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“For children and young people to be included at school, they must be present, participating, supported and achieving.”
(The Morgan Review, 2020)

This statement, for me, is not as clear as it is made out to be in the report. Children will be present, participating and achieving in different ways depending on their individual needs, traits, personalities, experiences, learning styles, etc. Therefore, the support provided has to be bespoke and as individual as the child in order to achieve genuine inclusion. With challenges such as finance, resources, staffing, etc. the reality of being able to provide such an individualised service feels unachievable. How do we, in such turbulent times, move forward?

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I was struck by the comments made by children in the Morgan report. The children said they did not want to be underestimated in their ability or capability and many educators will wholeheartedly believe they do not put limitations on learners. However, the reality can be quite different. Regularly I see differentiated work that is created for the core, the mainstream group of learners, then a simplified version created for those with ASN and ‘not on track/below track’. Is this really GIRFEC? We have ANA/LA’s working with children who jump in quickly to correct or provide answers before the child is able to develop their own strategies to reduce the barrier to learning. This is clearly underestimating the learners. This is not to say that support is not required but there is such a thing as too much support that may be detrimental to progress.

I am very concerned by the Morgan report outlining the reality of children needing parents and carers to ‘advocate’ for them in order to be prioritised. Those who do not have parents and carers in a position to do this are at a disadvantage from the outset, according to the Morgan report.  When funding is limited and the selected few receive support, will it be the ones who shout the loudest that receive it? Are the rights of some put above the rights of others as a result of the pressure put on the system by the parents and carers who have the ability to do so? IF so, who is advocating for the others?

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A point, which challenged me, was within The Morgan Review (2020). The physical presence of a child or young person who has additional support needs in a mainstream school does not constitute inclusion. “For children and young people to be included at school, they must be present, participating, supported and achieving.” This is a point, which has challenged my thinking recently in practice, whilst actively investigating whether we are providing the best provision for one of our learners. Due to this, our educational psychologist and SFL teacher have begun to look at the SCERTS in ACTION observations to reflect critically on the provision we offer and how we could be better. Part of this process is ensuring everyone knows their role. It is fundamentally important that the teacher understands their role: in creating opportunities for participation, providing support and celebrating achievement.

A point made in the Morgan Review (2020) which I felt was uncomfortable to read was that, “There is open agreement across all perspectives that the children and young people who are most likely to be prioritised for resource are those whose parents and carers are able and willing to strongly and persistently advocate on their behalf. These parents and carers often expressed concern for the children and young people whose parents are not in a position to advocate for them.” It goes without saying that this is uncomfortable reading, as needs should be met regardless and there should be equity in the distribution of resource.

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“Processes include the introduction of, or increase in, thresholds for the requirement for a diagnosis before a response is considered, although the needs for support are clearly evident (Morgan Review 2020).” This is a real barrier. We all know the waiting lists are extensive and in these cases where support cannot be requested until the child is seen by another service/diagnosed, wholly refutes early intervention.

Florian (2019) discusses that the rights based view currently has to work synonymously with the, “competitive context of standards based reform and its focus on greater accountability for teaching, learning and raising the performance of students as measured by national and international assessments.” It is a shame that all children cannot be meaningfully included in systems of assessment by simply measuring individualised value-added year to year, where this is recorded and celebrated.

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“All learners of any age should be provided with meaningful high-quality educational opportunities in their local community, alongside their friends and peers.”  (European Agency, 2015)

The Salamanca Statement (1994) called for inclusion within educational policies and practices and challenged the idea that some children did not belong in mainstream education as well as questioning school structures which suggested different forms of provision for different types of learners.  It introduced the idea of inclusive education to the wider community.

It links with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring inclusion and equity as well as promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all and this is further cemented through the Brussels Declaration (2018) which promotes safe, quality education and learning through life.

The UNCRC also focuses on inclusion and evidence shows positive outcomes for inclusion within education linked to better attainment, more social interactions, and the development of life skills.  However, it does not ignore the fact that inclusion and supports look very different depending on the setting.  There are lots of variables and inconsistencies.

Within a society where education is driven by high academic standards and the focus is on attainment, how do we get it right for every child?  Clearly leadership within your setting plays a key part in ensuring inclusion and promoting the right ethos and values.

It is important for children and young people to interact with a variety of learners which will break down social barriers and prevent discrimination.  Within my own school, learners are accepting of each other for who they are and accepting of their own unique gifts and talents and that helps to build an inclusive ethos.

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Reflecting on my own setting and taking note of Theme 5 of the Morgan report (Workforce development and support), although we work with several learners with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyscalculia the number of children with an additional support need is small and this means that teachers may have to upskill themselves at different times, depending on the needs of the learners in their class in any given year.  However, in terms of ‘providing rich learning opportunities that are sufficiently made available to everyone’ (Florian, 2019) you could argue that this is part of high-quality learning and teaching and should be a focus to support all learners.  Where there are inconsistencies in practice, it could be argued that this will impact all learners.  Furthermore, what are we doing to support teachers in their own professional development - or are they simply having to learn on the job?

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Inclusion within the primary school always seems to be more straightforward than in secondary.  Learners are in the same class with the same teacher and are supervised throughout the day, even at breaks and lunchtime.  Once learners are older and start looking towards exams, do the gaps both socially and academically become too big?  We then need to address the move from primary to secondary.  At the moment, some learners need to put in an AMG application to go to a high school which still provides a more targeted form of support.  If we are including all learners in mainstream education in primary school, but deeming it necessary to look for an additional support provision in secondary school are we promoting inclusion and allowing those learners to continue their learning journey with their friends from the past seven years?

Finally, we need to look at resources around Support for Learning and Pupil Support Assistants as we continue to provide an inclusive educational system.  This will go a long way in supporting teachers to provide a good quality education for all.  How do we address this in the current financial situation within education?

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The number of children with identified ASN in Scottish schools, is almost one in three, and this number appears to be rising.  This is probably due to a number of factors including: changing definitions of ASN, greater ethnic and cultural diversity and the increased prevalence and awareness of a range of social and emotional support needs.  I realise there is no simple answer, but I am curious about whether the number of children requiring additional support is increasing or whether it is just our ability to define and recognise support needs that has changed.  I intuitively don’t think the answer is an either/or situation; I think both these possibilities are true to different degrees. I wonder then, why we would even be seeing an increase in the number of children requiring support.  What has changed to cause this increase and what systemic change might now be required to tackle the root cause and not just the symptoms?  My instinct is that greater societal inequality will be one of the more dominant factors. For example, we know that the 30.9% figure increases in areas of high deprivation and poverty for example. If growing societal inequality is a root cause, how realistic is the possibility of effective systemic change within the current neoliberal economic and political climate?

