B | Producing inclusive POLICIES - Index for Inclusion

The following indicators and questions enable a detailed review of all aspects of a school and help to identify and implement priorities for change.

B.1 | Developing the school for all

Indicator B.1.1 | Staff appointments and promotions are fair

Are opportunities for promotion seen to be open to all who are eligible, inside and outside the school?
Do the promoted posts reflect the balance of genders and backgrounds of staff in the school?
Does the composition of teaching and non-teaching staff reflect the communities in the school locality?
Is there a clear strategy for removing barriers to the appointment of staff with impairments?
Do posts of higher status disproportionately favour particular sections of the community?
Has the school established staffing equality targets?
Is the valuing of diversity in students an essential criterion for the appointment of staff?
Are temporary replacements found for absent support staff as well as classroom and subject teachers?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.1.2 | All new staff are helped to settle into the school

Does the school recognise the difficulties that new staff may have in settling into a new job in what may be a new locality?
Do longer serving staff avoid making new staff feel outsiders, for example by the use of a ‘we’ or an ‘us’ which excludes them?
Does every new member of staff have a mentor who is genuinely interested in helping him or her to settle into the school?
Does the school make new staff feel that the experience and knowledge they bring to the school is valued?
Are there opportunities for all staff, including new staff, to share their knowledge and expertise?
Are new staff provided with the basic information they need about the school?
Are new staff asked what additional information they need, and is it provided?
Are the observations about the school of new staff sought and valued for the fresh insights that they may contain?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.1.3 | The school seeks to admit all students from its locality

Are all students from the locality encouraged to attend the school irrespective of attainment or impairment?
Is the inclusion of all students from the locality publicised as school policy?
Does the school seek to overcome barriers to participation for the variety of ethnic groups in the locality?
Are traveller children and young people who visit the area actively welcomed to the school?
Are students from the locality, currently in special schools, actively encouraged to attend the school?
Is membership of the school equally unconditional for all students?
Is there an increase in the proportion of students from the locality included within the school?
Is there an increase in the diversity of students from the locality included in the school?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.1.4 | The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people

Are the needs of deaf, blind and partially sighted people, as well as people with physical impairments considered in making the buildings accessible?
Is the school concerned with the accessibility of all aspects of the school building and grounds, including classrooms, corridors, toilets, gardens, playgrounds, canteen and displays?
Are organisations of disabled people consulted about the accessibility of the school?
Is disabled access part of the building improvement plan?
Does the school pay attention to the requirement of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 to make progress each year on the accessibility of the school?
Is accessibility seen as about disabled staff, governors, parents/carers and other members of the community, as well as students?
Are projects concerned with improving the accessibility of the school buildings part of the school curriculum?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.1.5 | All new students are helped to settle into the school

Does the school have an induction programme for students?
Does the induction programme work well for students and their families whether they join at the start of the school year or some other time?
Is information available for parents/carers on the national and local education system as well as about the school?
Does the induction programme take into account student differences in attainment and home language?
Are new students paired with more experienced students when they first enter the school?
Are steps taken to find out the extent to which new students feel at home in the school after a few weeks?
Is there support for students who have difficulty memorising the building layout, particularly when they first join the school?
Are new students clear about who to see if they experience difficulties?
When students are due to transfer from one school to another, do staff in each school collaborate to ease the change?
Are steps taken to familiarise students with the school before they transfer from pre-school or primary school?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.1.6 | The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued

Are teaching groups treated fairly in the use of facilities, location of teaching rooms, allocation of teaching staff and staff cover?
Do staff consider the opportunities created for students to teach and learn from each other in diverse groups?
In planning teaching groups, is attention paid to friendships and the presence of others who speak the same languages?
Is there an attempt to minimise the organisation of teaching groups according to levels of attainment or impairment?
Where setting occurs, are there plans to prevent negative effects, such as disaffection in lower sets?
Where setting occurs, do the arrangements give students an equal opportunity to move between sets?
Are seating arrangements within classes changed as necessary to promote social cohesion between boys and girls and the variety of ethnic groups in the school?
Are seating arrangements within classes changed as necessary to improve learning opportunities for students?
Are schools mindful of the legal obligation to educate together students who do and do not experience difficulties in learning?
Where there is a large imbalance of girls and boys in a particular year’s intake, do schools consider establishing some single-sex classes?
Do schools avoid identifying and grouping a disproportionate number of boys as low attainers or as requiring an alternative curriculum?
Do schools avoid restricting the curriculum (such as omitting a foreign language) for students who are given additional literacy support?
Where there are option choices, are all students allowed to make real choices?

