Leicestershire's Inclusion Policy for Education
Leicestershire
County Council believes that all the people of Leicestershire should have life long access to high quality
education and training for vocational, social and personal needs to improve the quality of their life
and contribute to the economic and cultural development of this County and beyond.
We
believe that all people are of equal value and that all education providers have the responsibility
to make high quality, balanced provision for all learners to help them to achieve their full potential.
We
believe that inclusive education is an effective way to combat discriminatory attitudes and contribute
towards the creation of welcoming and inclusive communities.
We aim to ensure
that all learners in Leicestershire have access to appropriate activities through early years settings,
schools, out of school activities, childcare and youth work within the County.
Definition
and Principles
Educational inclusion in Leicestershire
means:
removing barriers and building bridges to learning across the
curriculum and in the whole range of learning, play and leisure activities to increase participation
for all.
and is built on the principles of:
- Inclusion
as a continuing process of increasing participation for all learners.
- Celebration
of human diversity.
- Increasing self-esteem and the desire to achieve for all
learners.
- The entitlement of all learners to receive a broad and balanced
curriculum; making clear their right to the opportunity to achieve success.
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT:
- To provide leadership and to promote
successful
inclusive and non-discriminatory practices.
- To support schools, early years,
youth work and adult learning settings to develop inclusive policies.
- To raise
awareness of the role of the education service in social inclusion and anti-bias practices.
- To
monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of inclusive practice across the authority in raising attainment
and improving educational outcomes for all learners.
- To develop in young people
and adults self-advocacy skills to ensure their voices are heard.
- To audit
educational outcomes to identify priority vulnerable groups or areas and to target resources to take
action to remove barriers to inclusion.
- To disseminate good practice that
has been identified in individual establishments across the Authority.
- To
ensure that organisational culture, policies and practices respond to diversity.
- To
develop policies and practice that encourage the use of language that is inclusive and non-discriminatory.
- To base all planning on the principles of inclusion.
- To
celebrate and publicise the achievements of learners.
- To co-ordinate multi-agency
activity for young people and adult learners at risk of exclusion from the full range of opportunities.
- To produce and maintain an Inclusion Strategy as required by the Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) Part 4.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOOLS,
EARLY YEARS AND YOUTH WORK SETTINGS:
- To develop an inclusion
policy and
plan (as required by the DDA Part 4) in collaboration with learners, staff, governors and parents/carers.
- To meet the needs of all learners through a broad, balanced and appropriate
curriculum.
- To celebrate and publicise the achievements of learners.
- To
respond flexibly and creatively in providing for all learners taking into account knowledge of learners’
backgrounds, beliefs, preferred learning styles and particular aptitudes and interests.
- To
develop in young people and adults self-advocacy skills to ensure their voices are heard.
- To
audit educational outcomes for all potentially vulnerable groups and to identify and remove barriers
and build bridges for inclusion.
- To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness
of inclusive practice in raising standards and improving educational outcomes.
- To
develop policies and practice that encourage the use of language that is inclusive and non-discriminatory.
- To base all planning on the principles of inclusion.
- To
ensure that organisational cultures, policies and practices respond to diversity.
- To
work with local communities to break down barriers to inclusion.
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