Bristol Inclusion Standard

1. The school has a member of the Senior Leadership Team named as having responsibility for educational inclusion, and also has a member of staff with the specific responsibility for the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Acts/SEN and Disability Act and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.

2. The school has in place an Educational Inclusion (Equalities) Policy, which has been agreed by staff and governors, (and shared with parents/carers) which provides a framework for all other equalities policies and covers all equalities groups in relation to children, young people and staff.

3. The school can show it makes good use of equalities data and monitors attainment and achievement by ethnicity, gender, SEN and Looked After status, and takes action to redress any imbalances or areas of concern.

4. The school can show it monitors attendance by gender, ethnicity, SEN and Looked After status and puts strategies in place to address any issues.

5. The school has a set of strategies or a strand in their School Improvement Plan related to educational inclusion issues (which has been discussed with staff, governors and parents/carers).

6. The school has set up an Inclusion Steering Group, which at least includes teaching and non-teaching staff, governor and parent representation. It should also have external representation, (for example from experts such as representatives from Disabled people's, Black and minority ethnic, or other equalities organisations.)

7. The school has in place a Disability Equality Scheme, including an action plan, with an attached Access Plan in relation to physical access, information and the curriculum for 2006-9.

8. The school has in place a Race Equality Policy and related Race Equality Action Plan. The school also has in place a system for implementation, as well as a system for monitoring and assessing the impact of their policies and practices on BME staff pupils and parents/carers, and publishes the results annually, in line with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.

9. The school has processes for the ongoing auditing and evaluation of inclusion i.e. using the "Index for Inclusion" and CRE auditing tool "Learning for All," or "Promoting Inclusion in Early Years’ Settings".

10. The school has in place a policy for Looked After Children covering the areas outlined in the LA guidance, and a designated teacher (who has attended a minimum of one day’s training) and designated governor. In addition, the school has in place a system for monitoring the quality of Personal Education Plans for Looked After Children.

11. The school has a process in place and a plan with timescales for reviewing all school policies in the light of educational inclusion and equalities legislation, particularly the Race Relations (Amendment) Act and the Disability Discrimination Act e.g. child protection, school trips, anti-bullying policies, using appropriate expertise.

12. The school has audited staff development needs in relation to educational inclusion, and has a plan to hold, or has already held, relevant training e.g. disability equality or anti-racism sessions, briefings on the legislation etc.

13. The governing body and Senior Leadership Team have shown that they have a knowledge of their responsibilities in relation to equalities legislation and the fair selection of staff, and training has been provided to those involved in recruitment and selection.

14. The school has a strategy in place to make all meetings accessible (e.g. staff and governors’/ meetings) and takes positive action to increase the representation of all equalities groups within the staff and governors.

15. The school has processes for providing information (e.g. newsletters, letters home) in relevant formats e.g. BSL or community language interpreters for meetings, Braille, tape, plain English or community languages as appropriate for information for parents/carers, staff and governors.

16. The school has a system for reviewing their curriculum on an on-going basis, with appropriate expertise, to ensure that it is inclusive and all equalities issues are positively addressed, and a planning system to support this.

17. The school has a written strategy, agreed by governors, for increasing community and family involvement in the life of the school, and has evidence of this involvement.

18. The school has made staff aware of the "Out of the Shadow" publication and has provided staff with guidance on the implications of the repeal of Section 28, e.g. dealing with homophobic bullying, lesbian and gay equality, and have the issue specifically referenced in their anti-bullying policy.

19. The school follows the LA guidance on dealing with racist, disablist, homophobic and other harassment incidents, has a policy in place either within its equalities policies (e.g. Disability Equality Scheme, Race Equality Policy or Anti-bullying Policy) and makes the returns to the LA Race Equality Officer after each incident, taking swift action to deal with situations.

20. The school has taken action to develop work on community cohesion with pupils and parents/carers e.g. an anti-racist curriculum, links with schools reflecting different cultures, PSHE work on valuing difference, an RE curriculum that teaches about different faiths and addresses inter-faith issues.

Overarching Criteria

• We would expect to see specific evidence of pupil involvement and pupil voice in work on equalities and inclusion in the school.

• Evidence will also be sought of good practice projects/ interventions/ initiatives that address equalities and inclusion.