The Excellence in Equity Award
A Pathway to Restoring Equity
The Excellence in Equity Award is a transformative framework designed to help schools embed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the core of their culture. This award scheme goes beyond gathering up reactive initiatives, offering a reflective, self-paced structure that empowers schools to evaluate their practices, identify growth opportunities, and implement sustainable strategies for equity and belonging.
The Excellence in Equity Award provides a holistic approach addressing all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. By integrating this framework into their practices, schools can foster a culture where everyone is valued, supported, and empowered to thrive.
The Excellence in Equity Award positions schools as leaders in systemic transformation through its phased approach, practical tools, and strategic guidance. The framework equips schools to meet equity challenges and helps them create communities where equity and belonging are foundational, inspiring a ripple effect of positive change.
"This price point is both affordable to UK schools in the current climate but also shows that it's an investment, needs to be taken seriously and is of quality."
Headteacher, Beckfoot Heaton Primary School
The Problem:
Fragmented Efforts
Schools are often spurred into action by significant moments that highlight inequities. However, these initial bursts of activity are frequently followed by a return to "business as usual," where systemic inertia and competing priorities derail progress. As a result, schools may:
React Rather Than Strategise: Address incidents without tackling systemic root causes.
Fragment Efforts: Launch disconnected initiatives that fail to yield long-term change.
Lose Momentum: Let other priorities sideline DEI work, leading to superficial engagement rather than deep cultural shifts.
This cycle prevents schools from engaging in the transformative work required to restore equity. Without a structured and strategic approach, schools risk perpetuating inequities rather than addressing them meaningfully.
“A siloed approach can lead to fragmented efforts, inconsistent messaging, and missed opportunities for genuine integration into the company culture”.
Fast Company
The Solution
The Excellence in Equity Award provides schools with a solution to break this cycle, offering a framework that:
Centres Systemic Change by embedding DEI into all aspects of school culture and operations.
Fosters Continuous Growth through aligning equity work with broader institutional goals, ensuring sustainable progress.
Engages All Stakeholders by empowering students, staff, and parents to collaborate and co-construct outcomes.
This approach shifts schools from reactive fixes to proactive and creative equity-building, ensuring enduring transformation.
Our Framework: The Excellence in Equity Award
The Excellence in Equity Award is a structured, reflective framework that helps schools assess, plan, and transform their practices. It offers:
Holistic Assessment
Comprehensive evaluation across six essential areas: Policy, Physical Environment, Digital Environment, Curriculum, Professional Learning, and Culture.
Inclusion of diverse perspectives to ensure equitable representation and action.
Detailed insights and recommendations for systemic improvement.
Ongoing Support
Monthly expert-led strategy sessions to guide implementation.
Access to a rich resource library, templates, and tools.
Participation in the Slack Community of Practice for peer learning and collaboration.
Recognition Framework
Bronze Award: Foundational integration of equity principles at the Glimmering stage.
Silver Award: Visible cultural change and deeper systemic practices at the Brightening stage.
Gold Award: Transformational leadership and sustained equity at the Luminary stage.
What’s inside
Detailed Desktop Audit:
The core of the evaluation is a comprehensive desktop audit that thoroughly examines your school’s practices across the six key focus areas: policy, physical environment, digital environment, curriculum, professional learning, and culture.
This audit booklet provides a deep dive into your school’s documentation, systems, and strategies, revealing strengths, gaps, and areas for growth.
Tailored Questionnaires:
To complement the audit, we provide custom surveys for students, parents, and staff, gathering valuable insights into the lived experiences and perceptions of your school community.
These surveys allow you to measure culture and inclusion holistically, giving a nuanced understanding of how DEI is experienced at every level of the school.
Cost Context: Comparable standalone DEI surveys can cost £2,000–£5,000, but our programme embeds this feature as part of the overall evaluation.
Positionality Framework:
Begin the process with an exploration of positionality, helping staff and leaders reflect on their own social positions, biases, and power dynamics.
This step fosters self-awareness, ensuring that everyone approaches the evaluation with an open and growth-oriented mindset
Community Resource Padlet:
Access a curated set of resources for ongoing support, including templates, tools, and guidance tailored to the six focus areas.
This padlet is designed to help schools move from insights to action with confidence and clarity.
Slack Community of Practice:
Join a vibrant community of schools and leaders who share best practices, offer peer support, and collaborate on DEI initiatives.
This network ensures that schools stay connected, motivated, and equipped with innovative ideas between formal sessions.
Monthly Zoom Calls:
Participate in expert-led group calls, providing an opportunity to review progress, share challenges, and receive personalised guidance.
These calls are designed to support strategic planning and ensure continuous improvement throughout the evaluation process.
The DEI Maturity Stages
The Excellence in Equity Award guides schools through five developmental stages:
Dusking: Laying the groundwork and building awareness.
Dawning: Developing strategies and fostering community engagement.
Glimmering: Establishing systems and policies that promote equity.
Brightening: Demonstrating systemic equity and visible change.
Luminary: Leading transformational change and inspiring broader communities.
What It Includes
The evaluation covers six essential focus areas:
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Policy: Analyse and refine policies through a DEI lens, ensuring alignment with principles of equity and justice.
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Physical Environment: Create spaces that reflect and celebrate the diversity of your community, ensuring accessibility and belonging.
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Digital Environment: Transform digital platforms into inclusive and accessible tools that amplify underrepresented voices.
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Curriculum: Embed DEI principles into teaching and learning, ensuring representation and equity across all subjects.
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Professional Learning: Provide staff and leaders with the tools and understanding to lead inclusively and effectively.
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Culture: Measure and shape the lived experiences of students, staff, and parents to ensure your school fosters an environment where everyone feels valued and included.
Award Costs
Secondary Schools: £2000 + VAT.
Primary Schools: £1500 + VAT.
Inclusions:
Comprehensive reflective framework and detailed guidance.
Monthly strategy calls with DEI consultants.
Access to resource libraries and peer networks.
Milestone recognition through the award system.
Multi-School Discounts:
3 or more schools from the same MAT or local authority: 5% discount.
10 or more schools: 10% discount.
This pricing reflects the breadth and depth of the programme, ensuring schools have the tools, guidance, and community support needed to make meaningful change.
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The Benefits of The Excellence in Equity Award
Measurable Progress: The staged evaluation pathway provides clear metrics for tracking equity advancement, allowing schools to celebrate concrete wins and maintain momentum.
Community-Wide Flourishing: By integrating perspectives and empowering students, parents, and staff as changemakers, schools cultivate environments where every member can thrive.
Embedded Practice: Ongoing resources and active community participation make equity work part of the school's daily DNA rather than an add-on initiative.
Cost-Effective Assessment: Schools receive comprehensive culture measurement tools that rival expensive standalone surveys, delivering exceptional value while driving meaningful change.