Inclusion

Inclusive education is about embracing all, making a commitment to do whatever it takes to provide each pupil in the community – and each citizen in a democracy – an inalienable right to belong, not to be excluded. Inclusion assumes that living and learning together is a better way that benefits everyone, not just children who are labelled as having a difference.
- Falvey, Givner and Kimm, 1995.

We believe every child contributes to their community and it is a duty of our Trust to identify and celebrate this contribution. We do this by:

• Celebrating children and young people for themselves and not in how they compare with others
• Valuing the contribution of each and every child and young person
• Questioning “What would we want for them were they our own child?”

Our guiding principles for inclusion

Dignity, not Deficit: Difference and disability are normal aspects of humanity. The education of children and young people with SEND should be characterised by dignity and high expectation, not deficit and medicalisation. Every child and young person contributes to the community and is celebrated.

Greater complexity merits great teachers and greater expertise: All children and younf people deserve a high-quality education and where extra support is needed, it should be expert in nature.

Different, but not apart: Encountering difference builds an inclusive society. Children and young people with different learning needs should grow up together with the same shared experiences.

Success in all its forms: Success can look different. We value and celebrate a wide range of achievements and experiences, including different ways of participating in society.

Action at all levels: All leaders are leaders of SEND, every teacher is a teacher of SEND and all staff have a responsibility to ensure the successful learning of each and every child and young person. This is a principle that is valued and recognised by all stakeholders.

How we live our principles

• Adaptive teaching – SEND is everyone’s responsibility!
• An inclusive curriculum designed to be accessible and challenging for all
• Embedded thread of the ‘Five a Day’ evidence-based approach
• Inclusive practice is a thread embedded across our schools as ‘ordinarily available provision’ creating a universal offer for all
• The active modelling of Resource Base core approaches across our schools
• Prioritising of and active listening to pupil voice
• Agency engagement and the adoption of an outward facing approach
• Parent / carer engagement

Expert support for learners with high needs

• Secondary and primary Resource Bases on four of our school sites
• Access to specialist and therapeutic support
• Delivery of bespoke, enhanced and personalised provisions
• Personalised plans for high needs children and young people
• Harbour Early Intervention SEMH

Workforce development

• Cross-Trust SENDCo and inclusion networks
• High quality training and upskilling of all staff in approaches to support SEND learners along with the opportunities to learn, observe and share practices
• Identified specialist SEND governance
• Solution Circle approach
• Local delivery of NPQ for SENCOs

Our Trust Inclusion Team

Quality assurance

• Annual collaborative inclusion reviews
• SEND enquiry thread through Curriculum Reviews and Education Reviews
• Annual Complex Needs Resource Base reviews