Celebrating Differences
Setting up a regular process of reviewing how you include all children and young people is a positive way of embedding a culture of inclusivity.
Identifying and removing barriers is only one part of ensuring you are an inclusive setting. Can you go further than this and identify what unique strengths all children bring to your setting? You could start by asking all children before they even join you “What brings you joy?” and “What are you good at?”
Learning Activity: Reviewing what you do
In the following case study, think of the barriers that Surmeet is facing, what you can do about them and how you can review whether or not any reasonable adjustments have worked:
Surmeet is an 11-year-old with Asperger syndrome who attends a holiday club. While he enjoys participating in various activities, he gets upset with lots of noise, large groups of children, especially when moving from one activity to another. This sometimes leads to physical outbursts.
To keep children motivated and energetic, movement from one activity to another is often very quick. When the activities change, there is a lot of people moving all at once.
The physical setup of the club means that there is one large room divided into smaller sections and not very much quiet space.
Surmeet is enthusiastic about taking part in group activities, such as arts and crafts, sports, and music sessions.
Surmeet has communication needs including a language delay and uses a combination of verbal communication, sign language, and visual aids to understand instructions and to express himself. This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or frustration, both for Surmeet and those interacting with him.
Despite his difficulties, with the right support and inclusive practices, Surmeet can enjoy and benefit from the holiday club, building friendships and developing new skills in a supportive environment.
What does Surmeet enjoy?
Surmeet is enthusiastic about taking part in group activities, such as arts and crafts, sports, and music sessions.
What are Surmeet’s needs?
High levels of anxiety when moving from one activity to another, being seen as emotional outbursts.
What might be barriers to Surmeet being fully included in the provision?
Concerns about safety for Sumeet and his peers due to the fast moving nature of the timetable and quick changes from one activity to another.
What reasonable adjustments can be made to support inclusion?
Reflect on speed of transitions in the setting, such as moving between activities or the start and end of sessions. Gather information from other people around Surmeet as to what works at home and at school.
Prepare Surmeet for transitions through:
- Visual schedules,
- Time warnings, and
- Sensory breaks.
Ensure there is space for Surmeet to take time out if he needs to if he is struggling with the transition. Use a red, amber, green chart with emojis to help them identify when he is feeling calm, a little or a lot overwhelmed.
How can these reasonable adjustments be monitored?
Implement the transition plan and observe its impact on Surmeet’s behaviour and comfort levels.
Collect feedback from Surmeet, parents, and staff to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies.
How might any reasonable adjustments need to be changed if they are not meeting Surmeet’s needs?
Reflect on the feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve the transition process.
Monitor whether the approach is consistent across the day or between different sessions and ensure that there is a consistent approach delivered by the whole team.
You can use this process to review all your inclusion practices going forward. Here is a reminder of the process:
Now that you are aware of inclusion and how to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that all children are included, you can think about how you work with others to spread the word and make yours a culture of inclusion!