The assistant head of Bede’s School has won a Boarding Schools’ Association Supporting Excellence Award for outstanding leadership in inclusion and diversity.
The school reports that the triumph is fully deserved by Alex Lowe, who since her appointment to the position of assistant head: pupil welfare in 2020, has become a national thought leader.
Alex has presented to the HMC Diversity and Inclusivity sub-committee about Bede’s equality, diversity and inclusion work, with particular attention being paid to the notion of “Belonging”.
Alex has also been instrumental in embedding the Steer AS Tracking system within Bede’s, working with children from Year 6 up to Year 13, developing systems to ensure every child belongs regardless of their challenges.
Coming out of the last lockdown in 2021, Alex used this quantitative data to identify trends in the wellbeing of pupils across the different stages of adolescence and the impact of Covid within that context.
Bede’s headmaster, Peter Goodyer, said: “Alex has set about her brief with a passion and determination that is truly inspiring. The range of initiatives which Alex has led in a relatively short period of time is impressive; as well as establishing the Inclusion Hub, she has led training to raise awareness of micro-aggressions and unconscious bias in the classroom, student-led Ted Talks and developed a more pupil-led approach to our work.”
The judges for the BSA said, “Alex has shown exemplary leadership of EDI work at Bede’s School. Her passion, determination and compassionate approach have been instrumental in embedding a range of impactful initiatives.”
Alex said of her win: “I am exceptionally proud to receive this prestigious award and to work alongside such passionate, forward-thinking colleagues and pupils.
“I have introduced many different initiatives, but it is the contribution and commitment that we have all made to ensure that our reflective practice celebrates diversity and inclusion.
“The values of kindness, respect and understanding of others’ perspective is championed at Bede’s and this has fostered a culture where every individual, regardless of their individual characteristics, feels that they belong.”