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Practitioner attitudes (and self-efficacy) are strong themes within the texts for this task and indeed, the wider literature around IE.  Although caveats are usually provided that other factors (such as resource alignment, values-based leadership, effective ITE and PRD and so on), are often  factors that impact on practitioner attitude, I still get the sense that this is weighted disproportionately as a barrier to IE.  It seems logical to me that these wider factor will enable or limit the scope of practitioners’ attitudinal barriers towards IE.  For example, imagine a teacher working in an adaptable, multipurpose learning environment with high pupil:practitioner ratios; with adequate time to observe, assess, plan and work collegiately; where they can readily access specialist expertise to develop their own understanding and skill set, as well as relevant partner services, quickly and efficiently; while pupils benefit from a wide range of learning and human resources tailored to their needs and interests.  I wonder how likely it would be that such a teacher would have attitudes and levels of self-efficacy that would then be barriers to IE. I would imagine that their attitudes and self-efficacy around meeting learners needs would be no issue at all.

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I really enjoyed all of the readings for this task as it is a theme I feel really strongly about.

The Morgan report resonated strongly with me, due to its all-encompassing, wide focus on the multiple aspects relating to the current realities and possibilities in IE within the Scottish context.  I could recognise all of these aspects from my own experiences within the different roles I have assumed throughout my life.  I also appreciated the tone within this report with regards to the challenging context that practitioners find themselves working in, which is not conducive to easily realising effective IE.

I enjoyed reading the Florian text for its concise discussion of the tensions around special and inclusive education and how these have been conceptualised over time since the Salamanca Statement.  I found this thought-provoking and it gave me a more cohesive narrative to much of my own poorly-framed, dissonant thoughts around aspects of IE.

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Inclusion forms a pivotal role in our vision, values and aim and as educators we aim to provide a welcoming environment for all. However, I can’t help but question how often we are getting it right for ALL our learners? Inclusion is not simply about the presence of individuals within our school communities, but as identified by the Scottish Government a system where pupils are also participating, supported and achieving.

Each day we are faced with an increasing level of need and challenges and without robust planning and resources in place, it is easy to understand why as educators we feel we are not meeting the needs for all.  As stated in the Morgan report, we need development opportunities to develop appropriate skills and knowledge, enabling us to understand more fully what additional support needs are and how best we can ensure a meaningful learning experience for all.

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Inclusion is at the forefront of Scotland’s education agenda, whereby, as educators it is our duty to work with all in our care, providing opportunities to achieve their maximum potential.  However, as Florin (2019) identifies the accountability placed on schools in both a local and national context adds unmountable pressure, whereby ‘those whose struggle are left behind in the international drive to improve standards’.

As a leader I am only too aware of the growing pressures we are faced with each day to ensure all pupils not only have a good experience of learning, but are also achieving and making relevant progress.   We must of course have high aspirations and ambitions for all our learners, but as stated in the Morgan Report (2000) we must ‘consider individual progress, where success is measured as appropriate for each individual.’

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My current policy focus has been around the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence in schools and Successful Learners holding more value than the other capacities. This is as a result of the accountability and performance indicators enforced on educators. The statements made in the Morgan report (2020) resonated with me as they align with my view on ensuring learners have alternative pathways to success. Most importantly, it is about ensuring the alternative pathways are ‘equally valued’. For this to happen, there needs to be a major shift in the education environment and the reigns loosened for educators to take back their autonomy in making decisions based on their knowledge of the learners and the context.

I remain gravely concerned for the limitations and challenges we face regarding reduced budgets and the reality that this will continue in the current economic climate (Florian, 2019). I am acutely aware that there appears to be increasing remits with decreasing staff across services. This is coupled with increased demand for many children and families who do not meet thresholds for services until it is at triage level. Early intervention is crucial, but the resources are just not there.

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Policy has led to enhanced inclusive practice within primary schools to an unrecognisable level and with considerable success, which is something I am personally very proud of.  However, schools are increasingly finding themselves trying to ‘include’ children with such significant needs that it is having a potentially negative and excluding impact on the individual, their family and the wider school community to the point that it challenging our professionalism and our integrity – is this really inclusion or are we just hosting individuals in order to meet the government policy?

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I continue to be challenged (or should I say frustrated?) by the disproportionate amount of time and resource spent on a small number of children, yet often without the desired success due to the challenges with a ‘joined up’ approach by all agencies.  The Morgan report mentions, “GIRFEC too often becomes focused on the process of planning, due to restrictions on the capacity to deliver support.”  This is felt every day.  Often overwhelming or repeated paperwork and a lack of capacity from other professionals.

I was also stuck by the Morgan report, “ Yet evidence to the Review, particularly on transitions, consistently affirms that a wider view, rooted in the concept of learning for life beyond the educational and academic, is crucial”.  I do not believe we are getting the ‘learning for life’ element right.  Mainstream high schools are ‘catching up’ with appropriate resourcing for inclusive provision.  Enhanced support base provisions are decreasing across Edinburgh, yet the High schools are not adequately resourced for large numbers of children with considerable ASN.

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Inclusion is my passion.  I am completely committed to the inclusion of all children within my school community and have been ASN lead for 8 years.  The Morgan Report identified so many of the key issues we are all facing within our inclusion practice.   The key factor that continues to resonate with me is ‘resources’ – in fact it is mentioned 43 times in the report.  I completely agree that Inclusive School Leaders need clear vision and direction as set out by Oskarsdottir et el (2020) but if we are going to do it well, we need the right resources, both human and physical, to ensure our schools are set up for effective inclusive practice.

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The diversity of learners challenges policy makers and education staff (at all levels), 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.

However, until we actually adapt, develop and provide genuine flexibility to our curriculum and the way we recognise and measure achievement (still retaining genuine ambition for all) can we ever say we are providing a high quality experience?

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In Florian's 2019 paper, inclusive education was described as "the process of of increasing participation and decreasing exclusion from culture, community and curricula of mainstream schools" (Booth and Ainscow, 2002). Whilst I wholeheartedly agree with this vision and feel strongly that this should be the case for all learners, we cannot get to this point until we truly reflect and act upon many of the recommendations from the Morgan Report e.g. making changes to the ways we  recognise and measure achievement.

Whilst there are many things schools are driving to develop genuine inclusion, we need help Nationally in terms of how the curriculum and assessment frameworks are set up. Florian states "there is an inherent bias in education systems that are designed for most students on the grounds that something different can be provided to some as a means of ensuring access for all". This begs the question - is this inclusive at all? What has really challenged me about this paper is that despite the significant progress that has been made to move towards inclusive education, the challenges to support learners with additional support needs can still be seen as "additional to" what is provided for the majority of learners. This is a concern supported by (Slee and Allan, 2001), who suggest, "...leading some to warn that inclusive education risks becoming another name for special education".

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As a Support Depute in a large Secondary school where we are in our third year of having our DAS Provision. I genuinely really connect with so many of the findings in the Morgan Report.

The work around "Recognising and Measuring Achievement" struck a particular chord with me and I agree entirely with the analysis that there must be recognition of individual achievement in Learning through Life. This means "creating equally valued alternative pathways and ways of measuring individual progress. These must measure the child or young person's achievements and success from their own starting point". At this time, our current qualifications framework does not recognise that qualifications are not relevant learning objectives for all young people and those young people are not failures because of that! However, what this must not mean is a reduction in aspiration and ambition for young people to  achieve to the maximum of their potential. In schools, we need support with these things and be able to balance the curriculum and assessment in a way that focuses on a far wider set of measures e.g. wellbeing, health and happiness.

Furthermore, the Morgan Report explores a theme that has come up consistently in all of the reading I have done around Inclusion - Teacher Education and Development. It is of significant concern that there is a minimum requirement for focus on Additional Support for Learning as part of Initial Teacher Training. Furthermore, it again made me reflect on the need to support staff to understand what additional support needs are and be clear about their in supporting our learners via good quality Professional Development opportunities (both in school and out of school).

In theme 7 of the Morgan Report, which focuses on Relationships and behaviour, we saw the importance of having a "culture of trust, positive relationships and respect..." and it talked about positive relationships as the "underpinning factor for supporting children and young people". This continues to support all I have been exploring in my SCI (School Inclusion: Promoting Positive Relationships to Prevent Exclusion) and showed me again that without a relentless focus on this approach, we will never be able to support the four principles of the inclusion framework explored in the report:

Young People must be:

- Present
- Participating
- Supported
- Achieving

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Another report on inclusion in Scotland (ENABLE Scotland, 2017) found over 80% of respondents in their study of inclusion said schools are not getting it right for every child.

Florian (2020:10)

Considering the vast amount of literature, policy and research around the importance of inclusion and catering for the needs of all children, this statistic shocked me greatly. Furthermore, I fear that perhaps as a result of the impact of COVID- 19, and the current cost of living crisis, the situation has possibly worsened; it certainly seems to have within my own context.

We are already a small school, yet there has recently been a significant increase in the number of children with special educational needs within our nursery and early years and as a result not all learners’ needs throughout the school are being fully met. As a leader, I try to support my staff with inclusive practice, however this is becoming increasingly difficult when even our SLT is covering to support children with needs and staff shortages – we have approached other agencies to provide support, and used PEF funding to employ more PSA. Our teachers and support staff are open to development, and collaborating with one another to meet learners needs, however they are feeling time constrained amidst the juggling of day-to-day operations along with the pressures of attainment targets and deadlines.

I question if this is how the future will continue to look with regards to inclusive education, or will there be opportunities to revise the current systems in place to allow for more support within schools? Despite all the ambition to provide an inclusive setting for learners, one struggles to effectively do this with limited budgets, lack of human resources or the time to engage in meaningful professional development and dialogue.

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One element which challenged me from the readings was the concept of what is classified as special needs, as mentioned in Florian’s (2019) paper. One often considers those with ‘special needs’ as having a disability or a learning difficulty, both of which are defined as posing barriers towards achieving learning and performance consistent with age and stage. However, a point that is possibly often not considered, and one which Florian mentions, is that other factors such as attendance, socio-economic background or diversity can also be a barrier to learning and affect learning and performance. Do we always consider these children within our ‘special needs’ category when planning and ensuring there is inclusive practice? And what then are the differences between how and what we teach these children compared to those children who are considered as having a specific learning disability such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD? In an inclusive environment we should be ensuring that all children’s needs are met, not only those who are perceived as having ‘special needs’. All children have individual needs.

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One thing which resonated positively with me throughout all of the literature, was that despite challenges faced, there continues to be a collective vision for those within education towards ensuring that all children’s needs are met, regardless of diversity, difficulty, or disability. As mentioned in Florian’s (2019) paper, much has changed since the Salamanca conference, and all around the world children’s rights are being considered within the field of education and wellbeing. Within my own context, I see staff strive to include all learners on a daily basis, and I believe that inherently, leaders and staff generally are motivated to provide suitable outcomes for all children, wanting to include them and cater for each individual need as far as is humanly possible. However, as is stated in the Morgan report (2020), the success of achieving successful inclusive practice within mainstream settings is greatly affected by factors such as resourcing, time for collaboration, and opportunities for staff knowledge and development; all of which can have a detrimental impact on the success of inclusive practice.

The work of Oskarsdottir et al (2020) also resonates with me as I agree that there needs to be consistency with regards to policy and practice around inclusion, especially as there is increased diversity within schools, which means we need to look closely at our contexts with a view to getting it right for our families, staff, children, and wider school communities.

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I could not agree more with the principal of inclusion, and I agree wholeheartedly with the Review that, to be included, children must be present, participating, supported and achieving. I still feel, however, that it is easy to lose sight of the children who do not have support needs as defined on page 7 of the report. They also have the Right to an education that develops their personalities, talents and abilities to the full. On p7 the Review also made clear that: 'the principle of presumption of mainstreaming for children and young people was not under review; and the relevant issues would be considered within existing resources.' There is clearly more that can be done is schools by adopting more inclusive practices, particularly in response to challenging behaviour and mental wellbeing.There seems, however, to be a danger that the presumption of mainstreaming is a cynical way of reducing funding pressure on pathway 3 and 4 agencies by placing the responsibility on schools, who are as a result not truly meeting the needs of anyone. in 

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I could not agree more with the principal of inclusion, and I agree wholeheartedly with the Review that, to be included, children must be present, participating, supported and achieving. I still feel, however, that it is easy to lose sight of the children who do not have support needs as defined on page 7 of the report. They also have the Right to an education that develops their personalities, talents and abilities to the full. On p7 the Review also made clear that: 'the principle of presumption of mainstreaming for children and young people was not under review; and the relevant issues would be considered within existing resources.' There is clearly more that can be done is schools by adopting more inclusive practices, particularly in response to challenging behaviour and mental wellbeing.There seems, however, to be a danger that the presumption of mainstreaming is a cynical way of reducing funding pressure on pathway 3 and 4 agencies by placing the responsibility on schools, who are as a result not truly meeting the needs of anyone. in 

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Theoharis and Causton (2014) cited in Oskarsdottir et al (2020) articulate that enacting a vision of inclusive schools requires leaders to build an inclusive culture, embracing an ‘authentic sense of belonging’, and a commitment to “all” that means ‘each and every student’. How can “all” learners, especially those with additional support needs, receive the support they need in mainstream without perpetuating the problem of marginalisation that can occur by treating them differently from their peers of a similar age?

‘The current understanding of inclusion focuses not only on increasing the participation of learners with additional needs, but also on the changes required by schools to staff behaviours, environments, routines and structures’ (Maciver et al, 2018). With increasingly limited resources ( such as staffing, spaces, time) how do school leaders prioritise which changes to make to ensure they maximise outcomes for these pupils?

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I was challenged by the assertion in the ‘Morgan Report’ (2020) that Scotland ‘does not have a national vision of success’ for children and young people within the overarching concept of ‘learning for life’, and that a wider view, rooted in the concept of ‘learning for life’ beyond the educational and academic, is of crucial importance. Establishing this wider view would enable all young people to flourish, which the report highlights is not the case across our nation at the moment.

I was challenged by the fact that for some practitioners the language used to describe children and young people with additional support needs across school communities still needs to be changed. The language of deficit reinforcing the experience children and young people have of being seen and reacted to as the embodiment of their condition is still present. As a school leader how do I ensure all practitioners in my school use inclusive language as a matter of routine?

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Working in a Gold Rights Respecting school, the articulation Florian (2019) gives to inclusive education being a ‘rights-based notion’ really resonated with me. The fact that education is a human right and of intrinsic value to individuals as well as a means by which other rights and freedoms can be achieved for individuals and society is of such core value. It is easy to lose sight of in the day to day with so many other competing  priorities and I am reminded it must remain central.

