The United Nations convention lays out the rights of children and in particular children with any form of disability or those that require special needs. Currently, there is an international trend towards promoting “inclusive” education and other practices to improve the stay of children with disability in schools. Inclusive education, in this case, involves the action of including those children with disability in the regular education system. Therefore, promoting inclusive practice has to do with the policies and legislation put in place to enhance inclusive education (Csie.org.uk, 2015). In this assignment, Gorway School policy will be critically analyzed highlighting the strengths, weaknesses and suggest possible improvements that can be applied.
The Gorway School policy lists several strengths in relation to promoting inclusive practices. The first strength is equality. The school ensures fairness for all children. This is in line with the equality act of 2010. To ensure uniformity, the school pays attention to every individual in the school. Moreover, the school pays attention to minority ethnic and faith groups, children who might experience exclusion or disaffection, children with special learning needs, asylum seekers and travelers. The school, therefore, ensures full compliance with the equality act because by paying attention to the mentioned groups and individuals, no one is harassed, discriminated in any way or victimized in school.
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Another strength of Gorway School policy is the continuous review of what they do to achieve educational inclusion. The people responsible for reviewing the plan ask themselves five questions to judge the efficiency of the policy. First, they determine whether all Gorway’s students achieve their best. Second, they find out if any discrepancies exist in the performance of different groups of children. Third, they establish what action is taken to aid the students not performing well or achieving their best. Forth, they determine the efficiency of their activities and finally, they evaluate their success in promoting racial harmony. Inclusive practices are encouraged by answering these questions and making necessary changes to the policy. Moreover, the school adheres to the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice of 2014 (updated 2015).
Gorway School offers customized equipment for students with special needs. For example, the school offers specialized chairs, desks and other furniture for these students. The school’s access plan also determines the best practices to ensure that pupils with special needs are comfortable. Moreover, the Disability Equality scheme outlines the plans expected to promote inclusive practices. The school thus adheres to the amended Disability Discrimination Act of 1995. According to section 28B (1) of this act, an institution discriminates a disabled pupil when it treats them with less favor compared to other pupils. Gorway avoids discrimination by taking necessary actions such as those mentioned above. The school also complies with the disability equality duty of 2006 by providing the customized equipment for students with a disability (Csie.org.uk, 2013).
According to the school’s policy, racist incidents are noted and treated accordingly. The school has a racial equality policy. This shows that the school is very keen on matters concerning racist incidents. Any such event is reported to the governing body. Parents of the pupils involved in such incidents are also notified. According to section 17 of the Race Relations Act, racial discrimination in education is wrong and unlawful. The act states that a person should not be discriminated in an educational establishment. Further, the Race Equality Duty Act places a statutory duty on schools to ensure the is racial equality (Csie.org.uk, 2013). Schools and other public authorities need to play a prominent role in eliminating any unlawful racial discrimination. The school’s racial equality policy promotes race equality hence promoting inclusive practices.
There are many strengths highlighted in the policy; however, it still needs improvement. For example, according to the plan, Gorway School strives to remove barriers that hinder learning and participation or those that promote exclusion of some pupils. It is not realistic to remove all obstacles. Typically, this is not possible. Barriers are not only physical but include the society’s attitudes. Some barriers such as disability are impossible to overcome. The policy should provide for training, advice, and support on inclusive practices. Moreover, the social model of disability can be used to determine how to handle the barriers (Baglieri & Shapiro, 2012). According to the social model, disability is as a result of the community’s organization and not by an individual’s impairment.
Another improvement should be on how the school plans their curriculum. In the policy, the school relies on the national curriculum. The problem with this is that it is not individualized. Pupils have various cognitive strengths. Some students have unique memories while some excel in reasoning and logic. These should be considered more when planning the curriculum rather than just adhering to the national curriculum which does not suit the needs of most of the pupils. According to Knowles (2010), the interests of pupils should always be safeguarded. Another issue that should be addressed is how teachers and support staff ensure equality. They should not put too much pressure on the pupils because this can affect their mental health. Finally, the policy should frequently be updated as per the 2015 SEND code of practice.
The gorway school policy promotes inclusive practice. The school values each pupil and recognizes their uniqueness. Students with a disability are well accommodated, and the institution strives to provide for all students as per their needs. The school also seeks to meet statutory requirements concerning inclusion, and because of this, the school offers specialized chairs, desks and other furniture to ensure inclusivity. Moreover, the school has a racial equality policy which promotes unity and equity. Gorway School, however, should review few issues in their system for example how they plan their curriculum. They should tailor it to suit many individual pupils rather than conforming to the national curriculum.
- Baglieri, S., & Shapiro, A., 2012. Disability studies and the inclusive classroom, London: Routledge.
Csie.org.uk 2015. What is inclusion? [online] (updated 20 January 2015) Available at: http://www.csie.org.uk/inclusion/what.shtml [Accessed 27 Apr. 2018]. - Csie.org.uk 2013. Inclusive education in the UK – no discrimination on grounds of disability and special educational needs. [online] (updated 5 August 2013) Available at: http://www.csie.org.uk/inclusion/education-disability.shtml [Accessed 27 Apr. 2018].
- Knowles, G., 2010. Supporting inclusive practice and ensuring opportunity is equal for all, London: Routledge.
