About this website

This website aims to support professionals within Education in closing the achievement gap. It started as a vehicle for the three Achievement groups that existed in Birmingham and were convened by the Local Authority. There were three achievement groups - the African-Caribbean, Asian Heritage and White Achievement group. They consisted of community members, Headteachers and advisers and met regularly to find out what was being done by schools to meet the needs of underachieving groups and to suggest what else could be done. Each meeting was held at a different school and the Headteacher gave a presentation on how their school was closing the achievement gap. In turn, this presentation became a case study which was placed on this site.

Things have moved on now. All our work is directed at targeting underachievement and raising standards. The achievement groups have been amalgamated into a single achievement group. This group meets once a year to review data and the progress made in our schools around closing the achievement gap. on 30th March 2010, a Narrowing the Gap Conference was held at the Botanical Gardens, where schools could share leading practice.

On this website, you will find information about national and local initiatives on closing the achievement gap and many resources on the culturally inclusive curriculum and Black History Month.

Our Philosophy and Values

We believe that:

• all young people regardless of ethnicity, gender,ability,disability, socio-economic background are entitled to equal opportunities and to achieve the best qualifications they can at school;
• cultural diversity throughout the curriculum is an entitlement for all pupils and is an important factor in raising the self-esteem and achievement of all underachieving groups.
•  cultural diversity through the curriculum should be integrated naturally into the curriculum throughout the year;
• a culturally diverse curriculum is as important in nearly all white schools as in schools with a large population of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds;
• Black History Month should be a celebration of the culturally diverse curricula offered by all schools throughout the year.

To read more about our philosophy and values, please click on the following link: Black History Rationale