Inclusion strategy
Lawley Primary School Inclusion Strategy – Statement of Intent
At Lawley Primary School, inclusion is at the heart of our vision: “Planting the seeds, growing the future.” We are committed to ensuring that every child achieves and thrives, regardless of need, background or starting point. We place high expectations, equity of access and ambitious outcomes for all pupils at the centre of school improvement with the aim that disadvantaged pupils will close attainment gaps and achieve in line with or better than their peers.
We are inclusive by design. High-quality adaptive teaching is the universal entitlement for all pupils and sits at the core of our graduated response. We recognise that high-quality teaching remains the most significant driver of our pupil outcomes, particularly for our disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. This strategy aligns with our Pupil Premium strategy, ensuring a cohesive, whole-school approach to addressing disadvantage, SEND, attendance, wellbeing and safeguarding.
Enacting the 7 Principles of Inclusion
Our ambitious leadership at Lawley drives a culture of high expectations and inclusivity, ensuring that no ceiling is placed on learning. Our commitment to “keep up, not catch up” ensures that pupils are supported within the classroom and learn alongside their peers.
The curriculum is coherently sequenced and knowledge-rich, enabling pupils to build secure understanding over time. Leaders evaluate the impact of inclusive practice through analysis of progress data, pupil voice and provision reviews, ensuring accountability for outcomes across all groups. Gaps in attainment, attendance benchmarks and progress indicators for SEND pupils are analysed to inform decisions about the effectiveness of the costed provision. Termly meetings are held with staff to discuss progress and attainment and provide the necessary support to address CPD needs.
The SENCo provides strategic leadership of inclusion across the school, working in partnership with leaders and governors to ensure a cohesive, accountable and continually improving approach to inclusive practice.
Leaders define success through demonstrable impact. We expect to see diminishing differences between groups, sustained improvements in attendance and engagement and pupils with SEND achieving strong progress from their starting points. Where provision is not having the intended impact, we act swiftly to refine or cease approaches, ensuring resources are consistently directed towards the most effective strategies.
High-quality adaptive teaching is the core entitlement for every pupil. Staff engage in evidence-informed professional development that strengthens pedagogy and ensures teaching meets the full range of pupils’ needs. Our adaptive teaching model ensures that learning is connected within and across subjects at the start of each lesson, whilst spaced retrieval activities ensure purposeful revisiting of key skills and knowledge to secure long term recall. New learning is clearly modelled through teacher exposition and all pupils then benefit from shared compositions alongside their teacher. Assessment for learning activities follow to provide responsive and ongoing assessment of pupils knowledge and needs to inform our fluid groupings in class. Work is carefully presented with gradually reducing scaffolds to support all learners with the use of technology enabling all learners to access challenge and immediate feedback during lessons. The excellent relationships between staff and pupils ensure that asking for additional support or offering questions is encouraged and celebrated. This approach enables all of our pupils to secure, retain and apply knowledge effectively.
This ordinarily available provision forms the foundation of our inclusive practice. Through high-quality adaptive teaching, reasonable adjustments, assistive technology, flexible grouping, communication-friendly classrooms and evidence-informed pastoral support, all pupils can access learning alongside their peers before additional targeted or specialist support is considered.
Where this additional support may be needed, we prioritise early identification of need, particularly in EYFS, where early language, communication and self-regulation form the foundation for future success. Our staff work in partnership with the SENCo to implement the graduated response (Assess–Plan–Do–Review), ensuring that support is personalised, responsive and regularly reviewed for impact each half term with detailed School Support Maps. Our tiered model of universal, targeted and specialist provision (in line with the SEND Code of Practice) ensures clarity of support, with clear entry and exit criteria enabling pupils to access the right level of provision at the right time, securing both independence and long-term success. Where this additional support is required, we implement carefully targeted, time-limited interventions that are aligned with classroom learning and delivered with fidelity.
Our teaching assistants are deployed in line with best practice to support learners with additional needs. They work to further scaffold learning within the classroom as well as promote independence and self-regulation strategies. Interventions are rigorously evaluated and are designed to complement, rather than replace, high-quality teaching. We recognise that many pupils experience overlapping vulnerabilities, and our provision is designed to address these holistically.
We provide a broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum that extends beyond the classroom and enables all pupils to develop independence, resilience and cultural capital. Our provision includes a structured programme of enrichment opportunities, including residential experiences at KS2. We promote equal access to sports, creative arts and wider curriculum experiences with termly invites given specifically to our disadvantaged pupils.
We promote a safe, respectful and inclusive environment where all pupils feel a strong sense of belonging. Our whole-school relational approach underpins behaviour, wellbeing and engagement. This is supported through a consistent values-driven approach with trauma-informed and attachment-aware practices, including Theraplay. Our OPAL playtimes, which promote wellbeing, social development and readiness for learning are a huge success in school. As a result, our pupils demonstrate positive behaviour, strong relationships and improved engagement in learning.
We recognise that effective inclusion depends on strong partnerships with families and external services. We actively promote engagement through parent information events, coffee mornings and marketplace opportunities, SEND support access during parents’ evenings and our continued close collaboration with external agencies and support services. This ensures that pupils and families receive joined-up, consistent support, enhancing both wellbeing and academic outcomes.
We ensure that all resources, including the Inclusive Mainstream funding, are used strategically to maximise impact. The funding we receive is prioritised to strengthen high-quality teaching, support targeted interventions with proven impact, develop staff expertise and capacity and enable early intervention and prevention. All provision is costed, linked to our intended outcomes and evaluated for impact and value for money.
This strategy provides a clear, evidence-informed framework for continuous improvement, ensuring that inclusive practice evolves to meet the changing needs of our pupils. It outlines how we strive to continually develop our school environment to ensure that Lawley Primary School is a place where every child achieves and thrives.
It also supports the priorities outlined within the RISE: West Midlands Regional Plan through its focus on reception-year quality, inclusive mainstream provision, attendance and attainment in reading, writing and mathematics.
Please click here to read through our Inclusion Strategy