The Doncaster school that is keeping pupils interested even if they're at risk of becoming disaffected

De Warenne Academy has been awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark Centre of Excellence status award for its efforts.

Headteacher Anna Rooney said: “Inclusion promotes equal opportunities for all pupils, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, attainment and background. It pays particular attention to the provision made for, and the achievement of, different groups of pupils within a school and any pupils who are at risk of disaffection and exclusion.

"De Warenne achieved the initial award at the end of March 2021 and have now been successful at extending this further and becoming a Centre of Excellence.”

Assessors said inclusion occurred naturally and was a highly pervasive element in the culture of the school, as was the dedication and drive of the staff to make a positive difference to everyone they work with.

Ms Rooney said a good example was a pupil called Sam who wears orange glasses which he uses to manage his visual dyslexia. The academy offers support in school by ensuring that resources are printed on orange paper, computer presentation backgrounds are changed in case Sam has a headache, or has forgotten his glasses so that Sam feels confident and assured that he can access learning.

“Initially Sam started his journey at De Warenne in 7D, over the course of the last academic year Sam has made significant progress, and Sam is now in 8B. Sam is a very confident member of the class; he is willing to contribute verbally, he makes full use of the resources provided to ensure that he can access the curriculum fully.

The school has also just won the Leading Parental Partnership Award – the national standard for effective parental partnership. The award helps schools to work in partnership with all parents and carers to improve pupil progress, punctuality, attendance and behaviour. It underwent a verification process carried out in May.

Assessors were told by parents communication was a real strength of the school, and all issues or queries were followed up immediately. There was a genuine “open -door” policy.

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