CYP Now - Belonging

This is my first blog since becoming ADCS Honorary Secretary and there were a number of contenders for what to write about: increasing numbers of children in care, child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation or the impact on staff of the regulatory world that we work in.

I have chosen to look back at the ADCS Position Paper A Vision for an Inclusive and High Performing Education System from 2018 and our approach to that paper in Telford, set out in our Belonging Strategy.

The paper asserts that “local authorities have a legal responsibility to champion the needs of the most vulnerable children and young people to promote educational excellence and ensure fair access to school places for all learners.” It goes on to conclude that too many learners are not having access to the quality of education to which they are entitled. Pressures of greater competition and diversity in admissions as well as a high stakes inspection regime further increases the risk of some vulnerable children and young people being squeezed out of the mainstream system. “We know that the social and financial costs of allowing children to get to the point of exclusion are huge; for many this is the first step on a journey that ultimately ends with social exclusion in adulthood too.”

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