High excluding authorities appear to meet barriers when seeking to involve schools in collaborative working to promote low-exclusion. New infrastructure is in place but without the right dynamics there may be reluctance on both sides to utilise it. Some of these difficulties are a hangover from the era of competition between schools. A change process is needed to move things forward.
Transforming the education community A shift of culture is required, a transformation in community awareness, which is characterised by a collaborative rather than a competitive ethos, with more trust, co-operation, and sharing. The LA would take on a new community role as a strategic partner, rather than the predominant force. In particular this applies to the way funds are distributed and controlled.
It is important to keep reminding each other that the act of exclusion causes individual and social damage and reduces the chances that the aims of Every Child Matters are met.
Creating cohesion Where relationships between schools and the LA have been damaged in the past there may be mistrust, resentment and contention. A restorative process may be needed to enable all parties to draw a line under the past and open the way to a new beginning based upon a shared vision of community-based inclusion, with all parties committed to inclusive ideals and the collaborative model. Without the will to change little can be achieved and the structures however carefully constructed will not function effectively.
A coercive strategy will further alienate partners and even if it is partially successful for a time it will be resented. Partners will continue to be obstructive and progress will be hindered and waylaid at every opportunity.
Sharing a vision A vision cannot be shared unless it is visible. One way to do this is to create an inclusion charter to which all partners especially Heads can commit. The kind of charter envisaged describes the future we aspire to, and the goals along the way. This idea may not seem to be new, but the way it is promoted should be, within a voluntary ethos, and the values described above. For authorities that are stuck in terms of inclusion, this kind of aspirational consensus could represent a remarkable, tangible and innovative shift in presentation on the part of the local authority.
Stakeholder meetings In order to obtain the support of all partners, all must meet on a ‘level playing field’, with an agenda that addresses the need for reconciliation, builds solidarity between partners, and opens the way to agreeing the terms of such a charter, in a way that will see it implemented.
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