Martyn Snow, The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of Leicester
In my patch in Leicestershire, we have a particular issue with Education, Health and Care Plans. In January of this year, Ofsted followed up on a 2020 inspection which had found ‘systemic weaknesses’ in the EHCPs provided by the county council and health services. As well as long delays in having them issued, Ofsted found many EHCPs contained inaccurate and out-of-date information which could have a significant impact on the welfare and learning of those children. The word I have heard many parents and carers use when they describe navigating the system is ‘fight’. It is hard enough, it seems to feel like your child’s needs are properly seen, understood and ultimately met; having their strengths and inherent dignity equally recognised may seem too much to ask.
As leaders, however, we can show that it isn’t. I was struck when reading the powerful white paper from the CST and Ambition Institute, A Good Life, by the commonalities with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reimagining Care Commission. Both have the goal of enabling human flourishing for all, based on the principle that everyone has intrinsic worth and dignity, regardless of their abilities or achievements. As the Reimagining Care Commission put it, "we are valued not for what we produce, but for who we are. This is why we can say to everyone, whoever they are and whatever their circumstances, ‘it’s good that you exist – and I’m glad you’re here’.”
Both reports seem to me to be responses to how a scarcity of resources have created othering and even dehumanising environments. But thankfully they point to ways in which we can create more caring, inclusive environments even in tightened financial circumstances. That is not to say resources and funding do not matter – of course assessments, additional teaching time, and equipment all cost money. But it is to say that human creativity, empathy and compassion can make a difference against any economic backdrop. As A Good Life highlights, the language and framing we use; the ways we define and celebrate success; and the ways we treat people throughout the process of seeking additional support can help people feel respected and affirmed – and such attitudes can, and should, be shifted regardless of whether budgets are increased.
To avoid my words sounding empty, let me briefly describe how we are working towards something similar in the Diocese of Leicester. Two of our strategic objectives as a Diocese are to develop intercultural and reconciling communities – that means spaces where people of all cultural backgrounds feel like they fully belong and are able to actively contribute and participate in the life of the church; and communities where people can learn to live well together amidst difference and disagreement. Like the education sector, we don’t have more resource to draw on to realise such an ambitious vision. But it starts with how we speak, and how well we listen. For example, our policy is to refer to people of Global Majority Heritage (GMH) rather than BAME to avoid minoritising people of colour. The Church of England has also encouraged churches to change rubrics which can discriminate against people with disabilities – inviting people to stand if they are able, for instance, rather than telling them to do so. I and leaders across the Church of England are keenly aware of how we have been shaped and led by people of drawn from a narrow section of society, with harmful consequences for many. We are now firmly seeking to listen, more, and more widely, than we pronounce.
The deficit model which Ben Newmark and Tom Rees describe perhaps makes listening well scary – what if the more we listen, the more needs we uncover, and the more our system will be ‘overwhelmed’? But, and this is the exciting possibility which I think the authors point to: what if the better we listen, the less combative relationships between parents and service providers become? And what if the more we listen, the more gifts we uncover – the dignity behind, and so much richer than, the diagnosis?
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