The ‘Morgan report’ (2020) highlighted that disseminating information and having procedures in place ‘for all practitioners to share and receive information about learners and their needs’ is crucial. This resonated with me in my context. It is currently a strength of our secondary school where we can share behaviour, learning and attendance at a glance, a necessity for effective cooperation and communication with each other. The leadership of this will remain a key focus for me as a senior leader going forward.

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With regards to the Morgan Report, the introduction to, and explanation of the 4 Principles of The Inclusion Framework really helped to frame my thinking around this issue. The key guidance for supporting schools/organisations to promote/adopt inclusive practices resonated particularly strongly. The principles of Present, Participating, Supporting and Achieving and the larger thinking around unpacking these terms both practically, and in a more philosophical way, was particularly helpful.  Immediately following this, the key conditions for delivering these values/principles are outlined. What resonated with me in particular was that the first point of the key conditions was “Values Driven Leadership”. This struck a chord with me for two reasons. Firstly, I have been reading lots around Values Based Leadership for my SCI and it was interesting to reflect on the notion of meeting need as an aspect of VBL. Secondly, I began to reflect on the issue of willingness to adapt in order to meet need. The very fact that the number one priority in terms of successfully delivering the desired outcomes on inclusive practice is headteacher/senior leader values indicates that there is still a trench of oppositional thought against the notion of inclusivity as a theme. I did wonder if teacher training was a good place to start in terms of spreading a more positive message, thus allowing developing professionals the same opportunity, as we have now, to fully understand the importance and true goals/objectives of inclusion. We see the same concept discussed in Sub-theme 5 of the McIver et al paper where we see the following description “Ethos is instrumental – we all know of schools who show excellence in different areas, but it’s developing that ethos. It needs to come from the top – if key people are on board”.

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From all the sections of reading for this task, I think the section that caused me to challenge my own practice and provision the most was the section within the Morgan report entitled “What Did Children and Young People Tell the Review”. I think the reason this resonated with or challenged me is because all the pupil requests or wishes seemed so basic and so obvious – yet their very inclusion in the report suggests otherwise. In particular, the three statements listed below seemed to elicit the most emotional response from me.

“Children and young people with additional support needs don’t want to be underestimated for their ability and capability”

“More understanding and empathy from peers”

“Timely responses to bullying”

Putting myself in the shoes of a disadvantaged young person and reading those statements through their lens naturally caused me to review pupils/situations/cases that I have been involved in and considered how my own pupils may have felt/been feeling in particular situations. I have always endeavoured to treat all pupils in a manner that ensured their dignity and respect was preserved – regardless of the scenario confronted with, and I’m sure most other colleagues have had similar intentions. Yet still we see that there is still so much work to do. I read the statements and can’t help but conclude that schools, in general, must continue to strive for better outcomes on all the issues raised.

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Given we are about to see a change in the structure and governance of education in Scotland – will this provide an opportunity to re-imagine the way we address the issue of inclusion and meeting all need? And if so, in what ways would the panel suggest we start this process?

I suspect that it is still the case that often we have the least qualified (yet still highly valued) members of staff placed with some of the highest need members of the pupil population – what’s the answer to this with recognition to tightening school budgets and staff recruitment issues?

Will there ever be a day when funding to support individual basis inclusion (within the mainstream setting) will come from all partner agencies (e.g. Health/SW/CLLD)?! I’ve known 1 HESS nurse part funded over my career. If we considered that inclusion was a “one directorate” issue then the desperate funding issues picked up by schools could be part met with partner agencies.

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Should we be looking to develop a more collaborative approach across special and mainstream schools in order to better support our children? Mainstream schools which have an inclusion base seem to me to have broad, supportive and positive collaboration which can be accessed in a proactive way. Sometimes it seems that specialist education is a last resort and the decision to place a child in specialist provision only comes after repeated failure and extreme difficulties for the child and family. Would a more proactive and collaborative approach be beneficial for children and their families who are experiencing these ongoing, stressful situations which sees children not gaining in educational terms from the experience of mainstream schooling?

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Many of the readings highlight the importance of positive relationships and inclusive school ethos. While acknowledging that this is of vital importance and goes some way in supporting many pupils, this does not solve all the issues that arise from inclusion. I sometimes felt while reading, that this view minimised the complexity of the issues facing staff and schools with regards to the inclusion agenda.

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It resonated with me when I read in the “Morgan Report” that there was a divergence for many from the ideals and principles of inclusion according to the framework, and the reality in schools. I feel whole-heartedly that inclusion is the goal, that all children should be included and successful, but in spite of this belief, the supports, the ethos and the best efforts of all those involved, it is not always the reality.

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With a significant increase in additional support needs within mainstream settings, notably even greater post covid. How are we as school leaders expected to meet these needs, while ensuring wellbeing of learners, their families and staff does not suffer? All while we are faced with a backdrop of budget cuts, attainment pressures, skill shortages and staffing challenges.

The Morgan Report makes the following statement ‘values and beliefs, culture and mind-set are fundamental and there is more work to do in this area’. How do we within education and as a wider society increase the belief of the principles of inclusion and the presumption to mainstream?

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The Morgan Report's comments around language of deficit led me to reflect on our current practice in school. A conversation I will take further with my Support for Learning and importantly wider school colleagues.

I found the comments in the Morgan Report around the decision to place a child in a specialist provision often requiring the child to fail resonated. It is all to close to how colleagues and I have felt in such situations. The section on flexibility of support due to learners needs continuously changing and developing was interesting, desirable, and certainly of merit; though I have many questions around the logistics of this in the current education structure and have faced challenges when trying to support a learner in this way previously. This led me to then consider the following statement in the Morgan Report: ‘a minority, but notable opinion was that whilst specialist provision is in place, inclusion would never be achieved because that structure reinforces the view held by those professionals in mainstream provision that additional support for learning is not or should not be part of their responsibility’. While I have faith around the inclusive moral values of myself and colleagues, I can’t help but feel we are continually faced with logistical and financial challenges in our drive for inclusivity. But as the Morgan Report also highlights ‘values and beliefs, culture and mind-set are fundamental and there is more work to do in this area’.

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Much of what is written in the Morgan Report is unsurprising and I can relate to through my everyday experiences in school and through anecdotal conversations with colleagues. So many current challenges and frustrations are articulated through the report. Including the following statement: ‘Collated performance indicators for the education system currently overlook other forms of progress made by many children’. The call for equally valued alternative pathways and a system, political and media level move away from only celebrating academic achievement is one we hear time and time again during peer and colleague discussions. Unfortunately, at a school level it feels a long way off and the resulting feelings the report recognise of lack of value and demoralised young people and staff are all too true. The First Minister’s statement that as a nation we will be focusing on wellbeing is hopeful, however in reality the drive to support emotional and mental health during the pandemic has been rapidly replaced by attainment and stretch aims to make up for ‘time lost!’ The positive public communication plan in recommendation 1.1 would be welcomed.

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I was interested across the reading about the discussion around how we assess children where by we use the same bench mark for all with regards to measuring success. I perosnally feel there is a need for a move away from all children being measured by the same bench marks and instead for some children there should be a way of measuring the "value added" to a child. The Morgan Report's discussion of a National Measurement Framework for ASN feels a move that would be supportive and beneficial. I'm interested to hear what the panel feels would be a proactive and supportive way of developing the measurement of success for children with additional support needs?

