Index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow editing and production for CSIE Mark Vaughan Published by the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) CSIE supporting inclusion challenging exclusion Centrefor Studies on Inclusive Education © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. contents part 1 an inclusive approach to school development • 1 Welcome to the index for inclusion • 1 Key concepts: developing a language for inclusion • 2 The review framework: dimensions and sections • 7 The review materials: indicators and questions • 9 The Index process • 10 The Index in use • 10 What schools can hope to achieve • 11 part 2 the Index process • 13 phase 1 Getting started with the Index • 15 phase 2 Finding out about the school • 23 phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan • 31 phase 4 Implementing priorities • 33 phase 5 Reviewing the Index process • 36 part 3 indicators and questions • 39 List of indicators • 39 Indicators with questions • 42 part 4 summary sheet and questionnaires • 87 part 5 further reading and Disability Equality in Education • 99 © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools1 part 1 an inclusive approach to school development Welcome to the index for inclusion The Index is a resource to support the inclusive development of schools. It is a comprehensive document that can help everyone to find their own next steps in developing their setting. The materials are designed to build on the wealth of knowledge and experience that people have about their practice. They challenge and support the development of any school, however ‘inclusive’ it is thought to be currently. Inclusion is often associated with students* who have impairments or students seen as ‘having special educational needs’. However, in the Index, inclusion is about the education of all children and young people. The Index offers schools a supportive process of self-review and development, which draws on the views of staff, governors, students and parents/carers, as well as other members of the surrounding communities. It involves a detailed examination of how barriers to learning and participation can be reduced for any student. The Index is not an additional initiative but a way of improving schools according to inclusive values. It is not an alternative to raising achievement but about doing this in a way that builds collaborative relationships and improvements in the learning and teaching environment. In attending to values and the conditions for teaching and learning it can help to sustain improvements in schools. It encourages a view of learning in which children and young people are actively involved, integrating what they are taught with their own experience. It is a practical document, setting out what inclusion means for all aspects of schools; in staffrooms, classrooms, and playgrounds. The Index was produced over a three year period, with the help of a team of teachers, parents, governors, researchers and a representative of disability organisations, who had wide experience of encouraging the inclusive development of schools. An initial version was piloted in six primary and secondary schools and then a modified version was evaluated in a detailed programme of action research in seventeen schools in four local education authorities (LEAs). The schools found that the materials helped them to identify issues for development that might otherwise have been overlooked and to put them into practice. They also suggested ways in which the materials could be improved. The first published version was produced in March 2000 and was distributed free to all primary, secondary and special schools and LEAs in England, by the Department for Education and Employment. This new edition, though broadly similar to the previous version, simplifies the language of the Index and contains other modifications in response to comments on, and observations of its use. * Within the materials we use the term students to refer to children and young people in schools irrespective of age. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools2 Using the Index in a variety of ways There is no ‘right’ way of using the Index. Part 2 describes only one way of using it. It assumes that the process is started and led from within individual schools. However, many schools find it useful to have support, in getting started with the Index, from someone with previous knowledge of using it. In some areas, clusters or families of schools work in collaboration with each other and LEA advisory staff. They have found that such arrangements give them added impetus to keep going. Part 2 is also written as if, from the start, the intention is to integrate the Index work with an existing school development planning process. Some schools begin on a smaller scale, for example, in using the materials to raise awareness about inclusion with teachers and governors. This may then lead on to work in greater depth. Others have taken on the sections of the Index to do with improving staff conditions and relationships before looking more generally at teaching and learning. The Index has been used to structure a piece of individual or group research by teachers in a school. Any use is legitimate which promotes reflection about inclusion and leads to greater participation of students in the cultures, curricula and communities of their schools. The contents of the Index There are four elements to the Index: Key concepts ● to support thinking about inclusive school development. Review framework: dimensions and sections ● to structure the approach to the evaluation and development of the school. Review materials: indicators and questions ● to enable a detailed review of all aspects of a school and help to identify and implement priorities for change. An inclusive process ● to ensure that the process of review, planning for change and putting plans into practice is itself inclusive. Key concepts: developing a language for inclusion The key concepts of the Index are ‘inclusion’, ‘barriers to learning and participation’, ‘resources to support learning and participation’, and ‘support for diversity’. These provide a language for discussing inclusive educational development. Inclusion Everyone has his or her own view of a complex idea like inclusion. The dimensions, sections, indicators and questions provide a progressively more detailed view. Many people find that the notion of inclusion becomes clearer as they engage with the materials. The Index in use ‘It’s something you can dip in and out of, and doesn’t pretend to say: right you need to start here.’ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools3 Some of the ideas which make up the view of inclusion within the Index are summarised in figure 1. Inclusion involves change. It is an unending process of increasing learning and participation for all students. It is an ideal to which schools can aspire but which is never fully reached. But inclusion happens as soon as the process of increasing participation is started. An inclusive school is one that is on the move. Participation means learning alongside others and collaborating with them in shared learning experiences. It requires active engagement with learning and having a say in how education is experienced. More deeply, it is about being recognised, accepted and valued for oneself. Developing inclusion involves reducing exclusionary pressures. ‘Disciplinary exclusion’ is the temporary or permanent removal of a student from school for breaches of school rules. It is the result of one set of exclusionary pressures. Like inclusion, exclusion is thought of in a broad way. It refers to all those temporary or longer lasting pressures which get in the way of full participation. These might result from difficulties in relationships or with what is taught, as well as from feelings of not being valued. Inclusion is about minimising all barriers in education for all students. Inclusion starts from a recognition of the differences between students. figure 1 Inclusion in education Inclusion in education involves: ● Valuing all students and staff equally. ● Increasing the participation of students in, and reducing their exclusion from, the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools. ● Restructuring the cultures, policies and practices in schools so that they respond to the diversity of students in the locality. ● Reducing barriers to learning and participation for all students, not only those with impairments or those who are categorised as ‘having special educational needs’. ● Learning from attempts to overcome barriers to the access and participation of particular students to make changes for the benefit of students more widely. ● Viewing the difference between students as resources to support learning, rather than problems to be overcome. ● Acknowledging the right of students to an education in their locality. ● Improving schools for staff as well as for students. ● Emphasising the role of schools in building community and developing values, as well as in increasing achievement. ● Fostering mutually sustaining relationships between schools and communities. ● Recognising that inclusion in education is one aspect of inclusion in society. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools4 The development of inclusive approaches to teaching and learning respect and build on such differences. This may involve deep changes in what goes on in classrooms, staffrooms, playgrounds and in relationships with parents/carers. To include any child or young person we have to be concerned with the whole person. This can be neglected when inclusion is focused on only one aspect of a student such as an impairment or a need to learn English as an additional language. The exclusionary pressures on a child with an impairment may be primarily directed at his or her background or may arise because the curriculum does not engage his or her interests. Children learning English as an additional language may feel dislocated from their culture, or may have experienced a recent trauma. But we have to avoid thinking in stereotypes. Sometimes these children may have more in common, even in these respects, with children in the school for whom English is a home language than with students for whom it is not. The work done in identifying and reducing the difficulties of one student may benefit many other students, whose learning was not initially a particular focus of concern. This is one way in which differences between students, in interests, knowledge, skills, background, home language, attainments or impairment can be resources to support learning. Students continue to be excluded from a mainstream education because they have an impairment or are seen to ‘have learning difficulties’. This should be made more difficult by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act,1 the Disability Rights Code of Practice for Schools2 and the Statutory Guidance on Inclusive Schooling associated with the Act. This guidance recognises that mainstream education has sometimes been ‘blocked’ for ‘trivial and inappropriate’ reasons.3 Where parents want it, schools and LEAs are legally obliged to endeavour to make it possible for a child with an impairment to attend a mainstream school and participate within it. However, this falls short of the recognition of the right of a child to a local mainstream education. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act,4 encourages similar action in relation to increasing ‘race equality’, supported by guidance from the Commission for Racial Equality.5 6 7 Inclusion is about making schools supportive and stimulating places for staff as well as students. It is about building communities which encourage and celebrate their achievements. But inclusion is also about building community more widely. Schools can work with other agencies and with communities to improve educational opportunities and social conditions within their localities. Barriers to learning and participation In the Index, ‘barriers to learning and participation’ provides an alternative to the concept of ‘special educational needs’. The idea that educational difficulties can be resolved by identifying some children as ‘having special educational needs’ has considerable limitations. It confers a label that can lead to lowered expectations. It deflects attention from the difficulties experienced by other students without the label, and from sources of difficulty in relationships, cultures, curricula, teaching and learning approaches, school organisation and policy. It contributes to a fragmentation 1 Department for Education and Skills (2001) Special Educational Needs and Disability Act, London, DfES. 2 Disability Rights Commission (2002) Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Part 4: Code of Practice for Schools, London, DRC. 3 Statutory Guidance 2001 Inclusive Schooling, Children with Special Educational Needs, London, DfES p13. 