Following a rigorous selection process, we are delighted to have been awarded the NACE Challenge Award by the National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE). This prestigious accreditation is given in recognition of school-wide commitment to high-quality provision for more able learners, within the context of challenge for all.
The award is based on the NACE Challenge Framework, which sets out criteria for high-quality provision for more able learners within a wider ethos of challenge for all. The framework is available as part of the NACE Challenge Development Programme – a suite of resources developed by NACE to help schools evaluate and improve their provision for more able learners.
NACE’s assessor reported: “Prince Henry’s High is an exceptional school that aims to enable its students to leave with a first class education that becomes fully embedded and lays the foundations for success in their future lives. They actively promote a key set of universal values, which underpin everything they do and say, with teachers modelling those values in their interactions with pupils and in their expectations of pupils’ behaviour. As a result, there is a warm, collegiate atmosphere, with a sense of shared endeavour, where students and teachers work together with a common goal to achieve the best possible outcomes while supporting and valuing each other.
“The school is highly inclusive and is aspirational for all its pupils. It has been developing its practice to ensure the needs of more able pupils can be met without creating an elitest culture. Its core focus has been on ensuring that more able and most able pupils are identified appropriately, and that adaptive teaching is used to extend and challenge them. The governors have been highly supportive of this work. Challenge and high expectations are evident and staff work exceptionally hard with their lesson planning and delivery in order to cater for all needs.”
Improving provision for the more able remains a priority for many schools. The experience and evidence gathered by Challenge Award-accredited schools also shows that effective strategies to improve provision for the more able are likely to have a positive impact on the achievement of a much wider group of learners.
To attain the Challenge Award, schools must complete a detailed self-evaluation using the NACE Challenge Framework, submit a portfolio of supporting evidence, and undertake assessment by a NACE associate. The assessment process includes examination of school data and key documents; lesson observations; and interviews with school leaders, learners, parents and governors.
CEO Rob Lightfoot said, “The Challenge Award is presented in recognition of whole-school commitment to and achievement in providing effective challenge and support for all – spanning school leadership, curriculum, teaching and learning, processes for identification and tracking, extracurricular opportunities, strong communication and partnerships, and ongoing evaluation.”
Prince Henry’s High School will now be part of the international community of Challenge Award-accredited schools which have demonstrated a sustained and effective commitment to meeting the needs of more able learners, and an interest in sharing expertise for the wider benefit of the education community.
I would like to thank everyone involved in the process of applying for, and securing, the NACE Challenge Award – particularly Mrs Lungley and Mrs Couliou. We are now very much looking forward to working closely with NACE to further develop learning opportunities available to our more able learners. Alongside our existing Inclusion Quality Mark and SMSCD Gold Award, the NACE Challenge Award offers an exciting additional chance to broaden the range of learning and enrichment options available to every student within the Prince Henry’s community.
Dr Evans
November 2024
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