I find the Morgan Report's (2020) recommendation of using Improvement Methodology to develop an Improvement Framework an interesting one as this is something I have recently been trained in and have used small scale to improve attendance and attainment for a small cohort of children.  This leads me to wonder how Improvement Methodology has been used by authorities in relation to inclusion and what the impact has been from this?

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I found myself stuck for a while considering the questions posed by Florian (2019) in relation to inclusion;
"The rights-based idea that all children should be able to learn together raises many questions: Can they? Do they? How? And how do we know?"

Ultimately, values driven leadership is at the heart of successful inclusion (Morgan Report, 2020) and in my opinion the answers to Florian's (2019) questions outlined above are that all children can work together in mainstream schools, however my concern comes that a lot is being left to schools and local authorities to solve the "how" of inclusion with children therefore having varying experiences as best practice support models are worked out, (Florian, 2019).

I suppose what also challenged me with regards to these questions that I know I have experienced working with staff who would still argue that no, all children should not learn together.  And then staff from different schools who would argue yes.  For me this comes down to the values within the school and the time spent on considering inclusion for all and how best to achieve this.  Florian (2019) hits home the important point of making sure that children who are a challenge within inclusion are not themselves viewed as the challenge.

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I found this all to be very interesting reading with a lot resonating with me.

Inclusion from my experience has resulted in a mixed outcome for the young people I work with, particularly having spent a portion of my career working as a support for learning teacher and a nurture group teacher.  For many children with an additional support need inclusion works well when there is planning, knowledge and support around the child. However, I also have seen when this has not been the case but this does not reflect the aspirations of those working around the child, but normally more simply what has been put in place is limited by the knowledge, skills and resourcing in place.  Thus the outcome of the Morgan Report (2020) has summed up inclusion well for me;

"The Review has strongly and consistently affirmed that the physical presence of a child or young person who has additional support needs in a mainstream school does not constitute inclusion.  The four principles of the inclusion framework state that for children and young people to be included at school, they must be present, participating, supported and achieving."

As the Morgan report (2020) outlines one of the key challenges currently facing practitioners is "in being able to respond to the needs of children and young people with additional support needs."  For some children there is an amount of specialist knowledge required in order to support children with being included.  Personally, I do not see inclusion as being something that is unachievable however it comes with the need to work with individuals with specialist knowledge or experience.  I think there is an increasing understanding of the impact the nursery/school environment has on children and the impact of the interactions in schools for both children with an additional support need and for those without ( Maciver, Hunter, Adamson, Grayson, Forsyth and McLeod, 2018).  I have welcomed the implementations of the Circle Inclusion resource as a beneficial and helpful toolkit to use when creating a plan around a child but also recognise that school staff need time and input in order to unpick the four main areas outlined in the document of; skills, motivation, environment, structures and routines.

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‘the conceptualisation of inclusive has been extended since Salamanca from a focus on learners with disabilities to anyone who may be excluded or marginalised from education.’ (Florian 2019)

When we talk about inclusion we tend to assume we're talking about learners with disabilities, or ASNs in mainstream. How do we begin to broaden the discussion to include trauma, race, gender and cultural and social marginalisation? And the complexities of intersectionality and how to address that?

Or should we be moving away from the 'lumping together' of groups with very different needs?

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I was challenged by the concept of inclusion being 'present, participating, supported and achieving'. I like this idea - I think it's a noble aim - but it's not inclusion for many children as I recognise it. Or, where it is, they are part of a school structure that has them doing small group work/ nurture room time/ and where socially they can be very isolated. This said, I have also seen it work well... it's just that we don't get it right for everyone.

I was also challenged by the statement that ''Special needs education’ is a form of exclusion itself? (Tomlinson, 1982; 2017; Skrtic, 1991; Thomas and Loxley, 2001) I would argue that some educational needs can only be met in ‘special settings’ that can meet the health needs of a child, for example. But I appreciate my knowledge of this is limited.

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Many aspects of the different reading resonated with me, in terms of my views and my experiences.

I found that the points made about secondary staff and their approaches to inclusion in McIver et al (2018) were quite familiar to me in that they struggled with 'recognizing the nuanced, complex and subtle changes they were making as anything other than “normal” practice.' when working with students with particular ASNs. But this is also problematic and I'm interested in why this is.

In reading the Morgan report it was clear that children need to be fully present, supported, participating and achieving to be considered included - and this is not always the case. The report makes it clear that 'inclusion' isn't happening the way should be for many children. Whilst they might be in mainstream schools, they are out of class (which may or may not be the right thing for a period of time), floundering or isolated. Sadly I know this to be true.

Working in a school which has a complex needs base, and a large 'creative learning' department we employ a range a of resources and staff - PSAs and youth workers to support students with a range of needs who follow bespoke curricular programmes. I was pleased to see The Morgan Report highlight the value in these resources, and highlight the importance of training and support.

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I was encouraged that the Morgan Review acknowledged the fact that inclusion is more than a child being placed in a mainstream classroom. I have always stated (rather ignorantly) that inclusion looks different for each pupil and each setting. However, having the fact highlighted that inclusion encompasses 4 principals for our pupils – that they are present, participating, supported and achieving will allow me to reframe and refocus my understanding and structure conversations going forward.

I believe there needs to be a society wide conversation around inclusion – does it really meet the needs of ALL learners?

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Given the comments in the “Morgan Report” that not all children can achieve through qualification and that the focus of HGIOS was felt too strongly to be on aspects of attainment, would you agree that attainment is a barrier to inclusion?

I work closely with a number of professionals and agencies to meet the needs of all our learners to achieve at their potential in our inclusive environment, however that potential is not fully acknowledged when looking at attainment / stretch aims …

Therefore should we be looking at alternative methods to support and track the attainment of children with ASN to achieve their full potential in education?

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The Morgan Review affirms that the physical presence of a child or young person who has additional support needs in a mainstream school does not constitute inclusion.

The four principles of the inclusion framework 29 state “that for children and young people to be included at school, they must be present, participating, supported and achieving.”

When I reflect on this statement it makes me think about my schools and my pupils with ASN and one pupils who is on a Shared Placement.

I worry we are not fully getting it right for all. Yes, they are “present” in the building and in class, but are they actually “present” and “participating” in the class learning or are they doing their own things?  Whilst they are “supported” by a 1:1 ANA , are they “participating” with their peers through choice ? Whilst “achieving” their own individual milestones are these recognised or taken into consideration when looking at ACEL Data? Is this really what Inclusive Practice is?

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Much of the reading resonated with me and is very pertinent given that in SBC the Inclusion Policy is currently being reviewed.

Some of the biggest issues we currently face are lack of finance and support from multi agencies. Florian (2019) alluded to increasing pressure in schools due to budget cuts.

The ‘Morgan Report’ points out that, due to budget constraints, schools are having to prioritise the needs of children. This is the reality for us all daily. 30.9% children have an additional support need in schools, the resources available are gravely reduced leaving us as leaders in school to prioritise and play roulette with where the support should be directed to, leaving many learners ignored. We are in no way “ Getting it Right for Everyone."

