Social inclusion
The Social Inclusion Unit is based at Lough Road offices and comprises:
· Head of Social Inclusion
· Anti-Bullying Coordinator
· Senior Adviser, Race Equality (0.2fte)
· Social Inclusion Team
Administrator
· PSHCE & HSP Manager
· Secondary PSHCE
Advisory Teacher
· Primary PSHCE Advisory Teacher
·
Cookery & Healthy Eating Consultant (from January 2007)
· Physical
Activity Coordinator (0.5fte)
· HSP Administrator
The team offers a year-round service and has lead responsibility for the
following areas of work:
· Social Inclusion Strategy
· Exclusions from school-policy/guidance/monitoring and local authority
representative at governing body hearings and independent appeal panels
· Anti-Bullying Strategy, including aspects of Domestic Violence Awareness and
Prevention Training
· Harassment
· Pupil Participation
including Pupil Parliament & Hear By Right
· Personal Social
Health & Citizenship Education (PSHCE)
· Healthy School Programme
· Race Equality Scheme
· Black Educators’ Network
Mission & Vision Statement
Every child and young person in Islington matters to us and we are committed
to improving the life chances of the most vulnerable by removing barriers to
participation and achievement.
We aim for every child and young person within our community to be healthy,
stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve
economic well-being in adulthood.
We recognise that to achieve this vision a significant number and variety of
barriers need to be overcome. In partnership with parents and carers,
colleagues within Cambridge Education @ Islington, Children’s Services and
Islington Council, external agencies and community groups, we will:
· Strive to develop practices which support and enhance opportunities for
children and young people to achieve success
· Challenge attitudes and
practices, which intentionally or otherwise, serve to exclude or restrict
opportunity.
We are committed to providing high quality standards of
service to all our partners.
What Is Social Inclusion?
Social inclusion is about ensuring all members of our society have full access
to services and employment; are able to fully participate in democratic
processes; are safe; feel a sense of belonging; and have excellent life
chances.
Social Inclusion is focussed on ensuring the most vulnerable children and
young people receive the support they need in order to enjoy and achieve.
In relation to education, some of our most vulnerable pupils are:
· Black and minority ethnic pupils at risk of exclusion
·
Excluded pupils
· Pupils from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds
· Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
· Girls at risk of
teenage pregnancy
· Teenage parents
· White working-class
boys with a history of truanting
· Pupils at risk of bullying or
harassment
· Children from homes where there is domestic violence
· Looked after children
· Traveller pupils
All services have a responsibility to ensure the needs of these pupils are
identified and met. Essential to achieving our vision of social inclusion is
the need to work closely with all our partners including colleagues within
Cambridge Education @Islington and Children’s Services, Islington Primary Care
Trust (PCT), Islington Council and the voluntary sector.
Key Areas Of Work
The Social Inclusion Unit has lead responsibility for:
·
Identifying barriers to social inclusion
· Developing effective
strategies for removing barriers to achievement and participation
·
Supporting schools in developing policies and practices which promote and
maximise social inclusion
· Disseminating best practice in social
inclusion
· Maintaining a strategic overview and monitoring key areas
of social inclusion for Cambridge Education @Islington.
Reducing Exclusions
An effective multi-agency protocol agreed with secondary head teachers has
resulted in a dramatic reduction in the numbers of permanently excluded pupils
from Islington schools.
Key areas of responsibility include:
· Interpreting and
advising on statutory guidance for schools on the use of exclusions
·
Representing the local authority at all permanent and some fixed-term
exclusion hearings in accordance with DfES guidance
· Attending, at
the request of schools, pastoral support planning and/or reintegration
meetings for pupils returning from a period of exclusion
· Responding
to parental enquiries on the use of exclusion by schools
· Working in
partnership with the quality and performance management unit (QPMU) to ensure
the effective use of exclusions data to improve outcomes for children and
young people at risk of social exclusion.
Harassment And Bullying
The Social Inclusion Unit works closely with the Quality & Performance
Management Unit (QPMU) to support schools in identifying key issues relating
to bullying and harassment through effective recording and data analysis.
Key tasks include engaging children and young people through a range of
participation initiatives to:
· Identify areas of concern in
relation to bullying and harassment
· Increase confidence in schools’
reporting systems
· Develop a coherent anti-bullying strategy to
ensure children and young people feel safe in and beyond the school gates.
The newly appointed Anti-Bullying Coordinator has lead responsibility for
developing a coherent anti-bullying strategy with coordinated delivery across
Children’s Services and partner agencies including the Police, Youth Offending
Team and Safer Schools Partnership.