4 The Home Office (2000) Race Relations (Amendment) Act, London, The Home Office. 5 Commission for Racial Equality (2002) Preparing a Race Equality Policy for Schools, London, CRE. 6 Commission for Racial Equality (2002) Code of Practice on the Duty to Promote Race Equality, London, CRE. 7 Commission for Racial Equality (2002) The Duty to Promote Race Equality, A Guide for Schools, London, CRE. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools5 of the efforts that schools make to respond to the diversity of students grouped under different headings such as ‘special educational needs’, ‘English as an additional language’, ‘ethnic minority’, ‘gifted and talented’. The notion of barriers to learning and participation can be used to direct attention at what needs to be done to improve the education for any child. Students encounter difficulties when they experience barriers to learning and participation. Barriers may be found in all aspects of the school, as well as within communities, and in local and national policies. Barriers also arise in the interaction between students and what and how they are taught. Barriers to learning and participation can prevent access to a school or limit participation within it. Although the language of ‘special educational needs’ can be a barrier to the development of inclusive practice in schools, it remains part of the culture and policy framework of all schools and influences a variety of practices. It is used in writing ‘statements of special educational needs’, in the identification of student difficulties in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice,8 in the use of Individual Education Plans and the information that schools have to provide in order to account for their expenditure on ‘special educational needs’. Although they do not have to use the title by law, most schools designate someone as ‘a special educational needs co-ordinator’ and are encouraged to do so by the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, as well as the Teacher Training Agency’s ‘standards for special educational needs co-ordinators’.9 The alternative terms ‘learning support co-ordinator’, ‘learning development coordinator’ or ‘inclusion co-ordinator’ are preferable. Such terms encourage a broader notion of support that connects work done with students who experience difficulties, with necessary changes for all students. The shift to a different way of thinking about educational difficulties creates complexity, since for some purposes we have to work with the existing language. But those who adopt the alternative concepts find that they help to provide new possibilities to identify and overcome difficulties in schools. Resources to support learning and participation The minimising of barriers to learning and participation involves mobilising resources within the school and its communities. There are always more resources to support learning and participation than are currently used within any setting. Resources are not just about money. Like barriers they can be found in any aspect of a school; in students, parents/carers, communities, and teachers; in changes in cultures, policies and practices. The resources in students, in their capacity to direct their own learning and to support each other’s learning, may be particularly under-utilised, as may the potential for staff to support each other’s development. There is a wealth of knowledge, within a school, about what impedes the learning and participation of students, which may not always be used to the full. The Index helps schools to draw on this knowledge to inform school development. Figure 2 provides a set of questions that can be used to reflect on existing knowledge about the cultures, policies and practices of a school. 8 Department for Education and Skills (2001) The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, London, DfES. 9 Teacher Training Agency (1998) National Standards for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators, London, TTA. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools6 Support for diversity When difficulties are seen to arise from the ‘special educational needs’ of children and young people it can seem natural to think of support as about providing additional people to work with particular individuals. The Index adopts a far broader notion of ‘support’ as all activities which increase the capacity of a school to respond to student diversity. Providing support to individuals is only part of the attempt to increase the participation of students. Support is also provided when teachers plan lessons with all students in mind, recognising their different starting points, experiences and learning styles or when students help each other. When learning activities are designed to support the participation of all students the need for individual support is reduced. Equally, the experience of supporting an individual may lead to an increase in active, independent learning, as well as contributing to improvements in teaching for a wider group of students. Support is a part of all teaching and all staff are involved in it. Major responsibility for the co-ordination of support may rest with a limited number of people but in working out how support is co-ordinated it is essential to link support for individuals and groups with staff and curriculum development activities. A social model of educational difficulties and disabilities The use of the concept ‘barriers to learning and participation’ for the difficulties that students encounter, rather than the term ‘special educational needs’, is part of a social model of difficulties in learning and disability. It contrasts with a medical model in which difficulties in education are seen to arise from deficiencies or impairments in a child or young person. According to the social model, barriers to learning and participation can exist in the nature of the setting or arise through an interaction between students and their contexts: the people, policies, institutions, cultures, and social and economic circumstances that affect their lives. Disabilities are barriers to participation for students with impairments or chronic illness. Disabilities may be created in the environment or by the interaction of discriminatory attitudes, actions, cultures, policies and institutional practices with impairments, pain, or chronic illness. Impairment can be defined as a long term ‘limitation of physical, intellectual or sensory function’,10 though the notion of an intellectual impairment is problematic and may suggest an unwarranted physical figure 2 Addressing barriers and resources in schools ● What are the barriers to learning and participation? ● Who experiences barriers to learning and participation? ● How can barriers to learning and participation be minimised? ● What resources to support learning and participation are available? ● How can additional resources to support learning and participation be mobilised? 10 Adapted from Disabled People’s International, 1981. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools7 basis to difficulties. While there is little that schools can do to overcome impairments, they can considerably reduce the disabilities produced by discriminatory attitudes and actions and institutional barriers. Institutional discrimination The Macpherson Report11 following the inquiry into the way the murder of Stephen Lawrence had been handled by the police, focused attention on the institutional racism within police forces and other institutions, including schools and education offices. Institutional discrimination is deeply embedded within cultures and influences the way people are perceived and the responses that are made to them, including the way staff are appointed. Institutional discrimination is much wider than racism. It includes the ways institutions may disadvantage people because of their gender, disability, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation. It is a barrier to participation and in education may impede learning. Because people are often more familiar with discussion of racism or sexism than disablism, they may be less aware of the involvement of people and institutions in the creation of disability. Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and disablism share a common root in intolerance to difference and the abuse of power to create and perpetuate inequalities. Making schools more inclusive may involve people in a painful process of challenging their own discriminatory practices and attitudes. The review framework: dimensions and sections Inclusion and exclusion are explored along three interconnected dimensions of school improvement: creating inclusive cultures, producing inclusive policies and evolving inclusive practices (see figure 3). These dimensions have been chosen to direct thinking about school change. Experience with the Index indicates that they are seen, very widely, as important ways to structure school development. The three dimensions are all necessary to the development of inclusion within a school. Any plan for school change must pay attention to all of figure 3 The three dimensions of the Index evolvinginclusivePRACTICES producinginclusivePOLICIES creating inclusive CULTURES 11 Macpherson, W. (1999) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (Macpherson Report), Command Paper 4261 vol 1, London, Stationery Office. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools8 them. However, the dimension ‘creating inclusive cultures’ is placed, deliberately, along the base of the triangle. At times, too little attention has been given to the potential for school cultures to support or undermine developments in teaching and learning. Yet they are at the heart of school improvement. The development of shared inclusive values and collaborative relationships may lead to changes in the other dimensions. It is through inclusive school cultures, that changes in policies and practices can be sustained by new staff and students. Each dimension is divided into two sections to further focus attention on what needs to be done to increase learning and participation in a school. The dimensions and sections are set out in figure 4. Together, they provide a review framework to structure a school development plan and can become headings within it. Schools may wish to ensure that they are moving forward in all these areas. figure 4 The dimensions and sections in the Index DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures Section A.1 Building community Section A.2 Establishing inclusive values This dimension creates a secure, accepting, collaborating, stimulating community, in which everyone is valued as the foundation for the highest achievements of all. It develops shared inclusive values that are conveyed to all new staff, students, governors and parents/carers. The principles and values, in inclusive school cultures, guide decisions about policies and moment to moment practice in classrooms, so that school development becomes a continuous process. DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies Section B.1 Developing the school for all Section B.2 Organising support for diversity This dimension makes sure that inclusion permeates all school plans. Policies encourage the participation of students and staff from the moment they join the school, reach out to all students in the locality and minimise exclusionary pressures. All policies involve clear strategies for change. Support is considered to be all activities which increase the capacity of a school to respond to student diversity. All forms of support are developed according to inclusive principles and are brought together within a single framework. DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices Section C.1 Orchestrating learning Section C.2 Mobilising resources This dimension develops school practices which reflect the inclusive cultures and policies of the school. Lessons are made responsive to student diversity. Students are encouraged to be actively involved in all aspects of their education, which draws on their knowledge and experience outside school. Staff identify material resources and resources within each other, students, parents/carers and local communities which can be mobilised to support learning and participation. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools9 The review materials: indicators and questions Each section contains between five and 11 indicators (see pages 39–41). These are statements of aspiration against which existing arrangements can be compared in order to set priorities for development. Each represents an important aspect of the school, though sometimes the importance of an issue, such as ethnicity, gender or impairment, is reflected by it being spread through the indicators as a whole. The meaning of each indicator is clarified by a series of questions (see pages 42–85). The questions following each indicator help to define its meaning in ways that invite schools to explore it in detail. They prompt and challenge thinking about a particular indicator and draw out existing knowledge about the school. They sharpen the investigation of the current situation in the school, provide additional ideas for development activities and serve as criteria for the assessment of progress. Often, it is when people begin to engage with the detail of the questions that they see the practical significance of the Index. At the end of each set of questions there is an invitation to add questions. It is expected that staff in every school will make their own version of the Index by adapting and changing existing questions and adding their own. Some indicators and questions refer to matters for which schools share responsibility with LEAs, such as access to school buildings, statements of ‘special educational needs’ and admissions policies. We hope that schools and LEAs will work constructively together to produce building plans, procedures for developing statements, and admissions policies, which encourage the participation in the mainstream of all students from a school’s locality. In some schools, staff and governors may conclude that they do not wish to engage with particular indicators at present, or that these do not indicate a direction in which they wish to travel. Schools are expected to respond in different ways and to adjust the materials to their own requirements. However, adaptation should be resisted if it is proposed because an indicator or question poses an uncomfortable challenge. In other schools, indicators and questions may not apply because of the character of the school. Single-sex schools and many religious denomination schools do not set out to include all students from their locality. Nevertheless staff in such schools often do wish to plan for the inclusive development of their school and may wish to adapt the indicators and questions to suit their purposes. They are subject to the same requirements for inclusive change, for example within the national curriculum, or in legislation on disability or race, as other schools. When the Index was first published it was not anticipated that it would be used to prompt the development of special schools. However, several special schools have used it to uncover restrictions in the participation of students and staff within the schools. The Index in use ‘It’s like a set of Russian dolls – as you move through the dimensions, sections, indicators and questions you get deeper and deeper into what is going on in every aspect of the school and how you can improve it.’ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools10 The Index process The Index process itself can contribute to the development of inclusion. It involves a detailed collaborative self-review which draws on the experience of everyone connected to the school. It is not about assessing anyone’s competence but about finding ways to support school and professional development. A version of this process is described in detail in part 2. It can be represented in the same way as a school development planning cycle, with an additional phase in the first year, ‘Getting started with the Index’, in which a co-ordinating group becomes familiar with the materials and how they can be used (see figure 5). However, school development should not be seen as a mechanical process. It arises as much from making connections between values, emotions and actions as from careful reflection, analysis and planning. It is about hearts as much as minds. The Index in use The Index has been used in a large number of schools in the UK and in many other countries. Schools make best use of it when they take ownership of the materials, adapting them to their own circumstances. It has been drawn upon in creating national and local policy documents. The Government Guidance on Inclusive Schooling echoes the review framework of the Index when it suggests that inclusion is ‘a process by which schools, local education authorities and others, develop their cultures, policies and practices’. It describes the Index as a means by which ‘schools … can … identify and remove the barriers to learning and participation’.12 The Index is an acknowledged influence on the guidance for ‘Working With Teaching Assistants’.13 Some of its basic concepts are shared with the statutory guidance on inclusion in the national curriculum14 as well as the inclusion guidance for Ofsted inspectors and head teachers15 and it formed part of the background to ‘Inclusive School Design’.16 A version of the Index is being prepared to support the figure 5 The Index process and the school development planning cycle phase 2 Finding out about the school phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities phase 5 Reviewing the Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index 12 Department for Education and Skills (2001) Inclusive Schooling p3. 13 Department for Education and Employment (2000) Working With Teaching Assistants, London, DfEE. 14 Department for Education and Employment (1999) Inclusion, providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils, in The National Curriculum Handbook for Primary Teachers in England, London, DfEE. 15 Office for Standards in Education (2000) Evaluating educational inclusion, London, DfEE. 16 Department for Education and Employment (2001) Inclusive School Design, London, HMSO. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools11 development of all aspects of local authorities, from the fire service to the library service. One LEA has reorganised its inclusion agenda around the dimensions and sections of the Index to make it compatible with the work it wishes to support in schools, with the head of inclusion claiming that ‘the Index is the lead document for this Authority’. Another education authority has revised upwards its target of schools it wishes to see working with the Index from 25% to 40% to 100%. Many LEAs have supported collaborating groups of schools to work with the Index, and this has been a particularly valuable way to get schools started and sustain their involvement. Versions of the Index have been prepared or are being prepared in Arabic, Chinese (for use in Hong Kong), Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Maltese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish. English versions are being used in Australia, Canada, South Africa and the USA. An international team supported by UNESCO has looked at how versions of the Index can be developed for the economically poor areas of countries of the South.17 Such work has encouraged a view that the concepts, review framework, review materials and process of the Index have wide application. There have also been suggestions about how the Index can be improved. There is a particular need for more examples of the range of work with the Index. Some examples are included in part 2 and an extensive dossier of brief reports of such work is in preparation18 as well as detailed case studies of the Index in action. These will be published separately. What schools can hope to achieve Inclusion is said to be ‘the keystone’19 of Government education policy. However, many teachers argue that they have to work hard to minimise the excluding pressures from policies, which in encouraging competition between schools can lead to a narrow view of the achievement of students. Many barriers to learning and participation reside within contexts over which schools have little control. The most powerful barriers to achievement remain those associated with poverty and the stresses it produces. Nevertheless, schools can and do change. They can radically affect the educational experiences of students and staff by developing cultures in which everyone is respected and where policies and practices support all students to be engaged in learning, to participate with others and to achieve highly. Many schools, in widely differing circumstances, find the Index helpful in allowing them to take a degree of control over their own inclusive development; analysing what they do, determining priorities for change and putting these into practice. The Index in use ‘It effects changes which benefit all students, influencing views and raising awareness of the real implications of inclusion.’ 17 Booth T. and BlackHawkins K. (2001) Developing an Index for Inclusion with Countries of the South, Paris, UNESCO. 18 Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (2002 in preparation) Working With the Index for Inclusion, Bristol, CSIE. 19 Department for Education and Employment (1998) Meeting Special Educational Needs; A Programme of Action, London, DfEE (p8). © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools13 part 2 the Index process An overview The Index process starts from the first engagement with the materials. It builds on the knowledge of all members of the school’s communities and is adapted to the particular circumstances of the school. In this way it encourages the whole school to take ownership of the process. If school improvements are to be sustained then they need to be owned by staff, governors, parents/carers and students. They need to be integrated into the school’s cultures. The phases of the Index process are set out in figure 6 and discussed in detail in the following pages. If the Index is to be integrated into the school development cycle, phases 1, 2 and 3 need to be completed well before the end of a planning year so that priorities can be entered into the school development plan for the next year. figure 6 The Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index (half a term) Setting up a co-ordinating group Reviewing the approach to school development Raising awareness about the Index Exploring existing knowledge using the concepts and review framework Deepening enquiry using the indicators and questions Preparing to work with other groups phase 2 Finding out about the school (one term) Exploring the knowledge of staff and governors Exploring the knowledge of students Exploring the knowledge of parents/carers and members of local communities Deciding priorities for development phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan Putting the Index framework into the school development plan Putting priorities into the school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities (on-going) Putting priorities into practice Sustaining development Recording progress phase 5 Reviewing the Index process (on-going) Evaluating developments Reviewing work with the Index Continuing the Index process © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools14 One school described the first year of working with the Index as like joining in on a moving skipping rope, trying to mesh the Index process with the turns of the existing school development cycle. Schools differ in the way they carry out school planning. Some have a three-year rolling plan while others plan over five years. Some produce a detailed plan for the following year, while others go into detail only for the term ahead. The Index is not only about a carefully planned, stepby-step process of identifying and implementing priorities for change. Development in schools is always more complex and messy than this. The concern of the Index with changes in values may prompt staff and students to make adaptations to cultures, policies and practices which are much more unpredictable than work on any particular identified priority. These might involve broad shifts in the way the whole staff work with each other or smaller changes in the way a particular member of staff interacts with children. As the exploration of school cultures, policies and practices proceeds, opportunities for inclusive development may become apparent that were previously unnoticed. Staff may discover that, in some respects, the school is less inclusive than they first thought. This will be balanced by the uncovering of resources to support learning and participation, in staff, students, parents/carers and in the surrounding communities. While the Index can be used by schools working on their own, many welcome outside support, particularly in the early stages. A workshop with key people in the school, led by someone already familiar with the Index, can help to get things started. The Index in use ‘The indicators and detailed questions are really helpful as stand alone activities when schools want to consider particular issues.’ The Index in use ‘Our authority has made a significant leap forward towards embracing inclusion in all our schools and the Index has helped us shape our thinking about the process by which schools can be supported.’ ᭤ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools15 phase 1 Getting started with the Index (half a term) This first phase of the Index starts with setting up a co-ordinating group, which reflects and represents the school. The group reviews the approach to school development and connects the Index work to current arrangements. Group members raise awareness of the Index within the school, inform themselves about the materials and prepare to use them to carry out a review of the school with staff, governors, parents/carers and students. This phase might be completed over half a term. A set of 12 activities has been included, in this phase, to structure and support the work of the co-ordinating group. The activities assume that group members have read part 1. Each activity will need to be given a clear time limit and should be carried out in sub-groups of no more than four. These activities can also be used in workshops with groups of teachers and other staff to familiarise them with the materials and help them decide how they are going to use it. Setting up a co-ordinating group If the Index is to assist school development, the head teacher and other senior staff have to be involved. An existing school development planning team might initiate the work. Membership of this team should include the learning support co-ordinator and where relevant, a co-ordinator of support for children learning English as an additional language. It is important that the group reflects the gender and ethnic composition of the school and might include a representative of parents/carers, students, governors or non-teaching staff. New people may be co-opted as the work progresses. As schools vary considerably in size and composition, the Index co-ordinating group will also vary. In a large secondary school each department might have its own planning group, linked to a central group. The materials need to be accessible to all members of the group. Schools are encouraged to photocopy any of the materials for use in schools. Each member of the co-ordinating group will need to keep his or her own phase 2 Finding out about the school phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities phase 5 Reviewing the Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index ● Setting up a co-ordinating group ● Reviewing the approach to school development ● Raising awareness about the Index ● Exploring existing knowledge using the concepts and review framework ● Deepening enquiry using the indicators and questions ● Preparing to work with other groups © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools16 set of materials. These might contain additional indicators and questions, analyses of the consultations with others in the school, and overheads for presentations. Including a critical friend Co-ordinating groups have often found it helpful to include ‘a critical friend’. This should be someone from outside the school, who knows the school reasonably well, is supportive but challenging and is committed to seeing the process through to completion. He or she needs to have the confidence of the group and the school, and to respect the sensitive nature of some of the discussions in which he/she will be involved. This might be someone who is already familiar with the Index, who can help with the detailed investigations of the school and the gathering and analysis of views of staff, governors, parents/carers and students. People who have been asked to fulfil the role of critical friend include teachers from other schools, educational advisers, educational psychologists and members of institutions of higher education. A primary and secondary school chose to use the opportunity of the Index to establish closer links between them by having the learning support coordinator in each school as the other’s critical friend. A critical friend can help to make sure that the school does not avoid tackling contentious issues. However, all members of the group need to be willing to gently challenge colleagues to produce evidence for their opinions and conclusions about the school. Taking care to work inclusively The co-ordinating group has to become a model for inclusive practice within the school, operating collaboratively, ensuring that everyone is listened to carefully, irrespective of gender, background or status, and that no one dominates discussions. The group members will need to feel The Index in use ‘Any school thinking of using the Index would be well advised to link up with another school (or more) to maintain the momentum for change and enhance the breadth of issues for debate.’ ‘My lovely human funny fascinating son is absolutely fine just as he is. He loves football, painting, playing with cars, laughing with friends just like any other six year old and he happens to have down syndrome. But that’s not a problem for him. He does not need to be changed or be cured. He needs to participate and be included. That is why the Index process is such a gift to me as his parent and ally, because it will help our school to further its examination of what things need to change and be adapted in the school, the curriculum and in our thinking to keep Sonny at the centre where he belongs. We have formed a co-ordinating group, consisting of head teacher and the senior management team, the learning support co-ordinator, the learning support governor and myself as a parent representative. We have chosen an educational psychologist from outside the catchment area as our critical friend.’ The Index: what I want for my son © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools17 that they can trust each other and that it is possible to speak freely and in confidence. Each member of the group needs to offer their opinions in a way that invites dialogue. Differences in view should be welcomed as a resource to carry the group forward in its thinking. Reviewing the approach to school development Work with the Index provides an opportunity to review the way development takes place at the school. Schools differ greatly in their approach to development planning. Some involve a wide group of people working together in a relatively systematic way, as in the process described here. In other schools, a written document may have been produced in response to the demands for inspectors and may have involved very few members of the school. Use of the Index can help with all these approaches to planning. There is likely to be a variety of school development activities besides those in the formal school development plan. These may have been initiated from within the school or in response to a local or national initiative. The Index process might be used to check on overlap between activities to improve their co-ordination and make what is learnt by one group of people available to others within the school. Activity 1 Reviewing school development planning (suggested timing: 1 hour) The members of the group might use the following questions to structure a review of the approach to school development planning. • How was the school development plan produced? • What is the content of the plan? • How is it implemented? • What other school development activities take place? • How are they co-ordinated? • How might the planning process and content of the plan be improved? Raising awareness about the Index Before any specific planning decisions are made, it is important that members of the wider school community are informed about the Index. An awareness-raising session might involve someone from outside the school, perhaps from the LEA, who has already worked with the Index or it might be led by a member of staff, such as the chair of the coordinating group, who has familiarised him or herself with the Index materials. Additions to the co-ordinating group might be made as a result of this session. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools18 Exploring existing knowledge using the concepts and review framework Members of the co-ordinating group will need to develop a shared view of the Index before they introduce it to others. They might start by sharing their existing knowledge using the Index concepts and review framework before considering the additional matters raised by using the indicators and questions. Activities 2, 3 and 4 can help to structure the exploration of existing knowledge, at a meeting or series of meetings. The group should remember that at this stage any ideas for development should be seen as provisional until all views within the school have been considered. Activity 2 What is inclusion? (30 mins) The Index group should share their views on inclusion: • To what extent is inclusion seen to be associated with ‘children with special educational needs’? • To what extent is inclusion identified with students whose behaviour is viewed as problematic? They should then look at figure 1, page 3, Inclusion in education. The ideas in figure 1 summarise the approach to inclusion in the Index and each element should be discussed briefly, in turn. From experience with this activity, it is not a good idea to dwell on it for too long at this stage. Discussions about inclusion often reveal strongly held views. It is unlikely that everyone will agree about every aspect of the view of inclusion in the Index. There needs to be agreement that it is concerned with all students who experience barriers to learning and participation for whatever reason, and that it involves making changes to the cultures, policies and practices in the school. But beyond this broad consensus, resolution of deeper differences may take a considerable time. People using the Index have found that they revise and develop their approach to inclusion as they work through it. Activity 3 Barriers and resources (20 mins) The co-ordinating group should remind themselves of the description of the dimensions and sections in figure 4, page 8. They can then use these headings to structure their thinking about barriers and resources as they respond to the following questions: • What barriers to learning and participation arise in the cultures, policies and practices of the school? • Who experiences barriers to learning and participation within the school? • What resources can be mobilised to support learning and participation and