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On March 16 2021, the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill passed the Scottish Parliament, meaning that the Convention will become a part of Scots law.

Article 23 - If I have a disability, I have the right to special care and education including to

be able to join in with activities, and their disability shouldn’t stop them from taking part

be able to join in and feel included at school

get special care if they need it

be able to choose what they do and have a say in choices about their lives.

How do we as Educators ensure that we comply when resources do not always allow this to happen?

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Many things from the reading for task 4 resonated with me but especially the role of the Pupil Support Assistant.
In the Morgan Report (2020) I was pleased to see the recommendation below.
Recommendation 5.2 Pupil Support Assistants

• The Classroom Support Staff working group must, as part of their work, undertake a review of roles and remit of Pupil Support Assistants. This must include the development of clear specifications for how classroom teacher and pupil support assistant roles interact and complement each other. It must also consider standards of practice, learning pathways, career progression routes and remuneration.
The mention of 'must be a review of roles and reviews' is welcomed.  I have staff who have been working within my setting for over twenty years, where they applied for a post as Classroom or Learning Assistant and their role has dramatically evolved over the years and they feel they have not had the relevant training to support their new role of working with pupil with additional needs including behavioural, medical and emotional. My local authority has started to create appropriate training and that too is welcomed but much more is needed in this area if we are to retain people in this type of post.  A recent barrier I have come across is that there is training available for nurture which would be a great support in my setting but it is only available for Pupil Support Officers and due to the size of my school I don't meet the criterial to have a PSO.

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Mainstreaming and inclusion – what does it mean in practice?

The Review has strongly and consistently affirmed that the physical presence of a child or young person who has additional support needs in a mainstream school does not constitute inclusion.

The four principles of the inclusion framework29 state that for children and young people to be included at school, they must be present, participating, supported and achieving:  This has concerned me as even with all the supports that are available including CSP/IEPs, Ed Psych, ASL Services involvement 1:1 PSAs, Flexible Timetables etc we are not able to meet all four of these principles for some of our pupils.

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At what point does the strive for inclusion and the presumption of mainstream become detrimental to pupil’s wellbeing? How do we protect against this?

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The greatest challenge to my thinking while reading these materials came when considering my pupils who have a shared placement. To ensure the best learning experience for these pupils, and in line with the reading, staff have ensured that they consider environment, routines and structures. Time is set aside for collaboration; shared planning between schools, observations of best practice and training. I still however feel that we are not getting it right for these pupils. Within the Morgan Report (2020), it mentions that presence is not inclusion and that pupils should be present, participating, supported and achieving. A number of my shared placement pupils find their time with us stressful and overwhelming. This is natural when comparing the huge difference in environments and levels of support, despite attempts to bridge this gap. For most of these pupils, they spend their time with us with a 1:1 adult, in our nurture room, away from their peers. As mentioned, this is not through an inability to provide experiences and tailored environments for these pupils. This is linked to the particular needs of these pupils and often, their overwhelmed and emotional responses when making the transition from one setting to another. It therefore leads me to question if these visits to their mainstream setting are worth it. Is it doing more harm than good? All to say that we are being inclusive. This thinking reflects some of the key questions which were posed in Florian (2009) – Can all children learn together? Do they? How? How do we know? This is something that, as a school, we are continuing to explore through regular review and collaboration with various agencies.

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Within my Local Authority at the moment, we are reviewing inclusion in terms of policy and practice. Much of this reading therefore resonated with me and linked to many of the discussions that are currently taking place.

Within the Morgan Report (2020), learning for life was discussed. It is crucial that this is a key focus. Due to the emphasis on performance indicators such as qualifications, other forms of progress are often overlooked. It is vital that alternative pathways are looked at and held in the same regard as formal qualifications. For some of our learners, they come to school and make massive progress every year. This is not always in line with the expected CfE level, nor is it praised in inspection reports when attainment over time is looked at. This highlights the need for recognition of individual achievement to motivate and value the achievement of all learners, particularly when it is stated that 30.9% of children and young people are identified as having an additional support need.  This figure is reflective of the statistics within my school, yet we still have to strive to achieve Local Authority and Scottish Government stretch aims.

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SDG 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.  Given the comments in the “Morgan Report” that not all children can achieve through qualification and that the focus of HGIOS was felt too strongly to be on aspects of attainment, do you think that attainment is the biggest barrier to inclusion?

We often read of leaders needing autonomy but how much autonomy do we actually have in terms of inclusion and supporting all learners to achieve?   There is not a national vision of success and HGIOS focuses too much on attainment.    Do we sit back and wait for guidance to appear, or do we take decisive action and measure what we value given that we know our schools, learners and families better than anyone?

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The “Morgan Report” mentioned that the risk of focusing on additional support for learning as a specialism could create the feeling that additional support for learning is not for all teachers.  Others have shared their belief that they should only teach children and young people capable of learning within traditional academic standards.  This challenged me as meeting the needs of all learners should be the responsibility of all teachers, working collectively and collaboratively with each other to do so.  However, there needs to be a realisation that staff in all sectors are equally valued and that the learners that they are supporting are of equal value even if they follow different educational pathways.  It could be perceived that staff and teachers who work in Special School settings are of lesser value or importance that their mainstream counterparts because they do not teach learners to the same academic level.  In my opinion, this is reinforced by the GTCS who do not allow teachers to complete their full probationary period in a Special School.  They will also soon be stopping the opportunity for teachers to be registered just in Additional Support Needs.  This is preventing many teachers working in a sector which they are passionate about and holding back the opportunity to progress up the pay scale.  Teacher Training Programmes also need to focus more on Additional Support Needs both in mainstream and the special sector to raise awareness of the varying needs of learners and to start to build practitioner confidence in supporting all learners.  Our personalities and experiences will always draw us to work where we feel we can have the most positive impact on our learners, and this means that different schools and contexts will suit different teachers.  The system needs to reflect that by valuing all teachers and giving everyone the opportunity to grow and be supported in the setting which they work so that positive outcomes can be achieved for all learners.

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Several things resonated with me whilst reading the “Morgan Report” particularly having taught in Special Education for 16 years.  One of the points identified that not all children can make progress and achieve through qualifications yet despite this there is no national framework for success for staff, learners, parents and partners to aspire to when supporting learners with additional support needs.  This is a constant topic of discussion within the sector and given the statistic that 30.9% of children and young people are identified as having an additional support need, it feels like their success and achievements are not as valued as those which are related to attainment.

The importance of Pupil Support Assistants also resonated with me.  It was reassuring to read that there is clear acknowledgement of the important role that Pupil Support Assistants play in the role of the young person.  However, despite this PSAs are one of the hardest roles to recruit and retain largely due to the salary attached to the role as well as the limited opportunities for development and career progression.  This has been a long-standing issue within Special Schools and is now made increasingly more difficult due to the cost-of-living crisis.  Many schools face a significant shortage of support staff which places additional pressures of the staff and learners.  The “Morgan Report” stated that there was a £15 million investment in Pupil Support Assistants but much more needs to be done to improve the terms and conditions of PSAs to ensure that all learners have access to the best quality support.  It is frustrating that the value and worth of the PSAs is acknowledged in writing but not in practice.  Without further investment, support and better working conditions learners in all settings will be significantly disadvantaged.

