Enrichment
- Our enrichment promise
- Clubs
- Curriculum experiences
- Residential visits
- Sporting competitions
- Trust-wide opportunities
- Supporting charities
- Awards and recognition
Awards and recognition
IQM Inclusive School & Centre of Excellence
Sturry CE Primary School is proud to have achieved both the Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM) Inclusive School Award and IQM Centre of Excellence status. These nationally recognised awards celebrate schools where inclusion is embedded throughout every aspect of school life and where all children are supported to thrive.
Following a rigorous assessment in October 2025, the IQM report described Sturry as:
“A place where every child and adult feels like they belong, they are all seen and valued and that everyone is wanted.”
The assessor praised the strength of our relationships, teamwork, and leadership, highlighting the passion and creativity that flow through our classrooms each day.
Through this award, Sturry CE Primary School stands among a small group of schools across the country recognised for leading the way in inclusive education – ensuring every child can flourish academically, socially, and emotionally.
Read more about this exceptional award: IQM Inclusive School & Centre of Excellence
Little Wandle Champion School
We are incredibly proud that Sturry has officially been recognised as a Little Wandle Champion School – the first school in Kent to achieve this prestigious award and one of only around 30 schools across the entire country to hold this status.
This means our school has met 16 Standards of Excellence in the teaching of early reading and phonics. We have other schools coming to see Little Wandle in action at our school and share the wonderful work our staff and children are doing. We are very proud to be part of this fantastic network of Champion Schools across the country.
Little Wandle Champion School’s form a network of exemplary phonics schools across the country. To achieve this status, a school must demonstrate an outstanding whole-school reading culture, strong leadership, high-quality phonics practice and assessment, and the capacity to support other schools.
The Champion School assessment of Sturry showed that the school excelled in each of these areas:
The assessment demonstrated that throughout the school, there is a strong focus on fostering a love of reading – the school environment is filled with high-quality, diverse books, and every child has regular opportunities to enjoy stories. Reading for pleasure is actively encouraged with children taking home books to read every week.
The assessors praised Sturry’s leadership team for being highly ambitious with high expectations for all pupils and that they have a deep understanding of the Little Wandle programme. Importantly, Sturry’s leaders were considered to provide a supportive environment for staff that prioritises ongoing training and coaching, and a clear succession plan in place to sustain excellence in reading for the long term.
Sturry’s daily phonics lessons were found to be fully aligned with the Little Wandle programme and carefully structured, allowing children to practice reading with books that precisely match their current phonics knowledge. Assessors also highlighted the school’s commitment to Daily ‘Keep-up’ sessions in Reception and Year 1 to give any child at risk of falling behind, immediate extra practice.
The school’s data over the past year shows substantial progress in reading – with the majority of children meeting or exceeding expected benchmarks at each half-term assessment. Most notable are Sturry’s Year 1 Phonics Screening Check results, which have been significantly above national averages (over 90% of pupils passing).
You can read more about Little Wandle below:
Microsoft Showcase School
We are a Microsoft Showcase School for 2025-26 – a prestigious achievement, with only hundreds of schools around the world achieving the accolade each year.
Microsoft has recognised our school as a member of an elite group of global schools that exemplify the best of teaching and learning in the world today.
Microsoft Showcase Schools are a global community of schools engaged in digital transformation to improve teaching and learning. Showcase Schools create immersive and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning, stimulating development of essential life skills so students are empowered to achieve more.
Showcase schools use Microsoft’s Education Transformation Framework to drive a culture of learning, innovation, and continuous improvement.
There are currently under 100 schools in the United Kingdom that have achieved Showcase School status.
Royal Shakespeare Company Associate Schools Programme
Sturry Church of England Primary School is proud to have been selected to join the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Associate Schools Programme in partnership with the Marlowe Theatre from September 2026 to July 2028.
This prestigious two-year programme will provide exciting opportunities for pupils and staff to develop their understanding of Shakespeare through workshops, training, collaborative projects and live performance experiences. The programme culminates in a large-scale performance alongside schools from across Kent and Medway, helping young people build confidence, creativity and a love of theatre.
We are delighted to be part of this inspiring partnership and look forward to sharing our journey with the school community.
Music Mark of Recognition
Sturry CE Primary School has been awarded the Music Mark of Recognition for Dedication & Improvement in Music Education (2026-2027). This recognition reflects our commitment to ensuring that all children have access to high-quality musical experiences and opportunities throughout their time at school.
Music is an important part of life at Sturry. Pupils take part in weekly curriculum music lessons, daily singing and collective worship, and have opportunities to develop their skills through performances, clubs and instrumental learning. Our curriculum is designed to develop creativity, confidence and a lifelong appreciation of music.
Highlights of our music provision include:
- Weekly music lessons for all pupils.
- Year 4 ukulele tuition.
- Choir and ensemble opportunities.
- Rocksteady music lessons and termly concerts.
- Participation in large-scale events such as Young Voices.
- Student Music Leaders who support music development across the school.
- Regular performances for parents and the wider community.
As part of the Music Mark pledge, Sturry is committed to championing the importance of music education, providing an inclusive music education for every child, and creating opportunities to broaden pupils’ musical experiences through partnerships and community engagement.
School Games Gold Mark Award
We are proud that we have been awarded the School Games Gold Mark Award for the 2025/26 academic year.
The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme, launched in 2012 and facilitated by the Youth Sport Trust, which recognises schools for their commitment to developing competition across their school and within the wider community. We are delighted that the school’s dedication to high-quality physical education, sporting opportunities and active lifestyles has been recognised through this national award,
Throughout the year, our pupils have embraced a wide range of sporting opportunities and have represented the school with enthusiasm, determination and excellent sportsmanship. We are incredibly proud of all the children who have participated in local inter-school competitions and festivals.
As part of the School Games Mark application process, schools are required to demonstrate their commitment across key areas including participation, competition, workforce development and extra-curricular clubs. We are delighted that the hard work and dedication of our pupils, staff and wider school community have been recognised through the achievement of the Gold Award.
Forest School Practitioner Qualification
We are proud to have members of staff who hold the Level 3 Forest School Practitioner qualification, enabling them to lead and develop high-quality outdoor learning experiences for our pupils.
The Level 3 qualification equips practitioners with the knowledge and skills to plan and deliver Forest School programmes that promote confidence, resilience, wellbeing and a connection with the natural environment.