Students and staff at Northampton Academy are celebrating after being awarded Flagship School status by Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM), the programme’s highest accolade, for its sustained excellence in delivering inclusive learning.
In achieving this status, Northampton Academy was recognised for how it models inclusion within its own school and how it helps facilitate inclusive learning more broadly, sharing best practice with other schools and institutions. The academy has achieved the Flagship School Award after successfully maintaining ‘Centre of Excellence’ status for three years, highlighting its track record in providing standout inclusive learning.
One of the ways in which the school does this is by engaging both parents and the wider community in school life. This has included setting up a Parent Council, offering a bespoke workshop to parents on mental health and wellbeing and delivering a new podcast, ‘Inside Out’, to give the local community more insight into all that is happening within school.
The school is also committed to ensuring its students play a key role in driving forward inclusivity, for example, through the School Council and Junior Inclusion Team, and that all students are supported in accessing the broad array of opportunities on offer at the academy, such as through its ‘Character Charter’.
As part of their report about the academy, the IQM assessor said:
“Northampton Academy is truly an inclusive school where the first consideration is always ‘how can we get the best out of students through the opportunities we provide.’
“Northampton Academy has provided evidence of its inclusive culture underpinned by ethos and values. Having witnessed this ethos embedded across the school I have no hesitation to recommend the school for an IQM Flagship Award. The school continues to move from strength to strength in terms of its superb inclusive practice and I am firmly of the opinion that the school fully meets the standard required by the Inclusion Quality Mark to pursue Flagship School status.”
At the end of this month, the academy is looking forward to hosting its annual My Culture Day, alongside several of its fellow United Learning schools. The Day encourages students to celebrate their own culture whilst taking the opportunity to learn more about other cultures represented across the school community.
Faith and Keziah, Year 10 students at the school and members of the Junior Inclusion Team said:
“Events like My Culture Day and student-led activities help us learn from each other and build strong relationships. Being recognised as a flagship school is meaningful because it shows that we prioritise seeing the value in other people. As students, we feel proud of how far we have come, and we remain committed to making sure everyone feels included.”
Owen Jones, Principal at Northampton Academy, said:
“Achieving IQM Flagship School status is a very proud moment for our school and reflects the collective hard work of students and staff over several years. This award celebrates our long-term commitment to inclusive learning and all that we have done – and continue to do – to engage students, parents and the wider community, so that everyone feels valued and can play a role in the academy’s ongoing success. Over the coming months and years, we look forward to building on all that we have achieved so far – broadening our inclusive offer even further and working closely with our partners as they look to do the same.”