How can I make my classroom more inclusive?

Inclusive Education for All #14

28 April 2022 by Chris Barnes, Inclusive Education Officer, Down Syndrome International

Here are some bits & bobs I picked up during my 12+ years of classroom teaching, mixed in with some tips I’ve gleaned from the last 6 months of interviewing education professionals, children, & parents…

There is an unfortunate juxtaposition when it comes to effective/successful teaching and effective/successful inclusion of all students. In most countries, but particularly in the UK, a teacher is primarily judged on the data she/he collects and presents for each child, detailing the points progress they have made over a given period, and the level or grade they are working at since the last appraisal.

This is, of course, essential given the priorities of the Departments of Education, and a necessary evil in this day & age.

However, this does not always/ever lead to a focus on ‘inclusion’, mental health, or wellbeing of children (or staff). A meritocracy, in fact, only results in exclusion (on grounds of behaviour, academic ability or disability), lack of trust in teachers, decrease in creativity and experimentation for fear of falling grades, and general decline in the rounding of the child, and teacher, as a whole.

That said, there are countless teachers willing to work themselves into the ground to ensure all children are effectively included and make good academic progress.

Here are some (hopefully) useful tips:

• Get to know your students. 
  Newsflash! Most children aren’t interested in our lessons, and parents are less interested in grades than we think! Try to form a connection/rapport with your class/classes so you can talk to them about their interests, as well as the curriculum (yawn).
• Be bold and brave enough to continually develop your practice.
  What worked last year, won’t automatically work with a new cohort/child. If that were the case, we’d still have blackboards, canes, and jam roly-poly. If a child isn’t responding to you, don’t take it personally – change your tact and learn from it.
• Spend time learning and reading about the huge variety of disabilities and special educational needs you are coming into contact with.
  It’s hard work, time consuming, and you won’t earn any more money…I know you’re busy (busy isn’t even a good enough word) but if a job’s worth doing…
• RE Including a child with SEND: Look at it from the child’s (and the child’s family’s) point of view.
  Ask them! Talk to the child (EYFS or KS5) and get advice from the experts – their parents. (You are not the expert 😊). Small changes early give big results later.
• RE Including a child with SEND: No two children or circumstances are the same.
  Treat each child as an individual and consider each circumstance on its own merits. E.g., If you know a girl with Down’s syndrome is going to be joining your class, you know precisely nothing about her.

Classroom tips.

• Time.
  A teacher’s most valuable resource. Effective inclusive teaching is extremely skilled work. Work smarter, not harder, and regularly reflect on how it’s going by talking to anyone who’ll listen, especially non-teaching staff & friends – they will give you the most realistic answers.
• Staff.
  Do other staff members share your values about inclusion? Tell them – be evangelical and positive about the process; it’s not magic! If they are wary, inexperienced, or stuck in their ways, use this as a chance to educate them and lead by example.
• Set up.
  Look at your class/classes and set up the room to best work for them, and you. Think about desk layout, access to resources, seating positions/rotations, proximity to the interactive white board (IWB)/friends/staff etc.
• Ethos.
  Talk to the children about what you expect of them regarding inclusion, partner/teamwork, respect, diversity, and disabilities. If the children are set up for inclusion, half of the battle is won. Explain how they will be expected to interact with and support one another, and that this is as important as academic achievement in your eyes.
• Lessons & activities.
  Get them off their chairs, get outside, and get the kids doing. Be imaginative, creative, resourceful, inventive, fun, ridiculous, ground-breaking, and never boring, predictable, dull, or lazy. You were employed because you’re good and because you’re qualified – don’t forget that. I’ll be talking more about differentiation and planning for learners with SEND in another blog.
• Inclusion of ‘child A’ with SEND.
  Include all your children in what you’re doing. If you’re talking/communicating, child A should be joining in (even if it’s not academically pertinent); if you’re doing maths, child A should be doing maths (even if it’s at a far ‘lower’ level); if everyone else is reading, writing, tidying up, painting, singing, lining up, eating, laughing, or being told off, child A should be included…

Please get in touch with your comments, questions, ideas, or concerns…I’d love to hear from you.

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Next time we start looking at teaching – ‘How can I be inclusive?’