Further questions:

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B.2 | Organising support for diversity

Indicator B.2.1 | All forms of support are co-ordinated

Are all support policies co-ordinated in a strategy for increasing the capacity of the school to respond to diversity?
Is the coordination of support given high status in the school and led by a senior member of staff?
Are support policies directed at preventing barriers to learning and participation for students?
Is there an overall inclusive support policy which is clear to all within the school?
Is the support policy made clear to those from outside the school who support learning within it?
Is there a clear plan for the way external support services can contribute to the inclusive development of cultures, policies and practices?
Are staff aware of all the services that can support the development of learning and participation in the school?
Is there coordination of all initiatives, such as healthy schools or those aimed at high attaining students, so that they support the inclusive development of the school?
Are those offering support asked to co-ordinate their efforts with other overlapping initiatives?
Are support policies guided by what is best for students rather than the maintenance of professional territories?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.2 | Staff development activities help staff to respond to student diversity

Do all curriculum development activities address the participation of students differing in background, experience, attainment or impairment?
Do all curriculum development activities address the reduction of barriers to learning and participation?
Do staff development activities support staff in working effectively together in classrooms?
Is partnership teaching, followed by shared review, used to support teachers to respond to student diversity?
Do staff observe each other’s lessons in order to reflect on the perspectives of students?
Do staff receive training in devising and managing collaborative learning activities?
Are there shared opportunities for teachers and classroom assistants to develop more effective collaboration?
Are there opportunities for staff and students to learn about peer tutoring?
Do teaching and support staff learn about using technology to support learning (such as cameras, television, video, overhead projector, tape-recorders, computers/Internet)?
Do staff explore ways of reducing disaffection by increasing the engagement of students in curricula?
Is disability equality education provided for all staff?
Do all staff learn how to counter bullying, including racism, sexism and homophobia?
Do staff and governors take responsibility for assessing their own learning needs?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.3 | ‘Special educational needs’ policies are inclusion policies

Is there an attempt to minimise the categorisation of students as ‘having special educational needs’?
Does the school avoid the disproportionate categorisation of boys as ‘having special educational needs’?
Does the school avoid the disproportionate categorisation of particular ethnic groups as ‘having special educational needs’?
Does the school call its co-ordinator of support a learning support, learning development or inclusion co-ordinator, rather than a ‘special educational needs co-ordinator’?
Are students who are categorised as ‘having special educational needs’ seen as individuals with differing interests, knowledge and skills rather than as part of a homogeneous group?
Are the attempts to remove barriers to learning and participation of one student seen as opportunities for improving the classroom experiences of all students?
Is support seen as an entitlement for those students who need it rather than as a special addition to their education?
Are the details of an entitlement to support made public to students and parents/carers and included within the school brochure?
Where possible, is support provided without recourse to formal assessment procedures?
Are ‘special needs’ policies aimed at increasing learning and participation and minimising exclusion?
Is there an attempt to minimise the withdrawal of students for support outside their mainstream lessons?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.4 | The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice is used to reduce the barriers to learning and participation of all students

Is the use of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice co-ordinated with the Code of Practice (Schools) from the Disability Rights Commission?
Is the use of both Codes of Practice integrated into an overall inclusion policy within the school?
Is the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice seen as about support rather than assessment and categorisation?
Is support for teaching diverse groups seen as an alternative to categorisation and the provision of individual support?
Do external support services contribute to the planning of teaching and learning to reduce barriers to learning and participation?
Are Individual Education Plans about providing access to, and supporting participation within, a common curriculum?
Do Individual Education Plans for some students improve the teaching and learning arrangements for all students?
Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ build on the strengths of students and possibilities for their development, rather than concentrate on identifying deficiencies?
Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ describe the changes in teaching and learning arrangements required to increase learning?
Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ describe the changes in teaching and learning arrangements required to increase engagement with other students?
Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ specify the support required to maximise participation in mainstream curricula and communities?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.5 | Support for those learning English as an additional language is co-ordinated with learning support

Is support for these students seen to be the responsibility of all staff within the school?
Does support for these students help to reduce barriers to learning and participation for all students?
Does support focus on overcoming barriers to learning and participation rather than making a distinction between ‘having a difficulty in an additional language’ and ‘having a learning difficulty’?
Are high expectations for achievement maintained for all students who learn or have learned English as an additional language?
Are interpreters of Sign Language and other first languages, available to support all who need them?
Is the effect of moving country and culture recognised as a possible barrier to learning and participation?
Is teaching and support available from someone who shares a cultural background with students?
Does support for these students address barriers to learning in all aspects of teaching, curricula and school organisation?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.6 | Pastoral and behaviour support policies are linked to curriculum development and learning support policies

