Scottish schools recognised for work to support pupil inclusion

Three schools and one nursery have been crowned winners of this year's Success Looks Different Awards in recognition of how they celebrate their pupils with additional support needs.

The awards invited education settings to share how they were supporting the achievements of their pupils outwith traditional academia and especially pupils with additional support needs.

Created by the Inclusion Ambassadors, a national group of secondary school age pupils with a range of additional support needs and experience of a variety of educational provision, the awards were originally developed as part of the Scottish Government’s Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

Now in their second year, entries for the awards were welcomed across four categories: early years, primary, secondary and specialist provision. This year's winners, chosen by the Inclusion Ambassadors, were selected for how they celebrate the individuality of pupils, value pupil voice and demonstrate creativity.

Success Looks Different 2023 Winners

· Early Years: Woodlands Nursery Centre, South Lanarkshire

· Primary School: Williamston Primary School, West Lothian

· Secondary School: Our Lady and St Patricks, West Dunbartonshire

· Special School: Fairview School, Perth.

Lucy Johnson, Enquire’s Senior Development Officer, who managed the awards, said:

“It is a privilege to once again be involved in these awards. This year we continued to develop the inclusive nature of the awards with the Inclusion Ambassadors involved in every stage of the process, reflecting their vision of pupils being involved in all decisions that impact them.

Congratulations to all of this year’s Success Looks Different winners that demonstrated excellent examples of celebrating and including pupils in their school community and education community.“

Harry, one of the Inclusion Ambassadors involved in the judging process reflected:

“The Success Looks Different Awards are important for everyone so that they feel included. I liked to judge [this years awards] because it let me know what schools were doing to help people.”

Jenny Gilruth, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Education & Skills said:

“Congratulations to the winners and all of those who took part in this year’s Success Look Different Awards – I am immensely proud of the work that you do to ensure that our schools and ELC settings are inclusive places of learning.

It is important that we continue to celebrate the achievements of children and young people with additional support needs and make sure they all have the opportunity to thrive and fulfil their potential.

I would also like to thank the Inclusion Ambassadors for their ongoing work and commitment to supporting inclusive learning environments.”

The Success Looks Different 2023 winners and runners-up will each be presented with a physical award at their own presentation day, due to take place within the current school term.

Success Looks Different 2023 – Full list of winners and runners-up

Early Years category

Winner: Woodlands Nursery Centre, South Lanarkshire
Runner-up: Wallace Town EYC, South Ayrshire

The Inclusion Ambassadors chose Woodlands Nurse as winners of the Early Years category for the many different and individualised ways that children and Woodlands Nursery are able to express their needs and wants.

Primary School category

Winner: Williamston Primary School, West Lothian
Runner-up: Houston Primary, Renfrewshire

The Inclusion Ambassadors chose Williamston Primary School as winners of the Primary School category. They were impressed with the many real-life examples used in their entry which demonstrated how pupils and the wider school community are involved in sharing different types of success.

Secondary School category

Winner: Our Lady and St Patricks, West Dunbartonshire
Runner-up: Park Mains High School, Erskine

Our Lady and St Patricks was chosen as the winner of the Secondary School category in recognition of the creativity the school employ to celebrate success, especially when getting pupils involved and doing something different.

Special School category

Winner: Fairview School, Perth
Runner-up: East Park School, Glasgow

Fairview School was crowned winner of the Special Schools category with the Inclusion Ambassadors particularly impressed with the importance placed on relationships, creativity and pupil voice which was demonstrated in their entry.

Media contact:
Jennifer Drummond, Senior Communications and Engagement Officer, Enquire (Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri): jdrummond@childreninscotland.org.uk