The Anti-Bullying Coordinator will also support schools in developing
effective anti-bullying policies and practices and can offer advice on all
aspects of bullying including domestic violence prevention.
Islington Pupil Parliament
The Pupil Parliament aims to promote effective participation of children and
young people in democratic processes, both in the present and in the future.
The Pupil Parliament supports schools’ citizenship education by providing a
forum for pupils to reflect upon and discuss topical political, moral, social
and cultural issues and to take an active role as responsible citizens within
their local community.
The Pupil Parliament supports pupils to:
· Participate in
democratic processes, for example through school and class councils
·
Debate and discuss issues they have identified as important
· Be
actively involved in decision-making processes that will impact on their lives
· Have their voices heard and influence decision makers in their local
community
· Communicate effectively with a range of people including
peers and adults within and outside their own school
· Develop an
understanding of political processes and their role in participating and
contributing to them
· Develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes to
enable them to identify, advocate and pursue their rights and responsibilities
as individuals and members of their communities
· Link with broader
youth fora in Islington (particularly Listen Up), London, nationally and
internationally.
An important element of the Pupil Parliament is to engage a representative
sample of the Islington schools’ pupil population in terms of age, sex,
ability and ethnicity. The coordinator works closely with the Ethnic Minority
Achievement Service, Islington Special Schools, other agencies and community
groups to increase the involvement of under-represented groups in the project.
There are plans to integrate aspects of Pupil Parliament with Listen Up! in
order to provide a more coherent approach to involving children and young
people in decision-making processes, including taking forward Hear By Right
standards framework across Cambridge Education @Islington.
To learn more about Pupil Parliament, check out the dedicated web page by
clicking
here.
Race Equality
The Social Inclusion Unit in partnership with
EMAS (Ethnic Minority Achievement Service) takes a lead role in
developing, implementing and monitoring Cambridge Education @Islington’s Race
Equality Strategy and maintains close links with Islington Council’s
Equalities Unit.
Equal Opportunities
Improving the disproportionately low attainment and high exclusion levels of
African-Caribbean boys is both a London-wide and national concern. In
partnership with the Ethnic
Minority Achievement Service (EMAS), the Social Inclusion Unit has
established a joint Primary project to support the development of effective
practice in this area.
Promoting Best Practice
In partnership with Ethnic
Minority Achievement Service (EMAS), the Social Inclusion Unit promotes
the sharing of best practice for Black pupils and educators in Islington
schools through the
Black Educators Network
PSHCE
The advisory teachers for PSHCE (Personal, Social, Health & Citizenship
Education) work with primary and secondary schools, pupil referral units and
early years settings to support them in developing all aspects of their PSHCE
provision. This work supports one of the overall aims of the national
curriculum: to ‘prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and
experiences of life’.
PSHCE supports pupils in developing self-confidence and positive relationships
with others by raising awareness of healthy and safer lifestyles and
increasing respect for diversity. Recent research evidence emphasises the
important role schools can play in promoting the health of its pupils. Indeed,
Ofsted, found that schools that contributed most effectively to pupils’ health
and well-being had leadership teams which recognised the link between physical
well-being and the readiness to learn and achieve (Ofsted: Healthy Schools,
Healthy Children? July 2006).
Citizenship education is a statutory requirement of the secondary curriculum
and one of the strands of the Primary PSHE and Citizenship Framework.
Citizenship increases pupils’ knowledge and understanding of how ‘to play an
active role as citizens’ by developing skills of enquiry and communication,
participation and responsible action.
This work is delivered through a range of activities including:
· Individual support for teachers and PSHE and Citizenship Coordinators on
policy development, curriculum planning and teaching and learning
·
In-service training for teachers and other staff in schools
·
Developing, managing and evaluating specific projects for schools to support
teaching and learning; for example using theatre in education, music
production or specific multi-agency projects targeting vulnerable or ‘at risk’
young people
· Developing guidance and resources for schools,
including policy guidance, teaching resources and exemplar schemes of work
· Multi-agency planning and developments including:
· Drug,
Alcohol and Tobacco Education, as part of the Drug and Alcohol Action Team
(DAAT)
· Vulnerable Young People’s Substance Misuse Plan
· Sex and Relationship Education, as part of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.
National Healthy School Programme (NHSP)
The National Healthy School Programme (NHSP), jointly sponsored by the
Department of Health and DfES, launched a new national healthy school status
in September 2005. Its four overarching aims are to:
· Help raise pupil achievement
· Promote healthy lifestyles
· Reduce health inequalities
· Increase social inclusion
The NHSP has been set targets of ensuring that all schools are engaged on the
programme by December 2009 with 75% of schools achieving the new healthy
school status by the same date. Currently 981 schools have achieved school
status.
