This week I attended the Girls’ School Association (GSA) Deputy Heads conference in Leicester. After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, it was fantastic to come together with colleagues from across the network to reflect on our practices and share ideas about improving outcomes and experiences for our students and wider school communities.

One of the sessions which I found to be particularly engaging was called The Power of You presented by Claire Harvey and Helen Semple. Claire is a psychologist, inclusion expert and Paralympian who is recognised as a world leader in diversity, inclusion and culture; Helen is an experienced school leader and primary author of the Inclusion strategy for GSA. They talked about the importance of inclusion and how it should be embedded into every aspect of a school’s culture. To achieve this, they suggested that schools should continually reflect and seek feedback on their policies and practices to ensure that inclusion is built from a position of empathy and understanding, enabling all members of the community to feel represented, engaged and empowered.

Hearing from Claire and Helen about their practical solutions for developing a more inclusive educational experience gave me confidence that the work being carried out at BGS in this area linked to the Learning for Life and Climate of Care strands of the school development plan is reflected their vision for a more inclusive culture within schools. More specifically, the Diversity and Inclusion staff focus group regularly reflects across all aspects of school life to develop and monitor initiatives designed to have a lasting impact on the school culture. Their recent work on mapping and extending inclusive provision within the curriculum is already having a significant impact on the way students are learning about different topics in their subjects.          

As we move forward as a school community, we will continue to ensure that inclusion plays a fundamental role in the facilitation of both the student and staff experience at Bedford Girls’ School, by reflecting on our practices and drawing on expertise which aligns with our vision and diversity pledge:

“We commit to being a warm and welcoming environment for all. We value each and every member of our community as an individual. We celebrate our differences and acknowledge that these make us a more powerful group as a whole”.