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The FLOW Belonging Audit

The gateway to the destination.

Whether your school is beginning to ask questions about belonging, or is already doing active work on race, disability, gender identity or neurodivergence, this audit will show you honestly where you are and what the next step looks like.

This audit takes approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. It is designed to be done thoughtfully, not quickly, because belonging deserves that. You may find it valuable to complete it with your SLT or governing body as a structured reflective conversation.

It's natural to worry about causing offence when answering questions like these, but that worry can get in the way of the honesty this audit needs. The only way to know where to focus your energy for the most impact is to be truthful about where you actually stand, not where you'd like to be. Please answer as honestly as you can throughout.

Your name

Your role

Your school or trust

Your email address

Theme 1: Leadership and Governance.

Q1. Look at your senior leadership team. How many members bring a lived experience of being from a marginalised group, whether visible or not?

None

One

More than one

I don't know

Q2. When your governing body last recruited a new governor, how explicitly did diversity of experience and identity feature in what you were looking for?

It wasn't discussed

It was mentioned but not prioritised

It was an active consideration

It was central to the process

Q3. In the last twelve months, has a member of your leadership team or governing body openly shared a personal experience of marginalisation in a professional context?

Never

Once

More than once

It happens regularly and naturally

Q4. When did you last audit your recruitment and application process for features that might inadvertently disadvantage candidates from marginalised groups — for example, form design that doesn't account for different systems of education or career histories outside the UK?

We haven't

We have discussed it but not acted

We've made some adjustments

We review this annually and can evidence the changes we have made

Q5. Who in your school has explicit responsibility for belonging, and at what level of seniority does that sit?

Nobody

A classroom teacher

A middle leader

A member of SLT or above

Theme 2: Language and Culture

Q6. When a pupil uses language that diminishes another person's identity, like for example 'that's gay' or 'girl's toys', what typically happens?

it goes unaddressed

It is sometimes addressed depending on who is present

It is consistently addressed by any adult present

Any adult or pupil within earshot would address it calmly and confidently

Q7. When an Islamophobic comment, a homophobic slur, or any comment that demeans someone's identity occurs in your school, how would you honestly describe the typical staff response?

Uncertain and flustered, driven by the adult's discomfort

Well intentioned but emotionally led, focusing on the perpetrator

Calm and consistent but still developing in confidence

Skilled, proportionate and focused on learning and reflection rather than shame

Q8. When a discriminatory incident occurs, how well does your school support the person on the receiving end, whether that is a pupil or a member of staff?

We focus primarily on addressing the perpetrator

We acknowledge the person affected but don't have a clear approach to supporting them

C. We recognise the person on the receiving end needs support beyond the immediate incident and try to create space for them to process what happened, though our approach isn't yet consistent

The psychological safety of the person on the receiving end is central to how we respond, regardless of their role in the school

Q9. How equipped are your staff to have restorative conversations following a discriminatory incident, with the perpetrator, the victim and the wider group?

Not equipped

Aware of the concept but lacking confidence

Developing skill and confidence

Consistently skilled and confident across the staff team

Theme 3: Policy into Practice

Q10. When did your school last review its belonging, inclusion or equality policies, and who was involved in that review?

We have not reviewed them in the last twelve months

We reviewed them in the last twelve months but only internally within SLT

We reviewed them in the last twelve months with a wider staff group

We reviewed them in the last twelve months with a genuinely diverse group including pupils, parents and community voices

Q11. How does your school gather pupil views on whether they feel they belong?

We don't formally gather this

We do occasional surveys but they aren't analysed in depth

We gather views regularly through a range of methods

Pupil voice on belonging is ongoing, analysed carefully and fed back to pupils

Q12. When pupils have told you something isn't working for their sense of belonging, what has changed as a result?

We haven't gathered this information

We have gathered it but it hasn't driven change

It has driven some changes

We can point to specific evidenced changes that came directly from pupil voice

Q13. Your school has a statutory Equality Policy with specific improvement targets. Pick one target. What evidenced change in practice can you point to that it has driven in the last twelve months?

We have the policy but I couldn't point to specific evidenced change

We have discussed it but tangible change is limited

We can point to some specific changes it has driven

We can clearly evidence specific measurable changes and review progress against them regularly

Q14. When a new member of staff joins your school, what do they learn about belonging, and how do they learn it?

