Aspect 1: The environment, culture and ethos

Inclusivity and the environment, culture and ethos of the setting.

1.1: Inclusive vision, aims and values

Is there evidence that:

  • clear inclusive aims and values are evident in the behaviour of staff and children and young people (CYP)
  • inclusion is understood as as ongoing process of increasing participation, achievement and nurture for all
  • aims and values reflect that leaders are ambitions for providing high quality education to all CYP?

Discussion points and evidence of impact

  • CYP, parents, staff and governors can confidently talk about the school's aims and values, giving examples.
  • All adults model positive attitudes and behaviour, developing positive attitudes with CYP, parents, staff, governors and members of the community in all circumstances.
  • All adults seek opportunities to really understand what life is like for all CYP and are skilled at adapting communication styles to achieve that.
  • The Leadership Team regularly monitors and evaluates the impact of its inclusive vision, aims and values. The School Council, or equivalent, and the views of other CYP and parents form part of this evaluation process. Governors identify how the school’s vision, aims and values support their inclusive strategic direction.
  • Leaders recognise how adverse childhood experiences (ACE) can manifest in many ways, including behaviour. Leaders are skilled at balancing the needs of the child and other stakeholders.
  • Effective training opportunities ensure that inclusive aims and values are planned throughout the year. Stakeholders can describe how this training has helped to shape and implement school ethos, vision and aims.
  • The principles of co-production and collaboration are embedded within the life of the school. This results in extensive engagement and participation by the full range of stakeholders. The impact of this collaboration and co-production can be clearly identified within day to day practice.
  • Governors or trustees have ensured that inclusion is at the heart of the school’s vision, ethos and strategic direction.
  • Parents who have English as an additional language (EAL) are supported to have meaningful contribution to the life and direction of the school.
  • The views of parents from Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic (BAME) and disadvantaged communities are pro-actively sought.
  • The school understands that parent views need to be sought sensitively and thoughtfully. Schools should not assume that all parents have equal confidence and ability to access school via formal routes.

1.2: A welcoming environment

Is there evidence that

  • the school is welcoming and CYP, parents and visitors are greeted, feeling they belong.
  • there is readily available key information about the school and local community?

Discussion prompts and evidence of impact

  • CYP and parents can describe how they are welcomed and what efforts are made to overcome any barriers to their involvement and participation, so that everyone feels that they belong. For example, parents are greeted and treated with an awareness of different cultural, disability or sensory considerations.
  • The welcome area(s) is physically accessible to all visitors. A copy of the school’s accessibility plan is available on the school website.
  • Members of the leadership team regularly greet parents and CYP at the start and end of the day.
  • Welcoming areas have:
    • positive images and messages welcoming people from different parts of the community.
    • images and names of key staff enabling visitors to know who they are talking to.
  • Information is provided in different formats and languages –the school proactively finds out which families need this information.
  • Parents understand the support that the school is expected to provide for its CYP and can signpost to support available beyond the school. For example, Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIAS) and other relevant agencies, Local Offer and Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice.

1.3: A reflective learning environment

Is there evidence that

  • a reflective learning environment is provided for all staff, children and young people (CYP)
  • staff and CYP reflect, discuss and evaluate practice in relationship to outcomes and wellbeing?

Discussion prompts and evidence of impact

  • A range of strategies are used to promote positive and aspirational social, moral, spiritual and cultural development, which encourages CYP to engage in all activities and opportunities with confidence. Leaders check that CYP with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), additional needs and from other disadvantaged groups are participating in these activities. CYP talk confidently about the views and attitudes of different groups and about the school’s ability to successfully address prejudice.
  • The school does everything possible to remove barriers to ensure all can participate in school life; this includes working with CYP who are at risk of underachieving. There is a variety of opportunities to participate in school life and a range of ways the voice of CYP can be captured, enabling them to contribute views and suggestions. CYP are genuinely involved in a wide range of decision-making processes that affect their lives, with involvement increasing as they age and mature. The school council is representative of the school community, including those with additional needs.
  • Parents are supportive of one another and engage in their child’s learning and the wider life of the school, for example parent groups, curriculum and family learning workshops.
  • Parents from BAME communities are actively encouraged and supported to give their views as to what family learning workshops, parent groups and curriculum aspects would be important and interesting for them. This should be based on what they have suggested, and not be tokenistic or what the school thinks would be appropriate. For example, this is not confined to “Black History Month” but blended naturally into the rich life of the school.
  • Equalities training around all protected characteristics are part of the annual cycle of the staff continued professional development (CPD). Staff are encouraged to help each other grow by questioning practice and conversations they do not feel are in line with the essence of this training, and amplifying those that are truly inclusive. The training is not a 1-hour session repeated every year but an ongoing conversation between all members of the school community, and staff should be supported to question/challenge peers regardless of hierarchy.
  • School should have an equalities policy that is regularly updated, and they could consider appointing a governor for equalities.
  • The school supports parents to understand the range of needs of different children within their child’s peer group. They are aware that good behaviour might look different for individual children and they work together to minimise the development of ‘blame’ cultures.
  • Using an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, school leaders effectively develop a CPD cycle that pinpoints the exact areas of development needed. This would include consideration of the collective needs of the whole school and identifying individual needs.
  • Professional learning and development in nurturing / attachment / trauma informed approaches is recognised to be a continuous process that involves initial training, collaborative enquiry, collegiate sessions, coaching and on-going discussion.
  • All staff, including support staff, take responsibility for their own professional development, with support from their line manager (through performance management processes), and are encouraged to update their skills and knowledge as part of the school CPD cycle. Governors attend relevant training.
  • Staff at all levels can identify clearly how they have benefited from professional development opportunities in relation to individual CYP, including liaison with outside agencies, and can describe the impact that this has had on the CYP.
  • CYP and parents are involved in planning, attending and delivering staff professional development around the individual needs of their child.

