Leading for social inclusion

This NCSL study looked at leadership issues in relation to social inclusion, through a series of six case studies in three areas showing high levels of disadvantage.

Key findings & recommendations:
- Social inclusion is complex and interpretations differed, however three perspectives where common across all schools, although given different priority weighting:
• focus on achievement
• focus on barriers to achievement
• focus on socialisation and capacities

- It is a mixture of the leadership and context which together dictate which perspective dominates.
- There is no list of things leaders should do to induce social inclusion, rather the context will demand different leadership skills and approaches. For example a school with a weak learning environment will benefit from an inward looking approach which fosters a school ethos rather than an approach which looks to the community.
- Government policy should remove the contradictions which exist limiting the implementation of social inclusion.
- There should be greater freedom to adapt the curriculum by schools.
- Although other outcomes, such as the Every Child Matters outcomes, are now being monitored by ofsted, published data relies only on attainment.
- Distribution of leadership within schools will assist further.
- A clear school vision, linked to inclusion, should be articulated and pursued by the leader.
- Views of and approaches to social inclusion should also ideally be translated into different measures and assessment of impact.