Inclusivity Award 2012

How the awards will be judged

Introduction
The Accord Coalition’s Inclusivity Awards are open to all schools in England and Wales. At its core is the belief that schools thrive when they have an inclusive and tolerant ethos based on shared values. The awards will be judged by a distinguished panel of experts from a variety of different political, professional and religious backgrounds.

The judges are especially interested in the way that schools address issues of religion and belief, both inside the school and through relationships with local, national and international communities. While the approach to different religions and beliefs will be the focus for judges, it may also be helpful to mention how the school’s inclusive ethos guides its policies on ethnic, cultural and socio-economic differences, as well as gender, age, disability and sexual orientation.

Ofsted
Ofsted describes the features of a school with an outstanding contribution to community cohesion as:

“The school has made an important and beneficial contribution to promoting community cohesion in its wider region or even nationally. Its planned actions to promote community cohesion are underpinned by an effective analysis of the school’s context (including faith, ethnic and cultural, and socio-economic factors). The school’s evaluation of its actions shows a significant impact on its own community. Learners have a strong sense of common values, integrate actively with learners from other groups, and are respectful of others’ differences. Learners themselves make a strong contribution to the promotion of equalities and the elimination of prejudice and discrimination.”

Our two key criteria

We agree with Ofsted, but we go further in two important ways. Firstly, we believe that many schools promote inclusion, cohesion and equality as a core part of their school ethos, and it is those schools that we want to hear about. We want to recognise fact that shared values shape the way that the schools sees themselves, and the way that they are seen by the community.

We therefore would like to see evidence not only of individual projects but also the strategic vision and school ethos behind them. Furthermore, we want to celebrate schools that nurture active citizens who are confident in themselves, tolerant and respectful of others and keen to make a difference in society.

This leads to our second key difference. Because we are convinced that cohesion, inclusion and equality are concepts that must be rooted in the ethos of schools, we feel they cannot be in isolation from other policies that affect the school and the wider community. For that reason we ask for details of a broad range of activities (curriculum, admissions, assemblies, visits etc), not just about specific initiatives established to promote community cohesion.

The scope of the awards

Prizes will be awarded to the schools that have done the most to embody an ethos of inclusion. Other schools may also be commended for their work on inclusion, cohesion and equality either as a whole, or with reference to a particular outstanding feature. For this reason we suggest schools highlight a policy that they feel has been especially successful or innovative.

What did the judges like about the winning schools last year?

The 2011 Award was won Gwinear Community Primary School in West Cornwall and Ridgeway High School in Birkenhead. Among the activities of Gwinear Community Primary School remarked on by the judges were:

• A biennial ‘Modern Britain week’, which this year included an Age awareness day with Age UK and a visit to a local care home, a Sikhism day, a visit from a Russian speaker and a Disabilities day with workshops led by people with disabilities
• A history month on Roma people and travellers
• A unit on Christian charitable work in RE
• A very wide range of speakers from different religious and belief groups in school assemblies
• Outstanding LGBT equality work, which included organising workshops for children led by a local charity dealing with LGBT bullying, as well as visits to the school from a gay parent to meet with teachers, parents and pupils

The winner of the secondary school section, Ridgeway High School, managed to put distractions of threatened closure to one side and won strong praise for the ambition and the integration of special activities into the curriculum; the focus on local activity and the drive to widen the reach of pupils, expand their horizons and give them responsibility.

By its very nature, the Inclusivity Award is open to all schools. The Award seeks to recognise those schools that do most within their own unique setting and constraints to advance inclusivity, mutual understanding and promote community cohesion.

In 2010 the Award was won by an inner city school, and a faith school was also recognised that year, while both winning schools in 2011 were located in relatively mono-cultural areas. Nominated schools will not be disadvantages because of their location or for having a particular character.

What you need to do

We know how busy teachers are and have tried to make the process of applying as simple as possible. Most of the questions asked for below will have been answered, or at least seriously considered, in material already produced for Ofsted, the school prospectus, school newsletters or internal policy documents.

The judges will access online the most recent prospectus, admissions requirements and Ofsted report for all schools that apply. If there is any other external evidence that they should be made aware of (for example, involvement in well regarded projects, testimonies from community groups who have worked with students etc) then please include a website link or paper copy with your application.

How to apply

Please complete the contact details sheet and answer the four questions contained in the application form, and return it to paul@accordcoalition.org.uk.

If you have any questions then please email Paul or call him on 0207 462 4990. The deadline for entries is 5pm on Monday December 5th.