Published 23 August 2024
Our Lady and St Patrick’s (OLSP) High School in Dumbarton has been awarded Inclusive School of the Year in the prestigious 2024 TES awards.
The educational awards celebrate the extraordinary commitment, quality and innovation shown by teachers and school staff with only the most outstanding individuals recognised.
Judges were impressed with the school’s commitment to creating a welcoming space for all, with all staff undertaking training in nurturing approaches and pupils following the Compassionate and Connected Classroom course designed to build confidence and support emotional and mental wellbeing.
The school was praised for its excellent and high attainment and for enabling pupils to access the mainstream curriculum, reduction in the number of exclusions and increase the positive destinations achieved. The school was also highlighted for having bespoke timetables which increased attendance and supported young people with singular or complex additional support needs.
The school’s Family Support Hub was highlighted for having interventions tailored to the needs of young people and their families and having access to a range of external agencies. The school’s Pupil and Family Support workers signpost pupils and families to support sharing the successes of a shared way forward and helping families enjoy progress along the way. The school proactively works to combat inequity, close the attainment gap and break down barriers to learning.
The judges said OLSP won the award for being an inclusive and nurturing school that targets age-specific development to underpin wider learning, socialisation, and preparation for life.
They highlighted work undertaken by the school to prioritise and embed inclusion for all, working together as a whole school community to reliably achieve outstanding academic results in an area of significant deprivation. Rigorous and holistic tracking and monitoring practices for pupils to inform intervention planning and use information to create bespoke learning opportunities for young people with additional support seed pupils was also praised.
Judge Margaret Mulholland a SEND and Inclusion Policy Specialist for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said, “Our Lady & St Patrick’s High School demonstrated a lot of innovative practices and staff development, with great Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) resources. It’s clear to us that for them, school inclusion is very much about the social as well as the academic, with a strong emphasis on preparation for adulthood.”
Councillor Clare Steel, Convener of Educational Services, said: “I am delighted to see the great work of the whole school community being recognised and winning this prestigious award. The school and its dedicated staff have worked so hard to support young people throughout the year and this latest award is testament to everyone’s commitment to every young person, regardless of their personal challenges everyone is supported and encouraged to learn and achieve.”
Councillor John Millar, Vice Convener of Educational Services, said: “Congratulations to all the dedicated teachers and staff at OLSP who work tirelessly to support and nurture our young people. It’s great to see all their hard work recognised in these very high-profile awards. The Headteacher must be so proud to add this latest award to the school’s long list of achievements.”
OLSP has been previously recognised as a School of Ambition and shortlisted in the TES awards for Mental Health Initiative of the Year as well as Secondary School of the Year twice. The school also received the ‘Success Looks Different Award’ in 2023 and in the same year were the first secondary school in Scotland to be awarded the ‘National Nurturing School Award’.