Inclusion Policy 

Introduction

Inclusion about ensuring a sense of belonging for everyone in our whole school community. At Godolphin Junior Academy we make it our priority to ensure that every child feels they are an integral part of our school and feels valued, cared for, respected and successful. 

At GJA , we celebrate diversity not only in our own school but across other schools, within our local area and as global citizens within our global community. We actively teach our pupils respect, tolerance and team building skills through subjects such as R Time, Votes For Schools and PSHCE. We have developed our whole school curriculum to ensure it is fully inclusive, diverse and anti racist; we grow our pupils to be confident, well rounded individuals who contribute positively to society. 

Rationale

Godolphin Junior Academy values the strengths, talents, qualities and individuality of every pupil. We are committed to providing the very best education and opportunities to every child through our motto and whole school approach of 'Godolphin Grows Success'. With this mantra we ensure every teacher has the highest standards for pupils and is ambitious for all learners. We also use this mantra to expect the best from pupils and to guide them in putting their best effort into their learning.  We do this by taking into account the pupils’ varied life experiences and needs. Our approach is to meet the needs of individual pupils in whatever form that may be and to adapt and respond as necessary. At GJA we 'meet needs, not labels'. The achievements, attitudes and wellbeing of all our children matter. This policy helps to ensure that the school promotes the individuality of all our children, irrespective of ethnicity, attainment, age, disability, gender or background.

Aims:

Godolphin Junior Academy aims to be an inclusive school. We actively seek to remove the barriers to learning and participation that can hinder or exclude individual pupils or groups of pupils. This means that equality of opportunity must be a reality for all our children. We make this a reality through the attention we pay to the different individuals and groups of children within our school:

• Girls and boys;
• Pupils from minority faiths, ethnicities, travellers, asylum seekers, refugees
• Children who need support to learn English as an additional language
• Children with additional learning needs
• More able pupils
• Disadvantaged pupils
• Children with special educational needs
• Pupils who are subject to Child Protection or Child in Need plans
• Pupils who are at risk of disaffection or exclusion, young carers, sick children, children from families under stress
• Pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Planning and Learning:

Our staff plan a curriculum that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of children. When planning, teachers set high expectations and provide opportunities for all pupils to achieve. Teachers need to be aware that pupils bring different experiences, interests and strengths to school which influence the way they learn. Teachers plan their approaches to teaching and learning so that all pupils can take part in lessons fully and effectively and using a ‘pitch high’ and 'scaffold up' approach to teaching ensures all children have the opportunity to take control of their own learning.

To ensure that they meet the full range of pupils’ needs, teachers are familiar with the requirements of the equal opportunities legislation that covers race, gender and disability. Teachers need to ensure that teaching assistants have access to relevant planning so that they can support the children appropriately. Teachers should take specific action to respond to pupils’ diverse needs by:

• Creating effective learning environments;
• Securing their motivation and concentration;
• Providing equality of opportunity through teaching approaches;
• Using appropriate assessment approaches;
• Setting targets for learning;
• Developing positive relationships with children;
• Setting appropriate learning challenges;
• Responding to the diverse needs of the children;
• Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils;
• Providing other curricular opportunities to meet the needs of individuals or groups of children;
• Commitment to the Core aims for Children and Young People (Every Child Matters).

Differentiation is provided in every lesson to meet the needs of pupils. This takes place through a range of strategies and is provided for all pupils as necessary. There are specific groups of pupils where certain approaches may be seen more commonly or frequently, and some examples of these are:

Challenge 

There is no ceiling to learning at GJA; we are ambitious for all pupils. We ensure that each lesson is pitched high and that pupils are provided with the appropriate scaffolds to learn and be suitably challenged. At GJA, we use solo taxonomy questioning to provide opportunities for pupils to think deeply, have challenging and thought-provoking discussions and make connections within their learning. We provide stimulating lessons for all learners and encourage pupils to take risks in their learning and be brave in their contributions. Examples of challenge at GJA can take many forms including:

 - Solo taxonomy questioning 

 - Ambitious success criteria on WALTs

 - Quality and in depth discussions and debates

 - Access to advanced resources and materials which support the level of challenge 

 - Creative learning tasks which allow pupil for autonomy in providing their answers, viewpoints and solutions

 - The opportunity to take risks in an organised way

 -Extensions which are not more of the same but a more advanced or deeper challenge

 - Personalised feedback and next steps to provide further challenge for progress

EAL

The majority of pupils at GJA speak English as an additional language and it is a school priority that EAL learners have a safe, secure and inclusive place to learn and are provided with tools and aids which will support them in becoming independent learners.  We are ambitious for our EAL pupils and ensure there is enough curriculum support for them to make progress and reach high attainment levels. Some examples of scaffolding tools that are used at GJA to support our EAL learners are:

 - Flash Academy 

 - Colourful Semantics

 - Sentence Stacking 

 - Better Reading Partners 

 - Vocabulary books

 - Individual target cards 

 - Personalised intervention 

 - Education technology

SEND

PPG

Equal Opportunities

Teaching and support staff are familiar with the equal opportunities legislation covering race, gender and disability.

Teachers and support staff ensure that all children:

• Feel secure and know that their contributions are valued;
• Appreciate and value the differences they see in others;
• Take responsibility for their own actions;
• Are taught in groupings that allow them all to experience success;
• Use materials that reflect a range of social and cultural backgrounds without stereotyping;
• Have a common curriculum experience that allows for a range of different learning styles;
• Have challenging targets that enable them to succeed;
• Participate fully regardless of disabilities or medical needs.

Diversity Curriculum

Summary