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Questions:

It is recognised that judging success of inclusion cannot necessarily be done though traditional assessment through qualification. With this in mind, what alternative approaches would you advocate for?

In my opinion, pupil voice will be vital in determining the success of inclusion within schools However, with a recent report finding that “nearly half (40%) of learners surveyed felt that they have received a below average or poor level of support from their school” and another finding that “over 80% of respondents in their study of inclusion said schools are not getting it right for every child.” (Florian, 2019:10). How can we ensure more consistency in practice between schools who are ‘getting it right’ and those who are not?

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Things which challenged:

Florian’s text challenged my thinking and practice the most. Wholeheartedly, I agree with the statement that ““regular schools…are the most effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all” (Florian, 2019:3). However, this article has brought into question the approaches that my school employs in order to meet the needs of children and young people.

Florian states that. “where there is collaboration between classroom teachers and specialists deployed in ways that support the learning of everyone, special needs education can function in ways that contribute to the goals of inclusive education.” Within my own schools, we work with a number of professional in order to meet children’s needs. Working with ASD Outreach or the Inclusion and Wellbeing Service has allowed myself and my colleagues to develop a more inclusive school and more inclusive classrooms as identified in Maciver et al (2018).

However, as recognised in the Morgan Report, although building capacity of myself and staff, perhaps children would benefit from a more direct approach: “While recognising the principle of building capacity in those closest to supporting a child, the impact of this is limited when there is inadequate time and resource for school staff to fully participate and reflect on the benefits of consultation” (Morgan, 2022:37).

In addition, although well intentioned, I feel that some of our practices are similar to the practices used in special schools – providing alternative educational experiences for children with Additional Support Needs to their peers. This is seen in the use of IEPs and differentiation of activities by task. However, I do wonder what an alternative approach would be when we success of children is determined through attainment in qualifications. This was also recognised in the Morgan Report (2020).

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Things which resonated:

From the readings, there are a number of things which resonated with me and rung true to my own experiences within education.

Firstly, the work of Óskarsdóttir et al (2020) I found particularly interesting. As this course has progressed, my understanding of leadership continues to develop. This work reaffirmed my current understanding that there is no one approach that can be used consistently. It is about choosing the correct form of leadership (transformational, distributed, instructional leadership) for a given scenario. When this is done well, this can lead to inclusive leadership.

Also, within this text, I found the levels of complex networks in the environment that affect learners to be very interesting. As a school leader, this has implications for my practice as there are key roles and responsibilities that I have in each level of the eco system in order to support inclusion.

Moreover, the Morgan Report (2022:30) states that, ““where children and young people communicate distress through behaviour, which impacts on them, on other children and young people, and on adults, there must be support to alleviate that distress.” However, the report also recognises the difficulty in working out how this should be done. In my experience, although we all want what is best for the child or young person, not all professionals working with a child agree on what the appropriate course of action should be and this can lead to conflicting ideas.

Florian (2019) highlights the increasing pressure in schools due to budget cuts. The ‘Morgan Report’ puts across the idea that, due to budget constraints, schools are having to prioritise the needs of children. I do feel that this is an everyday reality for me and other leaders. With as many as 30.9% children having an additional support need in schools and limited resources, schools are having to make decisions daily about where to focus the support. Support is often aimed at the children who are displaying challenging behaviours, which is potentially, as the report later suggests, resulting in a number of children being overlooked.

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Within The Morgan Report report, it was stated that the combination of significantly increased need and static or reduced resources is the most powerful driver in shaping the reality of implementation. This resonated well with me, as it would most practitioners within education at the moment, all of whom are under pressure to get it right for every child using limited resources and to some extent a complete disconnection with experiences and policy aspirations. What did resonate well with me was stated in the summary and recommendations that talked over ASL Legislation being over dependant on committed individuals. I think that this is most evident in settings and that leaders are faced with the task of creating a value-based setting with ASN at the heart. It was documented that the dominance of attainment and qualification results devalues and demoralises children and staff working with ASN and this is definitely a widespread feeling among staff.  The report recommended that the NIF be revised to ensure parity for ASL which I think is a positive move forward and one that has been needed for some time to address inclusion. 

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Within The Morgan Report report, it was stated that the combination of significantly increased need and static or reduced resources is the most powerful driver in shaping the reality of implementation. This resonated well with me, as it would most practitioners within education at the moment, all of whom are under pressure to get it right for every child using limited resources and to some extent a complete disconnection with experiences and policy aspirations. What did resonate well with me was stated in the summary and recommendations that talked over ASL Legislation being over dependant on committed individuals. I think that this is most evident in settings and that leaders are faced with the task of creating a value-based setting with ASN at the heart. It was documented that the dominance of attainment and qualification results devalues and demoralises children and staff working with ASN and this is definitely a widespread feeling among staff.  The report recommended that the NIF be revised to ensure parity for ASL which I think is a positive move forward and one that has been needed for some time to address inclusion. 

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The Morgan report recommendations around measurement talked of investment in PSA and the need for the LA and managers to plan a strategy around deployment of PSA. How is this possible when PSA hours are being cut at the start of and during the school year? Consistency is being challenged and in turn this affects outcomes for our ASN learners. MacIver et all talks of the key issues around inclusion being with both the child and the environment and that both are of equal importance. I agree with this and think that in terms of leadership, leaders need to address staff behaviours, environments, routine and structures to ensure both succeed. How viable is this? Can leaders do so over a period of time and still make an impact for children with identified and non-identified ASN? What role will government and LA play in this? Florian 2019 points out that there are major concerns within the current model for ASN and that increasing pressures mean that not all learners are truly experiencing and flourishing in inclusive education. I think this is something we all face on a daily basis and this can be incredibly challenging and emotive for school teacher and leaders. 

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The Morgan report recommendations around measurement talked of investment in PSA and the need for the LA and managers to plan a strategy around deployment of PSA. How is this possible when PSA hours are being cut at the start of and during the school year? Consistency is being challenged and in turn this affects outcomes for our ASN learners. MacIver et all talks of the key issues around inclusion being with both the child and the environment and that both are of equal importance. I agree with this and think that in terms of leadership, leaders need to address staff behaviours, environments, routine and structures to ensure both succeed. How viable is this? Can leaders do so over a period of time and still make an impact for children with identified and non-identified ASN? What role will government and LA play in this? Florian 2019 points out that there are major concerns within the current model for ASN and that increasing pressures mean that not all learners are truly experiencing and flourishing in inclusive education. I think this is something we all face on a daily basis and this can be incredibly challenging and emotive for school teacher and leaders. 

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It was documented in the Morgan Report that the dominance of attainment and qualification results devalues and demoralises children and staff working with ASN and this is something we all see each day in our interactions with children and families and teaching staff. In light of the rising numbers of children and young people having an identified ASN (30.9% in Scotland in 2018) how and when will policy at a national strategic level become more visible? Will this then be incorporated more in ITE to ensure the future of our teaching profession are knowledgeable and skilled? 