Is the aim of increasing the learning and participation of students seen as the primary aim of all pastoral and behaviour support staff?
Are difficulties with behaviour related to strategies for improving classroom and playground experiences?
Does behaviour support involve reflection on ways to improve teaching and learning for all students?
Does behaviour support address barriers to learning and participation in school policies and cultures as well as practices?
Are all teachers and teaching assistants offered opportunities to learn how to reduce the disaffection and disruption of students?
Does the school attempt to raise the feelings of self-worth of those with low self-esteem?
Is the knowledge of parents/carers used in reducing disaffection and disruption?
Do students contribute to reducing disaffection and disruption of themselves and others in school?
Does support for children in public care encourage educational achievement?
Does support for children in public care encourage continuity in their learning?
Does support for children in public care encourage strong links between the school and carers?
Do pastoral and behaviour support policies address the well-being of students who are quietly troubled?
Does the school address the origins of disaffection in boys in the way masculinity is regarded inside and outside school?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.7 | Pressures for disciplinary exclusion are decreased

Is disciplinary exclusion seen as a process that may be interrupted by support and intervention in teaching and learning arrangements?
Are there meetings, involving staff, students, parents/carers and others, that attempt to deal with problems flexibly before they escalate?
Are the connections recognised between devaluation of students, and disaffection, disruption and disciplinary exclusion?
Does the school avoid creating pools of disaffection in devalued teaching groups?
Does the school address feelings of devaluation when they arise in ethnic minority or social class groups?
Does the school attempt to reduce conflict between ethnic or social class groups?
Are responses to concerns about the behaviour of students always to do with education and rehabilitation rather than retribution?
Are students, or others who are seen to have offended against the school community, treated with forgiveness?
Are there clear, positive plans for re-introducing students who have been excluded for disciplinary reasons?
Is there a policy to minimise all forms of disciplinary exclusions whether temporary or permanent, formal or informal?
Is the aim of reducing temporary, permanent, formal and informal exclusions shared between staff?
Are clear records kept about informal as well as formal disciplinary exclusions?
Are regular reports on disciplinary exclusion provided for the governing body?
Are formal and informal disciplinary exclusions being reduced?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.8 | Barriers to attendance are reduced

Are all barriers to attendance explored within the cultures, policies and practices of the school as well as in children and young people’s attitudes and homes?
Does the school avoid using unauthorised absence as a reason for disciplinary exclusion?
Is the unauthorised absence of students treated equitably irrespective of gender or background?
Are the relationships between unauthorised absence, bullying and the lack of supportive friendships recognised?
Does the school respond to student pregnancy in a way that is supportive and non-discriminatory towards girls?
Does the school actively support the return to school and participation of students who have had a bereavement, a chronic illness or a long-term absence?
Is there clear advice on extended leave to visit a ‘home’ country that has been negotiated with the school’s communities?Are there guidelines for integrating into lessons the experiences gained by those who have been away for extended periods?
Is there a plan to improve co-operation between staff and parents/carers over unauthorised absence?
Is there a co-ordinated strategy between the school and other agencies?
Is there an efficient system for reporting absence and discovering reasons for it?Is a record kept of absences from individual lessons?
Are absences from particular lessons seen as a reason for exploring relationships with teachers and what is taught?
Are the figures collected by the school an accurate reflection of ‘real’ unauthorised absence?
Is the unauthorised absence of students reducing?

Further questions:

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Indicator B.2.9 | Bullying is minimised

Do staff, parents/carers, governors and students share a view of what bullying is?
Is bullying seen as a potential part of all power relationships?
Is bullying seen to be concerned with verbal and emotional hurt as well as physical assault?
Is the threat of the withdrawal of friendship understood as a source of bullying?
Is bullying seen as occurring potentially between staff, staff and students, and staff and parents/carers as well as between students?
Are racist, sexist, ableist and homophobic comments and behaviour seen as aspects of bullying?
Is there a clear policy statement about bullying, which sets out in detail what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable in the school?
Can the language of the policy statement be understood by staff, governors, students and parents/carers?
Are men and women available who are approachable and can give support about bullying to boys and girls?
Do students know who to turn to if they are bullied?
Are there people inside and outside the school who staff can turn to if they are bullied?
Are students involved in strategies to prevent and minimise bullying?
Are clear records kept about bullying incidents?
Is bullying being reduced?

Further questions:

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Source: Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002): Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. Published by the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE).