Eating the' inclusive' elephant, one bite at a time.......

Ethel Jones teaching Ayden how to knit 

In my professional reading recently, I came across an article written by Gary Bunch in 2008. He wrote the article after having studied inclusive schools around the world, particularly those in Canada. He found patterns emerging in schools where inclusion was successful, and where it wasn't, and after analysing the data, he felt that there were 10 criteria which were essential in inclusive schools.  
Schools who were successful had a questioning attitude. Someone starts the process by asking in their own heads, why children with special needs should have to be taught separately. Where questions were asked and re-asked, the chance of the school being inclusive, is higher. Questioning needs to be seen as the first key for inclusive change. 
Schools who were successful in the inclusive field, had a leader who encouraged leadership in others. Leaders who see leadership in others, create an opportunity for people to step forward. At Pinelands North this is very evident, as leadership is encouraged through all sectors of our school - in classrooms, on the sports field, in aftercare, in music, in the admin department and in the library. When people accept leadership roles they become invested in the whole operation, not only in their own sector.

Grade 7 Amy reading with Isabella in grade 1

Respect for humanity is at the heart of inclusion. This respect is despite difference, and for all people as learning individuals. At inclusive schools there is traditionally a higher level of learning and socialisation. At Pinelands North the desire to learn and all attempts at learning are respected, whether the 'learner' is a pupil who is smarter than the rest, or a staff member who needs to be supported to learn to drive a vehicle.  
Respect in inclusive schools is not only given to those who 'can' learn or for those who learn the most. At Pinelands North our learning community is about everybody in the school learning at their own level. All pupils need to learn what they can, and in the way they can, and not be 'pitted' against an average! Every act of achievement is celebrated, and just striving for learning is also worth celebrating! We have found that in supporting the learning of everyone, we do not diminish the learning of anyone but rather enhance it all!  
Most people in education fields around the world measure learning against a set curriculum and so only those learning at the pace of the 'average', are seen to be learning! At Pinelands North all pupils are accepted as pupils learning at their own levels, at their own pace and therefore worthy of celebration! Each individual child's pace of learning is accepted as perfectly 'normal'! Learning is not seen as a competition or a race that only a few can win. We mustn't forget that as toddlers we all learnt to sit up, walk and talk at different times - why then do we think that suddenly we all will perform the same learning in the same timeframes?  

Lisa and Matt learning to draw

What we have learnt too, is that every teacher knows how to teach. This is not the skill that needs to be enhanced in the classroom, but instead it is the confidence of teachers in their ability to teach every child, at his or her own pace. Our teachers were also scared of this initially but once you start teaching in an inclusive environment, you realise that all we might need to change is the speed of our teaching- either faster or slower or both! This is where teachers need to be able to accept support from volunteers, parents, and other teaching staff. At the beginning of each year at Pinelands North, parents are asked where they would like to contribute to our learning community. This results in grandparents, older siblings, unemployed or stay at home adults in families all participating in classrooms, assisting our teachers and pupils. We accept help from overseas teaching students and volunteers, from NGOs and from neighbours!  
Usually schools have a 'one size fits all' curriculum but inclusive schools like Pinelands North, see the curriculum as a flexible tool, to be adjusted to every child's pace of learning. This allows access to learning for all "learners'! Collaboration between sections in school has a part to play in everybody's learning. At Pinelands North pupils work with other pupils, and pupils work with other adults besides teachers. Walking around the school, I often see a child working in the finance office - not because the child has been 'excluded' from their own classroom, but because that safe space is best for them in their present learning! Examples of this are seen everywhere in the school - on the field, in the garden, in the aftercare during the school day and in offices. In inclusive schools, nobody has all the answers but everyone works with determination towards finding the right support for every child - either through parents or volunteers or admin staff. The whole school must be determined to learn and assist with everybody's learning. 
The final pattern Gary Bunch noticed was that schools who were successful just got started! They didn't wait for someone to tell them what or how to do it, they just translated their thoughts into action. There is a little 'joke' that asks: 'How do you eat an elephant?' And the answer is 'One bite at a time!' If a school starts with little steps, inclusion can happen progressively.
Pinelands North has been on the 'one bite at a time' trajectory for almost twenty years and we are still learning something new every day...in fact, one thing we have learnt is that the 'inclusion elephant' is so big, that no school can ever say they have it all right! Pinelands North though, is determined to persevere until all excluded peoples are included as much as is humanly possible!