English EN Bienvenue à The Pointer School FR Die Pointer School heisst Sie herzlich willkommen DE Bienvenido a The Pointer School ES 欢迎来到 The Pointer School CN Benvenuto a Pointer School IT
Login

Inclusion

An inclusive school

An inclusive school

At The Pointer School, every member of the school community is regarded as being of equal worth and importance. Inclusion recognises differences; meeting the needs of individuals and taking positive action, so that everyone has equal access to the educational opportunities offered by our school. We welcome and celebrate families of all backgrounds and family structures. As a school, we stand firmly against racism and unconscious bias and promote equality for all.

You will see this in our school in the following ways:

  • All children from different backgrounds and walks of life learning together
  • Different systems and structures in place to meet the needs of children whatever their disability, learning difficulty or personal circumstances;
  • Children being given a voice and feeling involved in their learning journey
  • Recognition of the diverse range of cultures, languages, religions, opinions and beliefs in society and this being used as a rich resource to support everyone's learning;
  • Strong relationships between our school and the local community;

We have created an inclusive environment at The Pointer School through the following actions:

  • Inclusive policies
  • Staff appointments and promotions are fair and all new staff are helped to settle into the school;
  • The school seeks to admit and retain all children from its community, offering access to children with special needs and those with other barriers to education.
  • All new children are helped to feel settled through pastoral provision and the use of peer mentors and class buddies.
  • Parents are encouraged to participate in the life of the school through our PFG.
  • Creating inclusive cultures through building a community, ensuring that staff, parents and children work in partnership to make everyone feel welcomed and valued.
  • Our Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) policy is an inclusive policy (See SEND Policy) and we use guidance from the SEN Code of Practice (2014) to reduce barriers to learning and participation for all children.
  • We engage external experts to assist with the raising of awareness of unconscious bias for staff. 

Curriculum and in the classroom

  • All forms of support are offered as needed and are overseen by the relevant leaders e.g SenCo and Pastoral lead. 
  • Learning or pastoral plans are created for those who need additional support and are shared with the parents to encourage an active partnership.
  • High expectations are set for all children and supportive friendships are encouraged.
  • Classroom rules are based on mutual respect
  • We promote ourselves to the children as a ‘telling school’ and have zero tolerance for bullying. This can be seen through posters in our buildings and our observance of anti bullying week.
  • A diverse range of texts are used to support learning and every classroom has access to Black Lives Matter texts. 
  • Respect for others and specific LGBTQ issues are taught through the No Outsiders program
  • Alternative skin tone colours are available in EYFS/KS1 classrooms to show that a wide range of skin tones are normal in our school.
  • Unconscious bias will continue to be addressed through the PHSEE programme for pupils.

Lines of communication

  • Parents are encouraged to liaise with the appropriate staff members where there is a concern regarding racism or inclusivity issues. Contact details for the relevant staff can be found in our Send policy and our safeguarding policy.
  • Any issues will be treated with due diligence and dealt with in a sensitive and timely manner.