02/05/2008
Diversity celebrated
The talent of youngsters of all abilities in Liverpool will be celebrated at a red carpet ceremony next week.
The 2008 Liverpool Inclusion Awards, sponsored by 20/20 Liverpool, are being held on Wednesday 7th May in front of an audience of around 250 pupils, parents, staff and education professionals.
The annual event recognises the achievements of schools and services who have received national, regional and local awards including Dyslexia Friendly Schools Quality Mark and Inclusion Charter Mark.
It will include a performance by children from Windsor Primary School, who will stage their interpretation of a West African scarf dance. Pupils from Blackmoor Park Junior School will perform a traditional Maori Haka dance.
Carl Green, a pupil at Clifford Holroyd Special Educational Needs College, will read a moving poem which won him top prize in the 2007 Poetry of Place competition run by Royal Liver Assurance, which he performed on BBC Radio Four.
Liverpool City Council's executive director of children's services, Stuart Smith, said: "This event showcases the absolutely amazing work which is going on to successfully include children with special educational needs in our mainstream schools.
"Schools across the city have embraced the inclusion agenda and are working incredibly hard to improve standards for youngsters of all ages and abilities.
"These awards demonstrate that an improvement in quality is taking place, and it is great to see that so many schools are meeting the challenge successfully.
"It is not easy to achieve the standards set by the schools recognised through these awards and demonstrates excellent leadership and the high quality of staff."
There will also be singing from Notre Dame Catholic College Chamber Choir, and a presentation from pupils at St Paschal Baylon Primary who will talk about the work of the anti-bullying champions focus group.
A special award will also be presented in honour of Chris Gaffney, the former head of the Special Education Needs Support Service, who died last year after 30 years working at the city council.
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