Athelney Primary School Named IQM National Champion School for 2025/26

We are incredibly proud to announce that Athelney Primary School has been named one of just eight schools across the country to receive the prestigious Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) National Champion Award for 2025/26.

Our journey with IQM began in 2015 when we were first awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark. In 2018, we were honoured to be recognised as both a Centre of Excellence and a Flagship School—a status we proudly retained following our most recent assessment in December 2024.

IQM works with schools nationally and internationally to promote inclusivity and diversity through both the academic curriculum and a rich programme of extracurricular activities. Together, we strive to ensure:

• Access and diversity are embedded
• Achievement is raised for all
• An inclusive culture is nurtured
• A thriving, supportive environment is created

The assessors were particularly impressed by the meaningful ways our pupils are encouraged to express their views, the way that our Values underpin everything that we do, and the way our school community comes together to celebrate family, cultural and religious events.

Being named a National Champion School marks an exciting new chapter for Athelney. This accolade is reserved for schools that demonstrate excellence in inclusive practice and are committed to sharing their expertise with others. As IQM states:

“Champion schools create welcoming environments where diversity is celebrated and are eager to collaborate with other schools to spread the powerful message of inclusion across the UK.”

IQM is currently working with schools in the Middle East and Thailand, and where possible, aims to link these international schools with National Champion schools like ours to share ideas and best practice—a truly exciting opportunity for global collaboration.

Over the coming academic year, we will be working closely with IQM to share our best practices with neighbouring schools. We are also looking forward to attending the National Inclusion Conference in Birmingham at the end of the year, where we may have the opportunity to present our work and connect with other Champion schools.

In the nearer future, we are excited to be officially presented with our National Champion banner during the Autumn Term—a moment we can’t wait to share with our whole school community.