'Creating inclusive schools' - a guide

The reduction of bullying to a minimum and a classroom discipline based on mutual respect are among more than 40 general signs of an inclusive school, according to a new set of guidelines.

The National Curriculum Council has just published a document called 'Creating Inclusive Schools - Guidelines for the Implementation of the National Curriculum Policy on Inclusive Education'. The guidelines were drawn up by the Focus Group for Inclusive Education.

The publication says that inclusion is a commitment of the National Minimum Curriculum that concerns the education of all students. The same issues that concern students with "individual educational needs" are now seen as of concern to all students and the education system as a whole. According to the NMC, inclusive education is a concept that recognises the full range of educational interests, potential and needs of students.

The focus group presented a three-year plan aimed in part at facilitating school restructuring for diversity through the development of inclusive cultures, policies and practices. The publication of the booklet addresses this aim.

It contains a set of indicators that schools could use in their development planning by first carrying out a self-evaluation of their current progress towards inclusive schooling, and then planning, implementing and monitoring the improvements.

The overall aims are to create a welcoming school for all, whatever the students' characteristics and needs; and to ensure adequate support for students with individual educational needs, which could range from impairment to giftedness.

Each indicator is accompanied by a set of more specific indicators to help the school guage how far it has gone towards implemening inclusive cultures, policies, and practices.

For example, in making everyone feel welcome, the expectations for a school range from providing a friendly and warm first contact to giving a students a feeling of ownership of their classroom and school.

Under the indicator 'Students should help each other' are listed the creation of a student council which represents different perspectives and needs, the encouragement of supportive friendships, and that students should share rather than compete for friends.

Among many other indicators, schools should also have high expectations for all students, value students equally, admit students irrespective of attainment or impairment, make the buildings physically accessible to all people, reduce pressures for disciplinary exclusion, develop an understanding of difference in lessons, minimise bullying and base classroom discipline on mutual respect.

Having drawn up the booklet through broad consultation, the focus group will now help about 15 schools more intensively to move towards more inclusive education.