Inclusion
At The Cornerstone Academy Trust, inclusion is central to everything we do. We believe that every child should be able to participate fully in school life, achieve strongly and develop a deep sense of belonging.
Our approach to inclusion is built on High Quality Inclusive Teaching, early identification of need, strong relationships, meaningful partnership with families and a commitment to removing barriers to learning and participation.
Our work encompasses Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), disadvantage, attendance, wellbeing, family partnership and wider vulnerability, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to access an ambitious education and thrive within their school community.
Our Trust Inclusion Policy
Our Trust Inclusion Policy provides the overarching framework for inclusion across all seven Cornerstone schools. It brings together our work on SEND, disadvantage, attendance, family partnership, wellbeing and wider vulnerability within one coherent approach.
Inclusion is embedded within school improvement rather than treated as a separate workstream. Our approach provides a clear framework for identifying and responding to barriers to learning and participation, while maintaining high expectations for every child.
Alongside the Trust Inclusion Policy, each school publishes an Inclusion Strategy. These strategies are aligned to the TCAT Inclusion Framework and demonstrate how school leaders will implement, monitor and evaluate the Trust’s approach within their own setting.
Together, they provide a clear line of sight from our Trust vision and policy through to day-to-day practice in classrooms and across school life.
We are unapologetically ambitious for every child. We do not allow disadvantage, SEND, attendance challenges or other barriers to lower expectations. Instead, we respond through strong teaching, early support, effective systems and a commitment to ensuring that every child can thrive.
The TCAT Inclusion Framework
The TCAT Inclusion Framework brings together the key elements of our work to ensure every child can access, participate in and succeed in the full life of their school.
At its heart is High Quality Inclusive Teaching, supported by five interconnected domains:
- Early Years and Strong Starts
- Targeted and Responsive Support
- Attendance, Engagement, Culture and Belonging
- Family Partnership
- Digital Technology as an Inclusion Lever
Together, these areas provide a coherent approach to removing barriers, strengthening opportunity and ensuring that all children feel a deep sense of belonging within their schools and the wider Trust community.
Our schools
Each of our seven schools develops its own Inclusion Strategy in line with the TCAT Inclusion Framework. This allows our shared Trust approach to be implemented in ways that reflect the individual context and needs of each school community.
Explore inclusion at our schools:
