Belonging. Equity. Ambition. Responsibility.
At Fallowmere Academy for Inclusive Learning, we believe school values should shape what happens in classrooms, corridors and decisions about children. They should not exist purely to decorate the entrance hall.
Lived, not laminated. Though, naturally, the copies in Reception have been laminated. We do have standards.
Our four BEAR values set out what we stand for. We take them seriously. Their resourcing, regrettably, is subject to ongoing discussion.
B — Belonging
Every pupil deserves to be known, welcomed and genuinely part of school life.
We want children to feel safe, valued and included in the life of the academy — not merely allocated a seat and described as included. Belonging is built through relationships, thoughtful adjustments and daily acts of care.
A school place can be allocated by a committee. A sense of belonging still has to be built by the people who meet the child on Monday morning.
We are currently awaiting confirmation of the additional time allocated for this process.
E — Equity
Fairness means recognising different needs, not pretending everyone starts from the same place.
We remove barriers, adapt our approaches and try to make sure every pupil has a genuine opportunity to participate and achieve. This requires skilled people, good information, time and appropriate support.
Equity does not mean distributing the same insufficient resources equally and congratulating ourselves on the arithmetic.
Miss Management has requested that this distinction be reflected in the funding formula.
A — Ambition
High expectations belong to every pupil.
We refuse to confuse additional needs with limited potential. Every child deserves both the support to overcome barriers and the challenge to go further — whether they are mastering foundational skills, tackling demanding qualifications, discovering a talent or finding a future they can believe in.
Our ambition is deliberately unlimited.
The staffing allocation has taken a rather more cautious approach.
R — Responsibility
Inclusion is everybody’s responsibility.
It belongs in every classroom, not just the SEND department. We take seriously our duties to children, families and colleagues, and we expect to be accountable for the commitments we make.
We also believe responsibility should extend to those making decisions about policy, placements, provision and funding. Schools cannot deliver statutory promises through goodwill alone, however impressive the goodwill may be.
Responsibility has been successfully devolved. The resources appear to be travelling separately.
Beyond the poster
We believe in all four values. Not because they make a neat acronym, but because children deserve schools where these principles are actually lived.
Values matter. So do the staffing, time, training and funding needed to put them into practice.
A poster cannot deliver an intervention. A mission statement cannot cover a lesson. And a promise of inclusion is not the same thing as the provision that makes it possible.
Excellence for All. Resources Permitting.
The FAIL Files is set at a fictional academy. Its staff and stories are satirical; the issues facing English education are real.