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It was documented in the Morgan Report that the dominance of attainment and qualification results devalues and demoralises children and staff working with ASN and this is something we all see each day in our interactions with children and families and teaching staff. In light of the rising numbers of children and young people having an identified ASN (30.9% in Scotland in 2018) how and when will policy at a national strategic level become more visible? Will this then be incorporated more in ITE to ensure the future of our teaching profession are knowledgeable and skilled? 

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Do you think the current national discussion on education and the reform programme proposing new education bodies will have any real impact on inclusion in our schools?

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Morgan Report 2020

The quantitative data at the end of the report was very interesting, particularly the huge differences between 2012 and 2018, as noted, some of these differences are due to more being recorded, but it would be good to have more information around these differences.

MacIver et al, 2018

Not surprised that transitions are highlighted, although thought it would also mention the many times young people are moving classes

We notice rising anxiety in many of our children with ASN when going to HS, and know of a few non-attenders, are we setting our children and young people up for failure by adapting the primary environment too much, it's not the same in high school!

Florian, 2019

Everyone is different and unique, but how can that be managed by one teacher...the practicalities are completely different when it is all about attainment and accountability.

Óskarsdóttir et al, 2020

Interesting that leaders should be given the opportunity to pick their staff...that doesn't happen most of the time

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Morgan Report 2020

To be honest, I don’t think any of the findings within the Morgan Report would be a surprise to anyone. In schools, we are all under extreme pressure to meet the needs of all our learners with limited time, resources, and expertise. Sadly, this doesn’t look like it’s going to improve anytime soon and with the impact of covid still not being fully understood as well as the upcoming economic crisis we’ll be facing too, education’s ‘inclusive practice’ will continue to suffer.

MacIver et al, 2018

Clear focus on what teachers can do - attitude and environment

Very dependent on staff values, did make me think there should be a better focus in ITE to better prepare teachers

Agree there's a huge amount of pressure within a primary classroom, only one group of children though, with only one other teacher, usually just a NCCT teacher

HS is very different, teachers are working with many more children, therefore a larger amount of varying needs to manage, and as we all know, strategies with some children can work for a while then don't, relationships are key, but perhaps easier to do in a primary school.

Florian, 2019

Bell curve thinking was interesting, thought about the use of the circle framework and the universal approaches for all children, and that of course, a difference for some children in their provision excludes them, however, I thought also about the early intervention discussed in the Morgan report and wondered to what extent do we 'include' children until we are unable to do so, are we doing a disservice to some children by not excluding them from the school environment earlier?

Óskarsdóttir et al, 2020

Really liked this piece and the discussion around the different leadership approaches and the ecological model (Bronfenbrenner), again, a lot of focus on what teachers can be doing in the environment

Liked naming the organizational functions, again, the importance of leadership and the three main leadership theories to use and why.

Liked the framework with roles and responsibilities and the link between having autonomy but also to be supported in doing that

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Currently in my own setting, I can see that there is a significant rise in learners with additional support needs for a wide range of reasons, not excluding the substantial impact of the recent pandemic.  These needs are extensive, and I believe are likely to continue to increase. How do you as a senior leader balance meeting the needs of all learners in your care effectively and manage, support and upskill staff to cope with the widespread needs within a mainstream classroom against the backdrop of growing concerns and anxiety of parents, increasing pressures on raising attainment, already strained support services, authority budget cuts and reduced/absent/stretched/stressed/tired staff - all within a normal working week whilst maintaining a strategic role and outlook and keeping your own values at the helm?

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The Morgan Report lists achieving as a way of measuring involvement in school life but what does achieving mean? The most powerful and visible measure of success for Scotland’s education system and for the progress of individual children and young people is currently attainment in the form of qualifications. However, not all children and young people can make progress and achieve through qualifications. This devalues and demoralises children and young people who learn and achieve in other ways and devalues and demoralises the skilled and committed staff who work with them. Children and young people for whom exam based qualifications are not aligned to their learning needs and potential are not failures. The Review evidence is consistent that there must be recognition of individual achievement in Learning for Life. This means creating equally valued alternative pathways and ways of measuring individual progress. These must measure the child or young person’s achievements and success from their own starting point.

I was also challenged by Florian (2019) and the distinction between special needs education and inclusive education. Personally, I never use the term special needs.  I think more of how to meet the additional support needs of an individual within a mainstream environment or whether resource or provision is required which is different from or additional to what is on offer to everyone else.

I was also challenged by the distinction between a learning difficulty and a learning disability. Florian (2019) states that a learning difficulty refers to a barrier to learning. Learning difficulties can include specific conditions often considered disabilities.  Therefore, learning difficulties can be caused by underlying disabilities but not always. The difficulty may be created by the life circumstances of the child e.g. poverty, culture, race, language, absence etc.

Florian (2019) also raised the point that there are concerns by some that inclusive education is not working for many of our children due to increasing pressures, budget cuts and the deployment of resources but states that they must not be allowed to see inclusion as a failed policy.  However, I see these as a stark reality that leaders face on a day to day basis and one which challenges our basic values.

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In reading the Morgan Report, entitled “Support for Learning: All Our Children and All Their Potential”, it is made clear that for learners to have the fullest involvement in the life of the school they have to be present, participating, supported and achieving and I could not agree more.  However, the report highlights a number of issues around inclusion: disconnect between experience and the stated aspirations of the legislation and policy, the challenges and time required to be able to support learners with ASN appropriately, not all learners are valued at an equal level within the education system due to the focus on attainment, the frustrations of those involved in supporting learners of not being listened to by those with the power to make change and the range of other strategic and operational factors which impact the reality of implementation supports.

McIver et all (2018), introduce two themes: the “Inclusive School” and the “Inclusive Classroom” together with eight sub themes to ensure a commitment to inclusion.  In order to be an inclusive school, there is a need to keep the learner at the centre at all times, to embed literacy and numeracy in learning and the adjustments required to ensure access to these curricular areas, to support around the problematic area of transitions for learners with ASN, to ensure procedures are in place to allow the full dissemination of information and they highlight the importance of leadership in creating an inclusive ethos and allowing staff to collaborate to ensure good practice.  Within an inclusive classroom, McIver et al (2018) highlight the importance of adult led strategies and the powerful effect of motivation and building strong positive relationships with learners, the need for effective and consistent structures and routines within the classroom and finally careful consideration to the physical and social environment and how this impacts on learners with ASN.

In my experience, educators are fully aware of their responsibility to support learners with very diverse support needs. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. This is also at the heart of the GTCS’ Standard for Full Registration (2021).

Oskarsdottir et al (2020), further support the role in leadership in effecting change in schools. Lumby and Coleman (2016) define leadership as the process of providing direction and applying influence. The SISL project identified three leadership theories linked to successful inclusive practices: transformational, distributed and instructional leadership. These theories share a common focus on developing shared vision, shared ownership and decision making (Kershner and McQuillan, 2016; Urick, 2016).

For me, the importance of leadership and collaboration in getting it right for all children is key. Inclusion is part of my school’s vision and part of our R(Inclusion)SE values. Keeping the child at the centre is essential in this process to ensure that each child is provided with opportunities to enjoy the fullest involvement in the life of the school and are able to achieve their fullest potential.