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.

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.

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.

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.

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? 

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 

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.

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!

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. 

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

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.  

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). 

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?

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.  

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?  

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. 

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.

• 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.

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

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."

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?

 

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?

 

 

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.  

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’.

 

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?

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.

“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.  

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.

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?

‘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?

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. 

                                                                                                                                                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. 

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? 

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.

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. 

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.’ 

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. 

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?

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.

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. 

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. 

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?