Galley Hill Primary School is an average size Primary School, teaching Nursery to Year 6, based in Guisborough in the North East of England. Our EAL, FSM and EHC are well below average, with the school stability being well above average. We have a PAN of 39 with the school growing year on year. The school is 96% White-British in demographics. We have a strong, supportive community wanting the best possible outcomes for the children at Galley Hill. 

GEC Platform Context

“CHILDREN IN SCHOOL HAVE SHOWN A TRUE MATURITY, WELL BEYOND THEIR AGE, WANTING TO WRITE TO MPS, MAKE A CHANGE AND FEEL PASSIONATELY ABOUT ENSURING THAT, AS A SCHOOL, WE DO ALL WE CAN TO ENSURE DEI IS FOCUSSED ON AND HAS A PRIORITY IN SCHOOL.”

The school was keen to become GEC Members in order to ensure we develop the school community, to develop equitable access to education and support tolerance for all.

We were keen to become members as the GEC values align wonderfully with ours.

We are wanting to actively engage in learning for ourselves, the children in school, as well as the wider school community, that instil respect for diversity and the importance of intolerance to anything other than respect for all.

We want to ensure that it goes beyond training ‘tick lists’ and new policies that get placed on a shared drive. We are keen to create a diverse and inclusive working environment where everyone celebrates and respects one another, ensuring we all reach our full potential without barriers.

At Galley Hill we want to ensure that children, staff and the wider community feel safe, respected and connected, GEC promises to do that and more, allowing everyone to thrive and deepen their inclusion and belonging. We were keen to work with GEC to further reflect on inclusion and how it creates a sense of psychological safety, key to our school values, particularly in relation to the trauma of the past few years. We were keen to build a diverse, inclusive environment for all, as increased empathy translates to increased unity and strength as a school community.

“RESULTS ILLUSTRATED THAT, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE JUST STARTED OUR JOURNEY, THAT STAFF, CHILDREN AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY ARE FULLY ENGAGED WITH THE GEC PLATFORM. THEY ARE KEEN TO FIND OUT MORE, TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE MAKE EVERYONE FEEL WELCOME, TO WORK TOGETHER AND TO REMOVE ANY BARRIERS.”

HEADTEACHER, MR ANTONY MCGEENEY

GEC+ 

The school also wanted to focus on neurodiversity across the whole school. Therefore the GEC’s mission was to make the topic relevant to early years to KS2 and provide both a whole school assembly and staff training session. Easy!

The GEC+ offer was all virtual and easy to use classroom videos and resources were used by staff from EY to Year 6. The whole school assembly (image) was very interactive with students showing us their ‘brain’ images, including a neurodivergent, dyslexic student who had shared their neurodiversity with their Year 2 classmates too! 

The staff CPD session was spilt into a Q&A session for all staff, training on neurodivergent staff plus a tour of the GEC Library with founder, Nic Ponsford. The day was created with GEC Advisory Board member, Catrina Lowri, Director of Neuroteachers.

QUOTES BY STAFF

“DEI is important, because we are all important. GEC has given us the tools and reflection to develop this further.”

“It is important to support the development of children into open minded, thoughtful individuals who treat everyone with respect. Also, that children grow up knowing that they are free to choose how they live their lives and that everyone is valued by society.”

“Children should be educated about all aspects of the world around them. We want to help them have an understanding and respect for people from all walks of life, why some people are different to others and the importance of those differences. Children learning about diversity, equality, and inclusion now will have a greater understanding of how to become a citizen of the world. It also allows children within a minority to feel represented and included. For them to be a valuable member of each community they are part of; from school, local, workplace and global, children should be learning about diversity from as early an age as is accessible to them. The GEC has really helped us build our knowledge and skills to help support the children and develop our understanding of DEI. The materials on the Platform are brilliant!”