A secondary academy based in Pontefract, is celebrating after it was awarded a nationally recognised award for its work on inclusion.

̨��swag Academy Hemsworth, based on Wakefield Road in Hemsworth, was awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark Award by IQM. The award provides UK schools with a nationally recognised validation of their inclusive practice and ongoing commitment to developing educational inclusion.

The academy’s success comes after a long assessment process, which was split into two phases beginning with a self-evaluation followed by a two-day assessment by the IQM team.

Toby Rutter, Principal at ̨��swag Academy Hemsworth, said:

“We are delighted to have been accredited with the IQM Award, showing that inclusion at all levels is paramount to us.

“At ̨��swag we believe that every child deserves the best education, no matter their start in life and we work tirelessly to ensure we deliver on this belief. This accreditation is testament to that work.”

During self-evaluation, the criteria for ̨��swag Academy Hemsworth was broken down into numerous sections, including inclusion values and practice of the school, the learning environment, resources and ICT, learner attitudes, values and personal development, learner progress and impact on learning, and learning and teaching.

The school’s commitment to inclusion was demonstrated throughout the assessment process, with the report noting:

“Every member of staff who contributed to the assessment process demonstrates a genuine commitment to the inclusion agenda. Senior Leaders have a shared understanding of the importance of forging positive relationships with students to create a positive behaviour for learning culture. The Senior Leaders role-model the desired approaches and all interactions observed between the Senior Team and students were friendly and supportive.”

Toby Rutter added:

“As a school we are proud to achieve this award for recognition of how we put ‘Students First’ both as a pastoral team and a wider staff body.

“The rigorous assessment found our SEND practice was good and the parents and carers who were spoken to during the IQM assessment were all positive about the staff and provision, particularly the support for students with SEND. Safeguarding practices are excellent and the Safeguarding officer was recognised as being instrumental in supporting students to attend school.”