Education is full of words that we know are important to improving the life chances and outcomes of young people, but that can be hard to pin down in practice: things like aspiration, belonging, celebration. There is no one correct way to do any of this, and so the purpose of each book in this series is help school leaders reflect and create tangible plans for action in their own context, by sharing both research and practical case studies from across the UK.

The books will highlight and celebrate the many ways that the themes can be explored. In this book, we will get to the heart of belonging in schools and colleges: readers will explore why it matters, what the research says, what colleagues in different settings have tried, and will be given space to consider what actions they may want to take to strengthen the sense of belonging in their setting.