The Board of Governors met yesterday in order to discuss how the Foundation might better embrace diversity and inclusiveness, and in so doing, create an environment where discrimination of any nature will not be tolerated in any shape or form.

Governors were unanimous in their commitment to making the Foundation’s Schools beacons of inclusivity.  To support the Foundation in this aim, Governors have commissioned an independent external review of issues of race and inclusion within our Schools and Foundation community.

The review will address issues of ethnicity and religious diversity within the Foundation to support Governors in better understanding and addressing those areas where improvement is required, as well as identifying areas of good practice upon which the Schools can build.   It will focus on three areas:  Culture, Curriculum and People and will provide evidence-based recommendations to Governors.

Governors are pleased to announce that Dr Jeffery Quaye and Dr Fiona Hammans will lead this review.  Dr Quaye is an experienced education leader, school inspector and Chief Executive in the South-Central region of Aspirations Academies Trust and has advised UK government on education issues, with expertise in governance and improvement.  He is the author of a thought-provoking book on how race, social class and gender all affect attainment in mathematics, as well as a number of articles on race and education.  Dr Hammans is CEO of Abingdon Learning Trust and a former Head and school inspector with experience of leadership across nursery, primary and secondary schools.

Much of the review and analysis will be completed over the summer break setting the scene for a range of pupil, staff and parent group meetings to be convened in the new academic year. These meetings will explore the perception and experience of all our stakeholders, the details of how parents and pupils may contribute to the process will be provided in due course.

While the external review will focus on issues of race and ethnicity, the Governors are committed to addressing wider diversity and inclusivity. Thank you to everyone who has already been in touch, to share their thoughts and suggestions of actions that could be taken to address this; these responses will be shared with the reviewers to inform their own work. At the same time the Heads are already considering how some of the wider suggestions to make the schools truly inclusive may be acted upon. We can be very clear that the Foundation will continue to listen to its parents, pupils and alumni and that their views will be instrumental in shaping our next steps.