Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
At Abbey Gates we want everyone who is a part of our school community to feel a strong sense of belonging. Belonging is the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity. It is when an individual can be their authentic self. We actively work to help individuals feel that they belong by making sure they feel needed, heard, supported, involved, accepted, known, welcomed and invited.
We recognise and celebrate that everyone is different. Our Diversity Ministers, champions the range of human differences in our school community. We strive for equity through processes that recognise that not everyone starts in the same place and make adaptations so that everyone can access our provision. We include everyone by creating a culture in which everyone is able to voice their perspectives and engage in dialogue across differences. We want everyone to feel heard and respected.
The Learning Environment
Diversity is celebrated and we work hard to ensure that our community is represented in our school environment. All school events are inclusive.
We renew our reading books regularly and prompt the children to find characters in the books they read which they feel connected to.
In addition to our library books, we also have a carefully researched range of books to explicitly support open conversations about race. These were sourced through the Anti-Racist Education Program (AREP).
Diversity is proactively woven through our whole curriculum. Linking to our Possibilities curriculum driver, we take designed opportunities to talk to the children about a diverse representation of people who have achieved well in a breadth of areas of learning, careers and life. Often our parents and carers support us by coming into school to talk about their careers and help us to address misconceptions and instil aspirations for all.
Our Talking Points curriculum supports children's learning about and celebrating difference.
We enrich the children's learning experiences through planned visits, visitors and community events.