We're committed to fostering inclusive schools and workplaces, through education, celebrating differences and giving a voice to staff and pupils from every background.
We have taken – and will continue to take – a multi-faceted approach to driving this forward. We have been both strategic and creative and over the last few years worked incredibly hard to raise the profile of the importance of inclusion, thus gaining a national inclusivity award for our work.
With many of our schools based in Leicester and Leicestershire, we serve one of the most diverse communities nationally; this context brings huge opportunities to celebrate but also some areas of potential challenge that we as educators have a duty to consider in our work.
Following research, including staff and student voice sessions, our work has included;
- A focus on recruitment practices, including unconscious bias training for recruiters
- Leadership development, actively seeking to encourage diverse representation
- Diverse visual representation in materials
- A trust diversity calendar where each school commits to acknowledge and/or celebrate key campaigns and dates – such as ADHD Awareness Week and LGBT+ History Months.
- Faith celebrations, including the sharing of educational and celebratory videos with pupils, and providing food for colleagues to celebrate together.
- A bi-annual Pride festival for pupils and staff to learn, support and celebrate.
- Staff focus groups to inform action across the Trust, including around LGBT+ and Disability.
- Recruitment of staff culture ambassadors to promote a positive workplace culture, that is inclusive and works together.
The feedback we have received from both staff and students has been strong and gives us confidence we are making a difference in creating a much more inclusive community.
We have strong discussions and have a chance to change things.
Lionheart Pupil
Lionheart listens and seeks to walk in others’ shoes.
Lionheart Employee
National Award for Inclusivity
In 2023, we were honoured to receive the Multi-Academy Trust Excellence Award for Inclusivity after a panel of experienced professionals reviewed our strategic approach to equality, inclusion and diversity, saying:
“Staff and student voice are central to the trust’s approach. The judges appreciated the impact of action being taken in a range of areas, such as recruitment, career development and the curriculum, and the focus across faith, ethnicity, class and LGBTQ+.”
