Social exclusion happens when people or places suffer from a series of problems such as unemployment, discrimination, poor skills, poor housing, high crime, ill-health and family breakdown. When such problems combine, they can create a cycle of problems. It is therefore important we recognise that social exclusion is not the same as poverty, but encompasses some of the wider causes and consequences of deprivation.
Social inclusion is about reducing inequalities between the least advantaged groups and communities and the rest of society by closing the opportunity gap and ensuring that support reaches those who need it most. Social inclusion is the process by which efforts are made to ensure that everyone, regardless of their experiences and circumstances, can achieve their potential in life.
Consideration of the needs and preferences of North East Lincolnshire's diverse communities is at the heart of Children's Services planning. The Disability Discrimination Act (2005) and Equality Act (2006) together with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 place a duty on all public authorities to promote disability equality, gender equality and race equality respectively. This duty is extended to all our partnerships (including the Children's Trust Partnership and the agencies that form it) that we as a public authority are involved with. Therefore, all the targets and priorities identified in this plan will seek to demonstrate positive outcomes for our diverse communities and evidence that due regard has been taken of the duties and are reflected in our Race Equality and Disability Equality Schemes.
Our Race Equality Scheme aims to ensure that all Black and Minority Ethnic children and young people are able to access local services that meet both their individual and cultural needs. This will enable them to achieve, feel confident, included and recognised as making a positive contribution. It is equally important that children, young people and their families feel confident that agencies are able to demonstrate clear actions to tackle racism and promote equal opportunity.
For the purpose of this plan Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) children and young people are those who are likely to experience disadvantage and/or discrimination at some stages of their lives on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, language or culture, resulting in an adverse impact on their life chances.
Our vision for our Disability Equality Scheme is that all children and young people with additional needs will receive services that promote high expectations and standards by supporting settings to set high targets to remove physical, environmental, cultural and attitudinal barriers that prevent full inclusion.
A child or young person with Special Educational Needs (SEN) or a disability is defined as a child or young person who has long term and substantial difficulties such that they need to receive significantly more support than those without a disability of the same age and circumstances.
Promoting equal opportunities is everyone's responsibility, from children in the playground to parents and carers, children's professionals, politicians and executives. This plan seeks to ensure that all children are safe and free from bullying, harassment and discrimination and recognises that we all have a role to play in preventing it. We will focus on children and young people that are at risk of exclusion and ensure that, wherever possible, we support their needs and those of their parents, carers and families.
We recognise that inequality and disadvantage can also be a result of where children and young people live. We believe that children and young people should have a fair and equal chance to have a healthy, happy and successful life.
The Children's Trust Partnership Board, as a part of the Local Strategic Partnership, is committed to gaining more detailed knowledge of our local communities and will work in partnership via a locality approach to address the issues faced by those in greatest need.
We will support and promote:
- the development of schools in making them responsive to the needs of all their children and young people;
- equality of opportunity for all children and young people through shared experiences, social interactions and the demonstration of respect for each other's needs, differences, beliefs and values;
- the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) within mainstream schools wherever appropriate, recognising the paramount importance of meeting individual needs;
- the commitment, confidence and skills that services display in successfully meeting the individual needs of all children and young people;
- provision which is matched appropriately to the needs of the child and young person through accurate identification and assessment arrangements and processes applying clear review criteria and effective professional advice;
- the inclusive principles of the National Curriculum in setting suitable learning challenges, responding to pupils' diverse learning needs and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils;
- continuing professional development for teachers, teaching assistants and other relevant staff in ensuring that all have the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to address SEN needs so helping to raise the standards of achievement of all children and young people;
- the development of the role of specialist provision (special schools, units, Special Educational Needs Support Service) in meeting the continuing SEN needs of some children and young people through an appropriate continuum of provision;
- further developing the range of specialist provision to support children with disabilities including complex health needs, to achieve their potential in all aspects of their lives;
- the availability of information on the processes for parents, carers and young people when dealing with discrimination;
- parent partnerships so that parents, carers and the young people themselves will feel listened to, valued and fully involved.