Inclusion

 

What is it?

Scottish Government policy and guidance promote education in a mainstream setting and the development of inclusive learning approaches.

“All Scotland’s children and young people are entitled to support to enable them to gain as much as possible from the opportunities that Curriculum for Excellence provides…  The diversity of learners challenges policymakers, teachers and others to provide education that is able to flexibly respond to that diversity.  We need to respond in such a way that barriers to participation, learning and achievement are removed, inclusion and equality are promoted and a high quality education for all is developed and sustained.”                       

(Support for All, Education Scotland, 2021)

“Inclusion means taking positive action and intervening in order to enable achievement for all by building and fulfilling the potential of every child, young person and adult.”

(How good is our school 4, Education Scotland, 2015, p. 59)

“All staff have a responsibility to take a child-centred approach which promotes and supports wellbeing, inclusion, equality and fairness.  This entitlement to universal support for all children and young people is rooted in the environment in which they learn – along with its related ethos and relationships.”

(Supporting Learners, Education Scotland)

 

 

Linked Areas of Practice

Additional Needs

Children’s Rights

Child’s Voice

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Family Partnerships

Gender Equality

Health and Wellbeing

Nurture

Personal Plans

Self-Regulation

Sensory Processing

Transitions

 

Tools

Reflecting on Practice

SBC Guidance to support

National Guidance to support

Further Reading to support

Training to support

 

4 Key pillars within approaches must be understood and promoted to encourage this.

(Guidance on the presumption to provide education in a mainstream setting, Scottish Government, 2019, p. 6)

Present:  Children have a right to be part of their mainstream setting, be included, and attend in a space that encourages their health and wellbeing.  The child’s needs must be observed, planned for, and facilitated to support this.  Families and their expertise of their children must be valued and effectively worked with to support attendance and engagement in a meaningful way.

Participating:  Children should be full participants in learning experiences with peers and wider opportunities throughout the setting and beyond.  ‘Reasonable adjustments’ must be employed to support, encourage and ensure this.  The child’s voice across all experiences should be heard, valued, responded to, and visible.

(Third Space and CIRCLE have created a helpful tool that can be used to review participation).

Achieving:  Children have the right to conditions that allow them to become “the best they can be.”   Achievement across learning and personal contexts should be encouraged and celebrated.  Approaches to assessment should encompass a variety of methods to ensure differences are valued and make visible individual achievement.

Supported:  Approaches across learning, teaching and assessment should be responsive to children’s individual needs.  Support should be appropriate, proportionate and timely.  A shared approach to support should be encouraged at all stages.

Additional information can be found here: