Derby Moor Spencer Academy achieves Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status

Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) has awarded Derby Moor Spencer Academy with the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence Status.

IQM’s report opens, “Our Assessor had the pleasure of visiting what can only be described as a beacon of light for many vulnerable students and families. It is clear from the moment you enter the building that inclusion is at the heart of everything the academy does.”

The report highlights the “enthusiasm and knowledge” of principal Scott Doyle, the senior leadership team and all staff within the school, stating, “All staff across the academy work tirelessly to ensure their students achieve beyond expectations, regardless of background or starting points.”

IQM assesses schools based on four principles: promoting access and diversity, raising achievement for all, creating an environment for all to succeed and improving the inclusive nature of all schools.

After schools apply for evaluation, the organisation sends an Assessor to carry out a formal assessment to reach a decision.

The Assessor was particularly impressed with the high standards and inclusive curriculum offered at Derby Moor Spencer Academy: “No limitation or barrier is put in the way of each individual and the academy works tirelessly to ensure ‘anything’ is possible.”

The school’s motto, “Together We Succeed”, is credited as an accurate and aspirational indication of their shared ethos. “It is an academy that is justifiably proud of the inclusion journey it has been on thus far, and where they still wish to go.”

The report concludes, “It is clear that the academy’s ethos for inclusion is well embedded in students with no one left behind or not included.”

Mr Doyle said, “We are delighted to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence for Inclusion. I feel so proud that the report from the IQM assessor captures the tireless and collective work of our staff, families and wider agencies and highlights that inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.

"I know that we work in a unique school, that is like no other, but to receive further external validation that our provision is ‘remarkable’, and to be described as a beacon of light is truly humbling. Together We Succeed.”