^{The Willows School Academy Trust has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence. Becoming a Centre of Excellence is an opportunity for schools to build on the success of being one of the very special schools which holds the Inclusion Quality Mark award. A Centre of Excellence brings schools together to share and build on their existing good practice in inclusion best practice.} 

^{Around 240 schools in the UK have met the standard required to become an IQM Centre of Excellence for outstanding levels of inclusion best practice and we are proud to say we are one of them!} 

What is the IQM?

^{The Inclusion Quality Mark Award provides UK schools with a nationally recognised validation of their inclusive practice and ongoing commitment to developing inclusive education.}

^{IQM provides schools with a nationally recognised framework to guide their inclusion journey. The IQM team helps schools evaluate and measure how they are performing, empowering them to improve and develop.}

^{IQM states that inclusion promotes equal opportunities for all pupils, whatever their age, ethnicity, attainment and background. It pays particular attention to the provision made for, and the achievement of, different groups of pupils within a school.}

^{Inclusion is at the heart of what we do at The Willows School Academy Trust and the IQM is recognition of the contribution of all at our school: pupils, parents, staff, trustees and local partners.}

We are delighted to announce that following our annual assessment in October 2026, The Willows School has been recommended to progress to IQM Flagship School status. This represents the highest level of recognition within the Inclusion Quality Mark framework and follows our successful journey as an IQM Centre of Excellence for the past two years.

IQM Flagship status is awarded to schools that not only demonstrate outstanding inclusive practice but also actively share their expertise with other settings, contributing to the wider educational community. Our Flagship project, 'The Willows Way: A Positive Behaviour Framework for Specialist Settings Supporting Pupils with SEMH as a Primary Need', will enable us to support other schools whilst continuing to develop our own inclusive practice.

We look forward to our next review in October 2027, which will confirm our Flagship status and celebrate our continued commitment to inclusion excellence.

For the most recent IQM report, please see below.

To read more about the award, please click here