It isn't explicitly part of induction

It is mentioned but not developed

It has dedicated time and is modelled by colleagues

It is lived from day one — new staff experience the belonging culture rather than just being told about it

Q15. When your school is under significant external pressure, say from an inspection, a budget crisis or a staffing emergency, what happens to your belonging work?

It pauses or is deprioritised until the pressure passes

The language remains but the active work stalls

We maintain most of our belonging practice but some things slip

Our belonging culture is so embedded that pressure doesn't diminish it — if anything it becomes more important

By belonging work we mean the active cultural work around identity, representation, inclusion and voice, not general staff or pupil wellbeing measures.

Theme 4: Response to Incidents

Q16. When an Islamophobic comment, a homophobic slur, or a comment that potentially demeans someone's identity occurs in your school, how would you honestly describe the typical staff response?

Uncertain and flustered, driven by the adult's discomfort

Well intentioned but emotionally led, focusing on the perpetrator

Calm and consistent but still developing in confidence

Skilled, proportionate and focused on learning and reflection rather than shame

Q17. When a discriminatory incident occurs, how well does your school support the person on the receiving end, whether that is a pupil or a member of staff?

We focus primarily on addressing the perpetrator

We acknowledge the person affected but don't have a clear approach

We have a developing approach to supporting the victim

Supporting the psychological safety of the person on the receiving end is central to how we respond, regardless of their role in the school

Q18. After a significant incident, what happens next in terms of learning for the whole school community?

The incident is dealt with and closed — we don't look beyond the immediate situation

We reflect internally as a leadership team but don't extend that learning more widely

There is some structured follow up with those directly involved

Incidents are used as genuine learning opportunities for the wider community without compromising anyone's dignity

Q19. Following a discriminatory incident, how equipped are your staff to have restorative conversations with the perpetrator, the victim and the wider group?

Not equipped

Aware of the concept but lacking confidence

Developing skill and confidence

Consistently skilled and confident across the staff team

Q20. A member of staff makes a comment in the staffroom that trades on a stereotype about gender, race, disability or any other aspect of identity. What typically happens in your school?

People laugh awkwardly and it passes without challenge

Someone might pull them aside privately afterwards but nothing is said in the moment

It is usually challenged in the moment, though not always confidently

It is challenged calmly and directly in the moment as a matter of course — this is simply how your staff team operates

Q21. When a discriminatory comment is made in your school and no member of the targeted group appears to be present, how is it treated?

It is more likely to go unchallenged

It is sometimes challenged depending on who is present

It is usually challenged

It is always challenged. Our staff understand that harm doesn't require a witness from the targeted group to be real

Theme 5: Pupil and Staff Voice

Q22. How does your school actively seek the views of pupils from marginalised groups on their experience of belonging, not just pupils generally?

We don't differentiate. We gather views from pupils broadly

We are aware we should but don't have a specific approach

We have some mechanisms for hearing from specific groups

We actively and regularly create safe spaces for pupils from marginalised groups to share their experience honestly

Q23. When a pupil or member of staff raises a concern about belonging, identity or discrimination, what evidence do you have that they feel it will be taken seriously?

We have no specific evidence of this

We believe concerns are taken seriously but have no formal way of knowing

We gather some feedback on this but it isn't systematic

We can point to specific evidence that concerns are heard, acted on and followed up. And people know that

Q24. Who is on your school council or pupil leadership body, and how intentional have you been about ensuring marginalised voices are represented there?

We haven't considered this

We are aware of the gap but haven't acted

We are actively working on this

Our pupil leadership deliberately and evidently reflects the diversity of experience in our community

Q25. How does your staff voice mechanism work for staff from marginalised groups. Are there specific spaces where they can raise concerns about their experience safely?

There are no specific mechanisms

Staff can raise concerns through general channels

We are developing specific spaces and mechanisms

We have established, trusted spaces where staff from marginalised groups can speak honestly without fear

Q26. When belonging concerns are raised by pupils or staff, how is the outcome communicated back to them?

It isn't. We don't have a consistent process for feeding back on concerns raised

We feed back consistently on concerns and incidents but belonging isn't named or identified as a distinct factor in our response

We feed back consistently and belonging is identified as a factor, but how explicitly it is named depends on who raised the concern and who received it

We always close the loop specifically and transparently. Belonging is named, the response is evidenced, and people know their voice made a difference

Theme 6: Community and Context

Q27. How aware is your school of the physical community context your pupils are travelling through on their way to school? And when that context is hostile to belonging, how does your school respond?

