Inclusion

We are actively working to be an inclusive community in which all members feel a true sense of belonging. 

From the Pre-Prep right up to the Sixth Form, we are actively working to embed a real sense of inclusion and belonging at Highgate. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of an environment that:

  • welcomes them, understands them, enables them to be themselves
  • encourages questioning, self-knowledge, and self-expression
  • helps them not just to manage, but to thrive; to discover and pursue their passions, and to develop as individuals and members of a community

Inclusion at Highgate involves all members of our community including pupils, staff, alumni, parents, and carers.

Pupils show exceptional respect for, and appreciate diversity within the school and wider community — ISI Inspection Report, Dec 2021
I’ve always felt lucky to be gay at Highgate; it has been a place where I can be myself — A member of the School’s Senior Leadership Team
Highgate is the only place I’ve experienced where being yourself is encouraged and appreciated — Y12 pupil

Principles and Aims

Inclusion work at Highgate is split into 6 strategic aims, worked on collaboratively by colleagues across the foundation, pupil voice, and strategic partners:

  1. Promoting racial inclusion and making Highgate School ‘actively anti-racist’.
  2. Embedding a culture of anti-sexism and anti-sexual violence.
  3. Embedding inclusion into key roles and departments across the foundation.
  4. Inclusion policy with specific reference to four named priority areas: racial inclusion and anti-racism, disability and neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ , anti-sexism and sexual violence and all protected characteristics and other marginalised identities at Highgate.
  5. Admissions: diversifying the pupil body.
  6. Staff recruitment and retention: diversifying the staff body.

The three principles underpinning the work are:

  • Celebration of identity and diversity: Celebration of inclusion is both embedded into the curriculum and celebrated through assemblies, displays, and other initiatives.
  • Action underpinned by data to keep the School working towards our aims.
  • Strategic Inclusion that embeds inclusion into the curriculum, activities beyond the classroom, the pastoral care system, and into each department and each staff role at Highgate.

Our Inclusion work

A committee of staff leaders from all three schools, including the Head, meet termly to ensure their inclusion leadership and activities align, are complementary, and are working to address the live priorities.

Pupils take a key role in inclusion, feeding ideas through clubs and societies in Senior School such as PRIDE Soc, Equalities Soc, and pupil leadership teams, action committees and pupil councils across the foundation.

We are working to engage parents of minoritised communities to ensure that their experiences are reflected within our pastoral feedback and planning. There is a schedule of talks and workshops for parents and carers across the whole school, often involving external speakers.

 

Throughout the year we celebrate and recognise a wide range of inclusion related dates. Some events are national and international: eg. Neurodiversity Week, Black History Month, and many others follow ideas generated by pupils. The celebration and recognition of inclusion dates ranges from an embedded and inclusive curriculum, to assemblies, author and guest speaker visits, parent are carer talks, tutor tasks, clubs and societies, a pupil podcast, and many other activities.

We also have parental engagement in the delivery of some inclusion initiatives; some past examples include Pre-Prep and Junior School parents delivering assemblies related to their faith and cultural celebrations i.e. Diwali.

Activities

External expertise and support

Our commitment to continuous improvement in our inclusion work includes a focus on bringing external expertise into the foundation. Highgate School is connected with a range of inclusion-focused education organisations such as:

  • Diverse Educators
  • Haringey Education Partnership
  • Flair (inclusion data for racial inclusion)
  • African Caribbean Education Network

We are also connected with cross-sector expert organisations such as:

  • Inclusive Employers (as a corporate member)
  • Racial Equality Matters
  • Westminster Insight CPD (provision for Continuing Professional Development)
  • Royal National Children’s Springboard Foundation

News

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