Identify what makes an inclusive school
Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Understanding what inclusive education means’
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Go to top of current page: Identify what makes an inclusive school
Commit to inclusion
Commit to inclusion
The board chairperson at Berhampore School talks about their expectation that every child will be included socially and in the learning.
Capture shared aspirations
Capture shared aspirations
The views and aspirations of New Zealand families and educators on what makes an inclusive school.
Identify characteristics
Identify characteristics
- welcome all students who are entitled to enrol
- have strong leaders who lead with moral purpose, communicate and model clear values, and have high expectations for every student
- have good systems and processes for enrolling ALL students and identifying their diverse learning and wellbeing needs and strengths
- work effectively with parents, whānau, and their wider communities
- adapt to the student rather than making the student adapt to the school
- support the professional development of their teachers
- have robust processes for identifying and supporting the diverse learning needs and aspirations of Māori and Pasifika students
- foster the identity, language, and culture of every student
- have effective self-review processes to ensure ongoing improvement of policies and practices.
Source: What an inclusive school looks like, Ministry of Education (opens in a new tab/window)
Discuss principles
Discuss principles
Education Review Office (ERO) describes the most inclusive schools as having three key principles.
- Ethical standards and leadership that build the school culture.
- Well organised systems, effective teamwork, and constructive relationships that identify and support the inclusion of all students.
- Innovative and flexible practices that ensure environments and experiences are inclusively designed and meet the diverse learning needs of all students.
Source: Adapted from: Including Students with High Needs (2010) (opens in a new tab/window)
Explore self review tools
Explore self review tools
The Inclusive practices Tool developed by NZCER supports schools to find out how the school community feels about their school.
The concepts in the tool summarise what makes a school inclusive.
![8761 [Inclusive-Practices-diagram-IE-Leadership.jpg]](https://inclusive-live-storagestack-assetstorages3bucket-3uty0hejzw6u.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/inclusive-education/example-images/Inclusive-Practices-diagram-IE-Leadership__ScaleMaxWidthWzEwODZd.jpg)
Useful resources
Useful resources
Supporting your school to be inclusive
This list of questions was compiled by New Zealand’s Inclusive Education Action Group to help boards of trustees evaluate the inclusiveness of their schools.
Publisher: Inclusive Education Action Group
Download PDF
Inclusive education: Resources
Videos and resources from Alberta Education relating to inclusive education.
Publisher: Government of Alberta
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Understand inclusive education”:
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Current page Identify what makes an inclusive school
Return to the guide “The role of school boards”
![11502 [Board-of-Trustees.jpg]](https://inclusive-live-storagestack-assetstorages3bucket-3uty0hejzw6u.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/inclusive-education/guides/featured-images/Board-of-Trustees__FillWzIwOCwyMDhd.jpg)
How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: The role of school boards
Strategies for action:
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Understand inclusive educationShow suggestions for Understand inclusive education
- Identify what makes an inclusive school
- Identify barriers to inclusion
- Articulate your commitment to inclusive practice
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Meet legal responsibilities and obligationsShow suggestions for Meet legal responsibilities and obligations
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Review planning, monitoring, and reporting obligationsShow suggestions for Review planning, monitoring, and reporting obligations
