Accord Coalition launches 2013 Inclusivity Award

The Accord Coalition has today launched its 2013 Inclusivity Award. The Award, now its fourth year, seeks to recognise the achievements of schools that do most to promote inclusion, community cohesion, and the growth of mutual understanding, particularly on the grounds of religion and philosophical belief.

The Award is open to all state funded schools in England and Wales, and entrants are assessed on the efforts that they make within their particular setting and legal framework that they operate under. Winning schools this year included Lammas School in Leyton, which was praised for the way that advancing mutual understanding and inclusion pervaded its work, and St George’s Voluntary School in Harpenden, which won praise for its outstanding work in tackling homophobic bullying, which it grounded in its Christian values.

The 2013 Award will be judged by a respected and experienced panel of experts from political, professional and religious backgrounds. Previous judges include:

• former Secretary of State for Education, Lord Baker
• the General Secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Dr Mary Bousted
• former Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Rev Richard Holloway
• education campaigner, Fiona Miller
• journalist, Polly Toynbee

The winning school will be announced in the local and national press, and prizes will be awarded in the New Year. The deadline for entries is Sunday December 2^nd.  Please contact Paul Pettinger at paul@accordcoalition.org.uk or on 020 7462 4990 with any queries, and visit https://accordcoalition.org.uk/accord-award-2012/ for more details and an application pack.

Launching the 2013 Award, Accord Coalition Chair Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain said ‘Many people complain about the state of our schools, but Accord seeks to do the reverse and is committed to rewarding those institutions that advance innovative ideas and display best practice, and then to draw attention to their work.’