Schools are required, through a whole school approach, to address the four
obligatory themes that make up healthy school status. These are:
· PSHCE, including sex & relationships and drug education
·
Healthy Eating
· Physical activity
· Emotional health and
well being including, bullying.
Schools have to evidence all criteria for each theme and demonstrate outcomes
that have impacted on pupils learning, experiences and/or behaviour.
The NHSP national database gives details of schools’ progress and achievements
in working towards healthy school status.
The NHSP relates to most of the Every Child Matters outcomes, and not just to
‘being healthy’. A school that is implementing the four NHSP themes and
working towards or achieving healthy school status should be able to
demonstrate the impact that this work is having on the outcomes it is
achieving for its pupils.
Islington’s Healthy School Programme
The Camden and Islington Healthy School Programme supports over 50 Islington
schools, Pupil Referral Units and Early Years Settings in improving health.
In partnership with Islington PCT, the PSHCE & Healthy School Programme
Manager organises and coordinates the programme across Islington, working
closely with a project officer in Islington PCT to support Islington Schools.
The PSHCE & HSP Manager has lead responsibility for managing the delivery of
the HSP in Islington schools and in developing and implementing Islington’s
strategy for meeting the Local Area Agreement targets to ensure 95% of all
Islington Schools achieve the required standard by December 2009.
Summary Of Achievements 2005/06
Anti-Bullying
· Anti-bullying conference held in
November 2005
· ‘Bigga Fish’ CD, leaflet and DVD for teachers produced
· ‘Text bullying’ Service launched
· Funding secured
to establish post of Anti-bullying coordinator
· Agreement secured to
pilot anti-bullying/harassment software across CEA, schools and the Council
Black Educators Network
· Successful series of Black Educators Network (BEN) meetings held
· Successful BEN residential on leadership skills held and established as an
annual event
· Black History timeline produced and distributed through
the Black Educators Network
· Black Student Achievement Awards
established
· Presentations by a range of members at various events
Exclusions
· Review of Managed Moves Protocol (in
conjunction with Behaviour Support Service)
· 2004/05 Exclusion Report
completed and issued to schools via school circular & published on Cambridge
Education @Islington website
· Contribution to sustaining low levels
of permanent and fixed term exclusions for 2004/05
· Development of
new exclusions database to streamline data collection and improve quality
assurance
· New procedures established to reflect new role in relation
to exclusions casework
· Online exclusion notification procedure
successfully piloted
· Improved information sharing
Healthy School Programme
· Funding for ‘Teens &
Toddlers’ sustainability programme agreed
· Successful ‘Teens &
Toddlers’ training undertaken
· 8 local ‘Teens & Toddlers’
facilitators trained
· 7 schools implementing a Sex & Relationships
Education (SRE) policy and delivering a comprehensive SRE curriculum
·
Positive evaluation of SRE policy by independent consultancy (Christopher
Winton)
· Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco Education (DATE) packs disseminated
to all Islington schools and promoted to other local authorities
·
Croydon Local Authority implementing DATE pack as part of the Primary
curriculum
· Social & Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) resources
being used in 8 schools
· Healthy Schools Programme (HSP) updated to
reflect national programme team’s revised criteria
· New
guidance issued on developing whole school policy on healthy eating
·
A number of successful healthy eating initiatives established, e.g. Food in
Schools training
· Completion of termly school meals survey and
evaluation
· PSHCE primary scheme of work completed and disseminated
to 85% of schools
PRIORITIES FOR 2006/07
Be Healthy
· Reduce teenage pregnancy
· Promote
Healthy Schools Programme
· Promote children & young people’s mental
health
· Reduce substance abuse
· Reduce childhood obesity
Stay Safe
· Ensure freedom from bullying and harassment
· Ensure compliance with race equality legislation in relation to the
reporting of racist incidents
· Reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
Enjoy and Achieve
· Prevent exclusion from school
· Reduce over-representation of Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) groups in
exclusions from school
· Support children whose achievement is at risk
· Support Black educators, parents/carers, children and young people via the
Black Educators Network (BEN)
Make a Positive Contribution
· Increase opportunities for
children and young people’s participation in CEA@Islington and schools
· Increase reach of Pupil Parliament
· Reduce gender stereo-typing
Achieve Economic Well-Being
· Increase young people’s capacity
to achieve economic wellbeing by developing positive attitudes to learning and
the skills needed for adulthood and working life