive sports and embrace the Game’s motto "Win with pride, lose with grace."

To gain the award Ranelagh pupils in years 5 and 6 took part in the Cumberland Partnership Athletics Challenge, enjoying activities such as sprinting, long jump and throwing events. The children gained a score for each event and the most successful pupils from year 6 were chosen to attend the Cumberland Athletic Event at Newham Leisure Centre.

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Ranelagh Attends the Inclusion Quality Mark Awards

Mrs Patel and Mrs Lawrenson, were honoured to attend the Inclusion Quality Mark Ceremony at the Institute of Directors in London and accept an award on behalf of the Management Team and staff of Ranelagh Primary School.

The motto of the Inclusion Quality Mark is "Supporting Inclusive Practice - Increasing Life Chances", and Ranelagh has been awarded the Quality Mark status in recognition of the school's inclusive practice. As a result of this accolade, we have been nominated as a Centre of Excellence and have been invited to support other schools in London through observation, conversation and collaboration and we look forward to welcoming colleagues to the school in the near future.

Mrs Patel commented, " The committed staff at Ranelagh Primary School have high aspirations that all of our pupils will achieve key academic success, along with social, independence and life skills. The ongoing aim at Ranelagh is to constantly develop the range and scope of our inclusive learning opportunities and utilise the strengths of our pupils to prepare them for their future ahead."

Ranelagh Primary school was praised in its Inclusion Quality Mark Report for its strong leadership and the high level of commitment of all the staff, who incorporate the inclusion philosophy across the curriculum.

The Inclusion Quality Mark Assessor declared, "Ranelagh Primary School is an impressively inclusive learning environment where pupils are encouraged to make their full potential, not only as academic learners but also as independent and self-determined human beings. Family members and staff are inspired to develop as individual learners and to contribute to the inclusivity of the school."