We haven't considered the community context and have no specific response to it

We are aware of the community context but don't feel it is within our power to address it

We are aware of the community context and address it reactively when it directly affects pupils

We actively factor the community context into our belonging work and respond proactively and openly, supporting pupils to understand and navigate it without fear

Q28. When hostility toward the belonging of certain groups enters your school — whether through the community context pupils are travelling through, overt symbolism, or views expressed by parents — how does your school respond?

We don't address it. What happens outside school is outside our power

We acknowledge it privately but don't address it openly

We address it reactively when it directly affects pupils

We address it proactively and without compromising our belonging values. Our position is clear even when it is uncomfortable

Q29. How does your school engage with parents and the wider community to promote and celebrate belonging? Not just informing them of your approach but genuinely inviting their voice into it?

We don't engage parents specifically on belonging

We communicate our approach but don't seek their input

We have some mechanisms for parent voice on belonging

We actively and regularly engage a diverse range of parents and community voices in shaping our belonging work

Q30. How aware are your staff of the online communities and spaces your pupils are navigating? And the belonging messages those spaces may be communicating?

Not aware. This isn't something we have considered

Aware in general terms but do not know how it can inform our practice

We have some awareness that shapes some of our approach

We actively seek to understand the digital landscape our pupils inhabit and factor it into our belonging work

Q31. When pupils are being exposed to content or communities online that undermines your school's commitment to belonging, how equipped are your staff to recognise and respond to it?

Not equipped. This falls outside what we feel we can address

We are aware it happens but don't have a clear response

We are developing our approach and confidence

Our staff are confident in recognising the signs and having honest, supportive conversations with pupils about what they are encountering online

Q32. Does your school recognise that for some pupils, particularly those from LGBTQIA+ communities or other marginalised groups, online spaces may be where they find the belonging your school or community hasn't yet provided?

We haven't considered this

We are aware of it but it doesn't shape our approach

We acknowledge it and try to factor it into how we support those pupils

We actively consider this. Understanding that belonging found online may be filling a gap we need to honestly examine

Theme 7: Curriculum Representation

Q33. Across your curriculum, whose histories, contributions and knowledge are treated as the default; and whose are introduced only in the context of struggle or oppression, or reserved for a specific month or cultural calendar event?

We haven't examined this

We are aware of the issue but it hasn't changed our curriculum planning

We are actively reviewing some subject areas and moving away from calendar-led representation

Diverse contributions are woven consistently throughout our curriculum across the whole year. Representation isn't an event, it's the norm

Q34. Representation and belonging in the curriculum is often strongest in English and History. How far beyond those subjects has your school taken this work?

It hasn't gone beyond English and History

We are beginning to have conversations in other departments

Some other subject areas are actively engaged

Every department has examined its curriculum through a belonging lens and can evidence the changes it has made

Q35.When your school uses images, displays and visual materials to support learning, in classrooms, corridors and communal spaces. Whose faces appear, and in what context?

We haven't audited this

We have some diverse representation but it is concentrated in specific areas or contexts

We are actively reviewing and diversifying our visual environment

Our visual environment consistently and deliberately reflects diverse humanity across all subjects and spaces, not just in equality focused displays

Q36. How does your curriculum equip all pupils, not just those from marginalised groups, to understand, navigate and challenge the inequalities and belonging failures they will encounter in the world?

It doesn't explicitly

It touches on this in specific subjects or units

It is developing as a thread across the curriculum

It is a genuine and consistent thread across the curriculum. We are preparing all our pupils to be active contributors to a more belonging world

Q37. Does your curriculum help all pupils, including those with privilege, to understand what privilege is, how it operates, and how it can be actively used in service of belonging for others?

This isn't something we address

We touch on it but avoid naming it explicitly

We are developing our confidence and approach in this area

We address privilege honestly and constructively across our curriculum. Helping pupils understand not just what it is, but how to use it as active and informed allies

Thank you for completing the FLOW Belonging Audit. Your responses will be reviewed personally by Maureen Brettell of Good Gift Coaching and Education Services. You will receive a personal response with your FLOW stage and Maureen's observations within 5 working days. If you have any questions in the meantime please contact info@goodgiftcoachingandeducation.com