1.4: Communication

Is there evidence that

  • a range of effective co-production and communication methods are used with CYP, parent carers and the community to inform practice and foster positive relationships?

Discussion prompts and evidence of impact

  • The school communicates with CYP and parents through a range of methods, such as newsletters, text messages, website or suggestion box. These communication systems are accessible to all and regularly reviewed with stakeholders, including those from different groups, so all perspectives can be considered to drive improvement. Particular consideration is given to CYP and parents who are reluctant to enter school, those with limited literacy, limited digital access and those for whom English is an additional language.
  • Key information about the school is kept up to date and is easily available on its website. Hard copies are also available where required. The school regularly checks with parents to ensure that the information that they need is easily accessible and understood, for example, the school’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Report, OFSTED, admission arrangements, Pupil Premium and pupil outcomes data.
  • The SEND Information Report and other appropriate policies, including Pupil Premium, accessibility plan and equality information, are routinely co-produced with parents.
  • The school routinely refers to the ‘Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice’ guide (OAIP) and the Local Offer when engaging with stakeholders. These are used proactively to ensure that children/young people and their parents are aware of and have access to all appropriate available provision according to their needs.
  • The school has a proactive approach to engage ‘harder to reach’ families, for example additional sensitive and effective communication systems are in place, widely understood and used well. Parents are enabled to communicate in ways they are most comfortable with and these are respected, even if they are more time consuming for the school to implement.
  • All staff can describe their work to engage CYP and parents for example allocation of a key worker who ensures regular, timely and on-going two-way communication with parents.
  • CYP, parents, staff and other stakeholders report that their views are effectively listened to and acted upon to inform school communication systems.

1.5: Accessibility

Is there evidence that

  • the school is accessible to all CYP.

Discussion prompts and evidence of impact

  • CYP, parents, governors and staff are involved in regular accessibility walks in school, which feed back into school policy and facility management.
  • The school has adapted the environment so that all CYP and staff are able to manage their own movements around the school site, for example use of adapted visual timetables, handrails, slopes for wheelchair access, braille signs/textured walls, sensory management adaptations.
  • The school conducts sensory audits of inside and outside of the school to identify potential sensory challenges and how these could be managed.
  • Expectations for safe movement around the site are understood and consistently followed by children/young people and staff.

1.6: Transitions

For transitions that take place within the school

Is there evidence that

  • CYP are supported to manage transitions that take place within the school?

Discussion prompts and evidence of impact

  • Key staff members are identified to lead on transitions that happen within the school day. This includes small transitions that take place during every school day and those between the home and school environment. They include changes between activities, lessons, differences in environment and/or sensory input, and to and from break.
  • Staff recognise that these factors have an impact on social, emotional and mental health development and may affect CYP during any transition period e.g. lesson to lesson, teacher to teacher, school to home. Staff work proactively and sensitively with children and their families to address needs in relation to this and promote resilience.
  • Effective support is provided for CYP who find transition between home and school or at particular times of day difficult. These are regularly reviewed with CYP and their parents.

For transitions that take place between schools

Is there evidence that

  • CYP are supported to manage transitions between schools and settings. This includes individual transitions that may take place during the school year.

Discussion prompts and evidence of impact

  • Key staff members are identified to lead on successful transitions between schools.
  • There are clear policies and procedures in place to support CYP in their transition. These are regularly reviewed with CYP and parents who are due to / have recently transitioned.
  • The school has knowledge of feeder and transitioning schools for the previous and next key stages and knows the link staff, e.g. safeguarding lead, special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO).
  • Appropriate paperwork is securely shared with feeder and transitioning schools prior to transition with a confirmation response expectation, to enable schools to report back that they have received all paperwork. The school supports parents with any paperwork or transition documents if required and in line with statutory guidance. These transitions may occur at any time during the school year.
  • All CYP are supported through transition. Those who may struggle a little more are pro-actively identified and a bespoke transition package, with additional visits and activities, is planned according to their needs.
  • Transition arrangements are planned for and tailored to CYP to ensure their individual needs are met and reasonable adjustments are in place prior to starting. For example, use of home visits, social stories, additional environment visits and one-page profiles, virtual tours and Meet the Staff film clips.
  • Where graduated transitions are used, there is evidence of a clear and timely pathway/progression to full time attendance.
  • The views of these CYP, parents and relevant professionals are sought, considered and acted upon when planning for transition. For example, what information is appropriate to share as part of the transition process. Particular efforts are made to engage with students and parent carers from disadvantaged groups – including those from Gypsy, Roma or Traveller backgrounds.
  • Data and information gathered during the transition process is used to inform strategic planning for increased inclusion and accessibility.
  • To ensure consistency of experience for CYP, all new staff have an induction programme and named member of staff (Team around the Worker) to support them with their transition into the school.