OA Bydales Earns National Inclusivity Award

A secondary academy based in Marske-by-the-Sea is celebrating after it was awarded a nationally recognised award for its work on inclusion.

Outwood Academy Bydales, based on Coast Road, 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.

Seana Rice, Principal at Ofsted Outstanding-rated Outwood Academy Bydales, said:

“We are proud to have been accredited with the IQM Award as it highlights our ongoing commitment to inclusion at all levels. 

“At Outwood we believe that every child deserves the best education, no matter their start in life, and we will work tirelessly to deliver on this belief.”

During self-evaluation, the criteria for Outwood Academy Bydales was broken down into five sections, focusing on 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 follow-up two-day inspection consisted of the academy being visited by Assessor Kelsey Clark-Davies, who also met virtually with members of staff, and went through the five self-evaluation topics in detail for a full formal assessment.

Regarding inclusion, the report spoke positively about the ethos around inclusion for learning being ‘very strong’ at the academy outlining that the academy ‘works hard to ensure individual needs of every learner are clearly understood in order that appropriate provision and support can be made, enabling all to make good progress.’

The report also highlighted that support in the academy for the social, emotional and mental health needs of both its students and staff is also prioritised to ensure they are met as well as possible.

The report praised the academy’s journey since becoming part of the Outwood Family in 2015, noting it had shown ‘real sustained improvement’ and its positive findings have led to the IQM team recommending Outwood Academy Bydales to apply for Centre of Excellence status, and it will now work towards achieving this aim.

The report stated: “There is a real commitment in school to promote and discuss issues around diversity, creating an environment where everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, sexuality or SEN/disability, feels included and can achieve their true potential...Students with disability, those who have experienced trauma and pupils with mental health needs talk about how the school offers them support and they feel listened to and heard.’

Seana added:

“We were thrilled that our hard work has been recognised and it is wonderful to have been recommended to apply for IQM Centre of Excellence Status. We are confident and excited that if we continue with our hard work and maintain our determination to always be improving, we will be successful.”