develop the cultures, policies and practices within the school? Activity 4 What is support? (20 mins) A broad notion of support is introduced in part 1 page 6, as ‘all activities which increase the capacity of a school to respond to student diversity’. The co-ordinating group might consider the following questions: • What activities count as support within the school? © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools19 • What are the implications of the Index definition of support for the work of staff? • What are the implications of the Index definition of support for its co-ordination? Deepening enquiry using the indicators and questions The co-ordinating group needs to become familiar with the indicators and questions and how they can be used to explore cultures, policies and practices. The use of the indicators and questions builds on what is already known and in encouraging a detailed exploration of the school, directs attention to issues that may not have been previously considered. Activity 5 Using the indicators to identify provisional concerns (25 mins) The purpose of this activity is to identify concerns that might need to be examined further. The list of indicators is printed on pages 39–41. These might be examined either in questionnaire form (questionnaire 1 on pages 88–89) or by using cards with an indicator written on each. Questionnaires can be answered individually and then compared with others in the group so that differences can be discussed. Alternatively the group might sort the cards into four piles according to how well the statement describes the school. Each indicator is responded to in one of four ways: ‘definitely agree’, ‘agree to some extent’, ‘disagree’ and ‘need more information’. In the sorting task the cards should be put into piles with these same headings. ‘Need more information’ is chosen when the meaning of the indicator is unclear or insufficient information is available to make a decision. The meaning of an indicator can be clarified by finding it in part 3 and looking at questions related to it. At the end of the questionnaire there is space to write up to five priorities for development. The questionnaire or the sorting task focuses attention on aspects of the school so that priorities can be identified. If questionnaires are used with others it is important to remember that it is the priorities they identify rather than the whole questionnaire that should be collated. The detailed analysis of questionnaires, and the compiling of graphs, bar charts and tables, can be unacceptably time consuming and can delay the start of development work. The group should share and discuss their provisional priorities. This activity also provides an opportunity to think about the value of using questionnaires. All the indicators are written so that agreement with them suggests a positive evaluation of the school. This may encourage people to represent their school as more inclusive than it is. The group will have to keep this possibility in mind and challenge each other to provide evidence for their views. Activity 6 Discussing evidence (20 mins) The group should agree on an indicator where they think the school is performing well and another where they think there is considerable room © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools20 for development. In each case they should provide the evidence to support their view, considering the following: • What is the extent of agreement on this indicator? • What evidence is there to support the views about this indicator? • What evidence is there that other indicators, in the same or different dimensions, reinforce this view? • What additional information might be useful? Activity 7 Connecting indicators and questions: cultures, policies and practices (35 mins) In using the Index review materials, indicators should always be related to the questions which define their meaning. In pairs, members of the group should select an indicator in each dimension where there might be room for development and another where they feel the school is performing well. This should include the indicator from activity 6. They then explore the questions under the indicators. Although, for stylistic reasons, each question is written so that it has a simple yes/no answer, they should be seen as ‘to what extent … ’ questions. They can be given the same range of answers as were used to respond to the indicators: ‘definitely agree’, ‘agree to some extent’, ‘disagree’ and ‘need more information’. The selected indicators and their questions should be examined with the following questions in mind: • How appropriate are the questions? • What questions need to be added? • What new areas for development do the questions suggest? People are encouraged to engage actively with the questions, changing them and adding new ones to make them relevant to the particular circumstances of the school. Activity 8 Reviewing all the indicators and questions (1 hour) This activity might be carried out between meetings. The members of the co-ordinating group should work individually, reading all the indicators and questions. The purpose is to gain familiarity with the materials, not to conduct a full investigation of the school. They should respond to each question, making notes of issues raised, and where appropriate suggest fresh questions. They should then share what they have learnt. Sometimes questions suggest an aspect of the school which can be easily changed, other questions may spark off thinking about deep and widespread changes that need to be made. Activity 9 Choosing priorities and planning interventions (30 mins) When a priority is selected from one dimension it may be clear that developments need to take place in other dimensions to support it. For example if developing an anti-bullying strategy is adopted as a priority for development work from dimension B, it should be related to the indicators on relationships in dimension A. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools21 The group should choose an indicator where development might need to take place and then consider the following: • What changes would have to take place in other dimensions to ensure that development in relation to the chosen indicator is supported? • How could the questions be used to further investigate the chosen concern? • How could developments on the indicator be supported? Activity 10 Using the summary sheet (20 mins) There is a summary sheet in part 4 (page 87) so that the group can record their priorities for development. Developments may need to take place in each dimension and section of the Index if any of them are to be properly supported. The priority might be framed in terms of an indicator or group of indicators, a question or group of questions or an issue that is important to the school that is not covered within the indicators and questions in the Index. Activity 11 Summarising the work of the group (20 mins) Members of the group might reflect on the extent to which their examination of the indicators and questions has added to existing knowledge about the cultures, policies and practices within the school which they explored in activities 2, 3 and 4. They might do this in relation to the following questions: • What is being done in the school to overcome barriers to learning and participation? • What needs to be refined? • What requires further investigation? • What new initiatives are needed? Activity 12 Identifying and overcoming barriers to using the Index (20 mins) After thoroughly reviewing the materials the group may have ideas about how the Index can be best introduced into the school and what problems may be encountered. They should consider the following questions: • What barriers to introducing the Index might be encountered in the school? • How might these barriers be overcome? • How might the Index be best introduced? Preparing to work with other groups The co-ordinating group will need to read and discuss the guidance for phases 2, 3, 4 and 5 before working with other groups. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools22 At Tetmore High School, the Index has become a central reference document. It is used in a variety of ways to review and evaluate what they are doing, to plan what to do next and to adopt an inclusive approach to new initiatives. On a relatively small scale, a staff development activity used the questions associated with indicator A.2.1 ‘There are high expectations for all students’ to structure discussions about raising achievement. The Index has also been used to review the school’s pastoral programmes across the school. This was undertaken by a group, which included a head of department, a head of year, and the deputy head, and so was seen to be led by staff from across the school rather than from the learning support department. It helped in setting up discussions to develop better working relationships between teaching assistants and teachers. Teaching assistants were given opportunities to talk about the detail of their work and this led to much greater collaboration in planning and classroom activities. The school has many students with impairments and the Index has helped staff to adopt a broad view of inclusion in which all staff take responsibility for all students. To assist this process the school has developed a ‘purple folder’, given to every member of staff, which provides information about the learning of all students in the school. For many years the learning support department has been involved in supporting curriculum development initiatives as well as students. The curriculum departments submit bids to the learning support department to develop particular curriculum areas. As a result of one such bid, the department used aspects of the Index with the PE department to develop a programme which provided more support for students with English as an additional language. Improvements were also made to the inclusion of physically disabled students in the main events of sports day rather than having separate ‘disabled races’ at the end of the day. As a result of work with the Index organisers of school trips have begun to take responsibility for including disabled students rather than passing this responsibility to the learning support department. One school field trip had visited a riverside that was inaccessible to wheelchairs. This was changed to a farm visit which addressed the relevant aspects of the curriculum but which enabled wheelchair access. For an overseas trip, the learning support department was involved in preliminary arrangements for disabled students but then the head of the department organising the trip took over all further arrangements, including liaison with the driver and parents, and three disabled students were able to participate. The Index also helped to improve co-ordination and communication for the professionals who visited the school in relation to students seen as autistic or on ‘the autistic spectrum’. A multi-professional working group was established which included a psychologist, a speech and language therapist, a behaviour support worker, and a learning support assistant. This group had a significant impact on the school. They rewrote the sex education programme so that it was for all students. They also prepared a report, with the assistance of parents, about ways of working together. One teacher said of the role of the Index in the school: ‘The Index can be used in all sorts of forums in all sorts of different ways … [but] eventually we won’t need an Index because everybody will naturally include it in what they’re doing’. Tetmore High School © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools23 phase 2 Finding out about the school (one term) The co-ordinating group use their knowledge of the Index process to work with others in the school and with governors, parents/carers and other relevant community members. They consider the results of these consultations and initiate any further investigations necessary to complete the survey. They then agree priorities for development with other staff. This phase, as with all other work with the Index, will differ from school to school. The co-ordinating group is responsible for judging the best way that the process can be carried forward. Exploring the knowledge of staff and governors The group follows the same process as they used in phase 1, of drawing out existing knowledge using the key concepts and review framework, and then refining this using the indicators and questions to focus on the identification of priorities for development. The approach to gathering information about the school is affected by its size and whether it is primary or secondary. In a large school, it may be impractical to work with the whole staff together, except for an initial awareness-raising session. The engagement with the process may be conducted in departments or year groups, with a member of the co-ordinating team liaising with each. Different groups may need to come together for considering different sets of issues. All views expressed during the consultations should be used as opportunities for debate and further investigation. A variety of opportunities for contributing to the gathering of information may have to be arranged so that those unable to attend meetings or who are reluctant to speak in a large group can have a voice. For example, the coordinating group might consider holding separate discussions for teaching assistants or lunchtime supervisors or less experienced teachers, The Index in use ‘It prompted discussion that would not otherwise have taken place.’ phase 2 Finding out about the school phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities phase 5 Reviewing the Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index ● Exploring the knowledge of staff and governors ● Exploring the knowledge of students ● Exploring the knowledge of parents/carers and members of local communities ● Deciding priorities for development © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools24 or they might encourage individual responses to the indicators and questions to be handed in separately. A staff development day A staff development day, when staff and governors can work together, is one way to start gathering information. If it is done well staff will feel the benefits of an inclusive experience as well as being fired up to promote inclusion in the school. An outline of such an event is given in figure 7, echoing the activities in phase 1. A development day might involve support from outside the school. It might involve more than one school working collaboratively, perhaps where one of the schools has already started work with the Index. Before the day, activities will need to be selected and adapted. A decision will have to be taken about how to explore the indicators and whether to make copies of the indicator questionnaire. Views expressed by different groups will need to be recorded and summary sheets collected. The co-ordinating group will be able to judge from their own experience of working with the materials, how much time will be needed by others to complete the same tasks. They will need to keep people moving through the activities and focused on them. Some people feel overwhelmed by the materials as they familiarise themselves with them, thinking that they are expected to change everything in the school at once. It will need to be stressed that the purpose of the review is to select priorities for development, rather than to make wholesale changes. Provisional areas for development and further investigation Generally, once people have engaged with the indicators and questions they feel able to identify specific areas where they think development figure 7 A staff development day: exploring learning and participation in the school 9.30 am – 10.00 am Introducing the Index (whole staff) 10.00 am – 11.00 am Working with key concepts and the review framework to share existing knowledge Activity 3 (small groups) 11.00 am – 11.30 am Tea/coffee 11.30 am – 12.30 pm Working with indicators Activities 5 and 6 (small groups) 12.30 pm – 1.30 pm Lunch 1.30 pm – 2.30 pm Working with the indicators and questions Activities 7 and starting 8 – to be continued after the day (small groups) 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm Sharing ideas about areas for development and further investigation Activities 9 and 10 (groups then whole staff) 3.30 pm – 3.45 pm Next steps in the process (led by the co-ordinating group) 3.45 pm Tea © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools25 should take place. Some areas may be identified where further investigation is required before a decision can be made. There may be issues, on which general agreement is reached, that staff wish to take up immediately. However, some priorities will only emerge as the information from different groups is brought together and as the consultation is extended and completed. Planning next steps At the end of a staff development day the chair of the co-ordinating group should outline what will happen with the information gathered and the views expressed. The co-ordinating group needs to finish collecting information from staff and governors and collate it. Areas may be identified where more information is needed from students, parents/carers and other community members. The group will need to plan how to gather the views of those unable to attend the day. Exploring the knowledge of students Schools using the Index find that consultations with students can be particularly useful in uncovering barriers and resources. Gathering information about the school using the Index can be integrated into the curriculum, for example in language work, in looking at evidence in science, or as an aspect of citizenship in personal, health and social education. All students in the school should have an opportunity to contribute in some way although there may only be time to involve some of them in detailed discussions. Questionnaires can be useful in gathering information from students but may contribute most when used with a group to prompt discussion. A simplified and shortened list of indicators is provided in part 4 (questionnaire 2 pages 90–91), to which school specific questions can be added. These should include views that staff attribute to students that need to be tested, such as their view of learning languages other than English or the dangers of the playground. Part 4 also contains questionnaires that were used with primary and secondary schools (questionnaires 3 and 4 pages 92–95). The Index in use ‘The discussion with parents and children on the dimensions and indicators provided the most profound work on the Index.’ In one inner-city secondary school almost all students come from a predominantly Bangladeshi background although within the area a substantial minority of students are white. There are also many more boys than girls, since some of the mainly Muslim parents in the area prefer their daughters to attend single-sex schools. There is concern about the membership by boys of local gangs and the way this affects relationships in the school. Members of the local community attribute these problems, in part, to the lack of space in their flats and houses and the lack of amenities for young people in the area. There is a difference of opinion in the school about why so few students take Bengali at GCSE. The head of modern languages suggests that the students are not interested, whereas some other staff feel it is because an insufficient value is placed on the students’ home language, Sylheti. Parents have complained too Adapting a questionnaire for students ᭤ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools26 Students may need help in responding to questions. With young children it may be best to read each question and offer help to those who have difficulty with the language or instructions or in writing their priorities at the end of the questionnaires. Students may need to be encouraged to give a considered and honest view rather than one said to please staff or other students. Exploring the knowledge of parents/carers and members of local communities Consultation with parents/carers and other community members may help to improve communication between schools and homes. As for students, parents/carers questionnaires can be constructed from the shortened list of indicators with specific questions added. An example of a parents/carers questionnaire, used with a school, is provided in part 4 pages 96–97 (questionnaire 5). The questionnaire might be constructed in collaboration with parent governors, who can also help in organising parent/carer consultation groups. In one school a parent liaison worker employed in the school, and a member of the co-ordinating group, arranged for translation of questions for those parents/carers fluent in languages other than English and acted as interpreters in the discussion groups. Other schools have exchanged translations of questionnaires. The co-ordinating group might about the lack of modesty permitted by showering arrangements. The following specific statements were compiled to be added to the more general statements for schools, in questionnaire 2: • I wish there were an equal number of boys and girls at this school. • I wish there were a greater mix of students from different backgrounds. • I would like to study Bengali at GCSE. • My family has a good understanding of what happens at school. • The teachers have a good understanding of the communities around this school. • Students should be able to chat in Sylheti during lessons. • Students who are learning English get the help they need. • Any student can get help in lessons when they need it. • The shower arrangements for PE are satisfactory. • The toilets in the school are satisfactory. • I feel uncomfortable in certain lessons because of my religious beliefs. • I worry about getting into trouble with gangs. • I can mix with students inside school who do not live in my area. • I can mix with students outside school who do not come from my area. • My family would disapprove of who I mix with in school. • Boys and girls treat each other with respect at this school. • It is easier to mix with students of the opposite sex inside than outside school. • No one gets treated badly at this school because of the colour of their skin. • There is a place for me to do my homework at home. • I can do my homework at school when I want to. The Index in use ‘The guidance was ideal for where we were … it was the time when we stopped making assumptions about what our parents wanted and started asking them what they wanted. Some of our assumptions were blown out of the water.’ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools27 consider meeting parents away from the school if attendance is likely to be greater in a different setting. A variety of opportunities to contribute may need to be arranged. Groups might start with an exploration of the following questions: • What would help to improve the learning of your child/children in this school? • What could be done to make your child/children happier in school? • What would you most like to change about this school? A questionnaire might be used as a follow up to discussion, or as a way of gathering information from those unable to attend a meeting. As well as working with parents/carers, it may be helpful to find out the views of others in the communities surrounding the school. The student population may not reflect the composition of this area, in terms of ethnicity, impairment or class. Finding out the views of community members may help the school in efforts to make the school more representative. Deciding priorities for development What can be changed in school cultures, policies and practices in order to increase learning and participation? Analysing evidence In order to draw up overall priorities for development the co-ordinating group should examine and analyse the priorities for development The Index in use ‘The Index brought together members of the school community. It led to discussion and airing of difficulties which were solved very quickly.’ In this primary school, 96% of the children have an Asian background, mainly from families whose origins are in two villages in Pakistan. The school has 14 teachers and eight assistants, some of whom are bilingual and have similar backgrounds to the students. Amongst other recent initiatives, there has been an emphasis on familyschool involvement. For example, regular workshops have been set up to help family members to support their children’s reading at home. The head teacher considers that these changes have helped to form more inclusive ways of working in the school. Two parents/carers were members of the school’s Index co-ordinating group, which also included the head teacher, a deputy, two teachers, a bilingual nursery assistant and an educational psychologist in the role of a ‘critical friend’. One of their first investigative activities was to arrange a meeting for parents/carers about the Index. At this a questionnaire, based on some of the indicators and questions, was used to stimulate discussion. Interpreters were present to assist with communication. The meeting was well attended and parents/carers raised many concerns. The head teacher felt that the event was successful in fostering debate about inclusion in the school and in helping staff to formulate development priorities. Family involvement in school © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools28 selected by everyone who has been consulted. This task should be shared as it may involve considerable work, particularly in a large school. The critical friend might have been chosen for their ability to help with this process. Schools have also used a variety of other people such as colleagues doing higher degrees, educational psychologists and academics. Since consultations take place over a period of time, it may be possible to collate the views of each group as they are collected. Initially, information from students, parents/carers, staff and governors should be kept separate from each other. In this way differences of perspective can be revealed and explored. It may be important to look at the views of sub-groups of staff such as teaching assistants. It may also be desirable to collate separately, information from different departments in the school. Collecting further information Additional information may need to be collected by the co-ordinating group before priorities can be finalised. During the consultations, issues will have been identified which can be clarified by gathering further information. For example, it might be necessary to analyse attendance records or the examination results of students of different genders and ethnic groups. The gathering of additional information may have emerged during the consultation process as one group identified questions that needed to be addressed to other groups. For example, new staff may need to be asked specifically about the success of their induction. The gathering of further information may blend into development work. For example, assessing priorities associated with dimension C, might involve teachers and teaching assistants in observing and reflecting on each other’s practice in order to draw up ideas for improving teaching and learning and this in itself may lead to greater collaboration and improvements in teaching. Drawing up a list of priorities Finalising priorities is not simply a matter of including those issues which were most commonly identified during consultation. The co-ordinating group will need to make sure that the opinions of less powerful groups are not lost and that the voices of students and parents/carers in particular are reflected in the final list. The priorities on this list will vary widely in scale, and in the time and resources required to implement them. A mixture of shorter and longer-term priorities should be retained. The review framework containing the dimensions and sections (figure 8) can help to complete this phase. Members of the group should look at the implications for priorities identified in one dimension for work in the other two. The group will need to think carefully about whether priorities representing each of these areas have been identified. Most priorities will require the mobilising of resources. Priorities in some of the sections of the Index may have The Index in use ‘It empowers the parents, pupils and support staff.’ The Index in use ‘It has raised our awareness of the ways in which we communicate with and include parents.’ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools29 figure 8 Summarising priorities for development DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures Building community Establishing inclusive values DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies Developing the school for all Organising support for diversity DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices Orchestrating learning Mobilising resources © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools30 been identified in previous school development plans. When the members of the co-ordinating group have developed their proposals they should negotiate them with staff and governors. Figure 9 provides some examples of priorities identified by schools which have used the Index. figure 9 School priorities identified during the Index process ● Introducing rituals for welcoming new students and staff and marking their departure. ● Establishing staff development activities to make lessons more responsive to diversity. ● Introducing clear management and career structures for teaching assistants. ● Improving all aspects of access in the school for disabled students and adults. ● Promoting positive views of ethnic diversity in teaching and displays. ● Integrating all forms of support within the school. ● Arranging joint training for teaching assistants and teachers. ● Developing collaborative learning amongst students. ● Revising the anti-bullying policy. ● Improving the induction process for new students. ● Increasing the involvement of students in decision-making about school policies. ● Improving communication between the school and parents/carers. ● Improving the reputation of the school amongst local communities. ‘The Index was very supportive in showing what we were doing well and encouraging us that we were identifying the right priorities. We had already created an overall post of inclusion co-ordinator, combining the English as an additional language oversight with ‘special educational needs’. We had changed the name of the language unit to the ‘language and communication resource’ to signify its support for students within the mainstream rather than its separateness. We had planned training for teaching assistants and lunchtime supervisors. But the Index raised other issues that we had not identified: poor governor relations, problems with homework, a need to involve local communities and draw on community resources, and the physical inaccessibility of our old Victorian building. We were able to put these issues into the plan for the following year.’ Building on existing strengths © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools31 phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan This third phase of the Index, which may require a series of tightly focused meetings, involves members of the school development planning team in revising the development plan. The team decides on the extent to which the plan is changed in the light of work with the Index. They put the priorities agreed with the staff at the end of phase 2 into the school development plan. Putting the Index framework into the school development plan If the priorities identified by the co-ordinating group are to be put into the school development plan and implemented, then from this point, the co-ordinating group has to become the school development planning team. The team has to decide whether work with the Index is one of a number of activities within their development plan or whether the whole plan is shaped around the Index framework. Putting priorities into the school development plan The school development planning team has a list of agreed priorities for development drawn up in phase 2 which need to be fitted into the framework of the school development plan. This requires each priority to be analysed in detail, looking at time-scale, resources and staff development implications. Overall responsibility for checking on the progress of each priority should be taken by a member of the planning team but responsibilities for development work will need to be widely shared if it is to be put into practice. Criteria for evaluating the implementation of priorities will need to be drawn up. Index questions may be useful as the basis for these criteria. They would be drawn from the indicators which represent areas of particular concern and might be The Index in use ‘The Index is our lead selfevaluation process. Our next school development plan will be strongly influenced by the Index process.’ phase 2 Finding out about the school phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities phase 5 Reviewing the Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index ● Putting the Index framework into the school development plan ● Putting priorities into the school development plan © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools32 supplemented by questions from indicators in the same or other dimensions that would support development in the chosen area. Teams should examine existing priorities in the plan, consider how they contribute to the inclusive development of the school and make any necessary adaptations. For example, schools may need to look at how they are implementing priorities arising from an Ofsted inspection. Sometimes it can be difficult to change a priority so that it leads to greater inclusion. In schools which have put extra resources into helping students over the borderline of particular targets in key stage tests or GCSEs, staff may wish to consider how they can equalise opportunities for students not getting this additional help. The co-ordinating group in one primary school carried out a survey of the views of students, staff and parents/carers. After the analysis of this information it was agreed that they would concentrate on the developments of aspects of classroom practice, focusing in particular on the following indicators: • C.1.1: Teaching is planned with the learning of all students in mind. • C.1.2: Lessons encourage the participation of all students. • C.1.4: Students are actively involved in their own learning. • C.2.1: Student difference is used as a resource for teaching and learning. Teachers were encouraged to use these indicators and their questions to prompt the planning of lessons over the course of a year. However, it was decided that something more specific was needed to stimulate developments in practice. The school used extra resources it had received to free teachers to work in each other’s lessons, using the four indicators as the basis for a mutual observation schedule. They made a record during these observations of what they saw as ‘golden moments’; examples of classroom interactions which illustrated how the indicators could be put into practice. When all the teachers had been involved in the process, pairs of colleagues talked about their experiences. A document was produced, summarising what had been learnt, focusing on areas like ‘the use of questioning in lessons’ and ‘the response to disruption’. However, the head teacher commented on how hard it was to represent what had happened in a written record: ‘You would have had to be there to appreciate the richness of the professional learning that was going on’. Through their shared experiences within classrooms, the teachers had been stimulated to reflect on each other’s teaching styles and to make changes in their own practice. Using the Index to reflect on each other’s practice © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools33 phase 4 Implementing priorities (on-going) This fourth phase of the Index involves putting priorities into practice. This may require further investigations into the school and can become a form of action research. Developments are supported through collaboration, good communication and a general commitment to inclusive values. Developments are evaluated against the criteria in the school development plan and a half-termly record is made of progress. This phase is on-going. Putting priorities into practice A couple of examples illustrate how schools can support development. In one secondary school, teachers decided that the co-ordination of support was a priority. Concern was expressed about support policies in relation to all the indicators in dimension B section 2: Organising support for diversity. There was no joint planning between behaviour support teachers who came into the school, learning support teachers and teachers supporting students learning English as an additional language, who were based in the school. The teachers decided that they would examine the current situation in the school in detail by working together. They observed each other’s practice over a six-week period and then met to discuss their observations and possibilities for closer collaboration. They decided to speak to the students they observed about their experience of support, and to try to understand support from the students’ points of view. They fed their findings into a general reconsideration of support policies within the school led by the senior teacher with responsibility for curriculum development. In the second example, a primary school received evidence from both students and parents/carers that bullying amongst students was a particular concern in the school. The school planning team decided to use questions from indicator B.2.9 ‘Bullying is minimised’ to structure an in-depth exploration of attitudes towards, and experiences of, bullying. They focused, in particular, on the following questions: The Index in use ‘It focused our interests and provided a useful insight into induction.’ phase 2 Finding out about the school phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities phase 5 Reviewing the Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index ● Putting priorities into practice ● Sustaining development ● Recording progress © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools34 • Do staff, parents/carers, governors and students share a view of what bullying is? • Is the threat of withdrawal of friendship understood as a source 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 governors, staff, students and parents/carers? • Are men and women available who are approachable and can give support to boys and girls about bullying? • Do students know who to 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? When the planning team had found out the extent and nature of concerns they attempted to tackle them in a number of ways. Language work included reading, discussing and writing about friendships. A forum was established, where students could contribute to strategies to prevent and minimise bullying. A new anti-bullying policy was produced in languages accessible to all students, and was publicised widely. A clear record keeping system of bullying incidents helped to identify patterns of behaviour in some students. They assessed any reduction in bullying through a repeat survey and discussions using the Index questions with additions to take account of what they had found during their investigations. Sustaining development The commitment of all those involved has to be sustained throughout the implementation phase. This may require considerable effort as the deeply held beliefs and values of members of the school’s communities are challenged and resistances emerge. In putting particular priorities into practice the wider work in changing the culture of the school should not be ignored. Activities to create a more inclusive culture may need to continue over a number of years. But, in turn, such changes may sustain the involvement of staff, governors, students and parents/carers in making detailed changes in policies and practices within the school. In a collaborating school, staff will be able to draw on each other’s expertise and provide mutual support. Some staff, students or parents/carers may not agree with a particular development. The planning team may have to encourage staff to discuss their differences and may need to refine developments so that they become relevant to as many people as possible. The planning team should make sure that everyone is kept informed about progress. This can be done through assemblies, staff meetings, staff development days, newsletters, registration/tutorials, circle time The Index in use ‘Seeing the difference it’s made to the children really has been the most rewarding: they feel valued.’ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. 35 activities, student councils, notice boards and community organisations. As well as providing information, the group should listen to others, particularly those who have fewer opportunities to be heard. Recording progress The member of the school development planning team with overall responsibility for a priority will make sure that progress is checked and recorded and that adjustments are made to development plans, following consultation with the team and the staff involved. This may involve discussions with staff, students, governors and parents/carers, and the examination of policy documents, as well as observations of practice. A half-termly record of progress should be kept on the implementation of priorities, against the criteria put in the plan in phase 3. This might be circulated in a school newsletter. This school is ten years old and is in an attractive, well looked after building. It has 480 students in the age range 9-13. The district is economically poor and some 50% of children receive free school meals. The head teacher is strongly committed to inclusive principles which she relates to her experience of having polio as a child; her parents fought for her to be educated in a mainstream school. As she put it: ‘Children have a right to be in mainstream schools ... Schools should change to make that possible’. The school has six children with visual impairments, although it is not formally designated as a specialist centre. It has simply developed a reputation for welcoming children with impairments. The school has excluded one child in its ten years. The Index co-ordinating group in the school had wide representation, including parents/ carers and governors. There were two critical friends. The group chose to integrate the Index into the school development planning process, which was already inclusive of all staff. It involved a series of meetings during which subject co-ordinators reported to their colleagues on what was achieved during the year. When the agenda turned to the following year, targets and budgetary commitments were negotiated. The head teacher sees the Index as a means of extending participation in this process as well as adding an emphasis on identifying and overcoming barriers to learning and participation. Student and teacher questionnaires were carried out. The school’s learning support co-ordinator took a lead in analysing the information as part of his higher degree studies. The school identified a number of priorities for developing inclusion. They wanted an overall strategy for ‘providing curriculum opportunities for all students to succeed’. This became one of the main aims of the school development plan for the following year, involving a series of staff development activities. Students had said that they did not feel they were ‘listened to’ by staff and sometimes other students. A plan was implemented to improve existing channels of communication, including a students’ forum. Teachers involved students in leading discussions which were to remain focused and involve everyone without favouring the leader’s friends. Plans were devised for whole school assemblies to explore inclusion. Issues included: impairment and disability; bullying and name-calling; teamwork and co-operation; celebrating individuality; issues of empathy and pity; the meaning of community, nationally and internationally; giving aid to others in need. The head teacher referred to the assembly on impairment and disability as the first time she had acknowledged her impairment directly to the students and discussed it with them. Building on an inclusive philosophy index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools36 phase 5 Reviewing the Index process (on-going) The team review the overall progress of developments. They consider any broader progress in changing cultures, policies and practices. They discuss modifications that need to be made to the Index process. The indicators and questions, as adapted by a particular school, are used to review the extent of changes within the school and to formulate new priorities for the school development plan for the following year. Evaluating developments In order to evaluate overall progress, the members of the team will need to bring together and review the evidence of progress in each area of development in the plan. They should reflect on the changes in the light of success criteria in the plan and how these have had to be modified as new issues emerged. They should consider how to continue the work in the following year. Development will also be evaluated as a result of the re-examination of the school using the dimensions, indicators and questions as the new planning year begins. This may reveal any cultural shift which goes beyond any particular planned priority. Reviewing work with the Index Work on the Index process also requires evaluation. The planning team should review the way they have used the Index and decide how the materials can best be used to support the development of the school in future years. They should assess how far the Index has helped the school to adopt a greater commitment to inclusive ways of working. The team will reflect on the composition of the Index coordinating group and its relationship to school planning The Index in use ‘Ofsted were pleased with what they saw and the way that the inclusion side of things was working, so it was paying off.’ The Index in use ‘The school really was in a mess. The Index provided the way forward for us.’ phase 2 Finding out about the school phase 3 Producing an inclusive school development plan phase 4 Implementing priorities phase 5 Reviewing the Index process phase 1 Getting started with the Index ● Evaluating developments ● Reviewing work with the Index ● Continuing the Index process © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools37 structures. It will assess how well prepared it was for its tasks, the way it consulted with other groups, its success in sharing responsibilities with others for further investigations and implementing priorities and the way these were supported. The critical friend may be valuable in this process. However, the success of self-evaluation requires all members of the group to be willing to challenge their own practices. Figure 10 contains questions which might help the team to review their work. Continuing the Index process In this final stage of the process, which may coincide with the end of a year of working with the Index, the school development planning team makes revisions to the way the Index work is co-ordinated. In many schools, the majority of staff will be familiar with the Index at this point, but new staff should have the process explained to them as part of their induction programme. The revisiting of the indicators and questions as part of the progress review may lead on to a further examination of the school. Phase 5 blends into a return to phase 2, and the continuation of the school planning cycle. figure 10 Reviewing work with the Index ● How well did the co-ordinating group work, in terms of its composition, the sharing of tasks within the group, consultations with others, and devolving responsibility for development work? ● To what extent has there been a change in commitment towards more inclusive ways of working in the school? ● To what extent have the key concepts of the Index been absorbed into thinking about school policy and practice? These are inclusion, barriers to learning and participation, resources to support learning and participation, and support for diversity. ● To what extent was the consultation process inclusive and who else might contribute to it in future years? ● To what extent have the dimensions and sections of the Index been useful in structuring school development planning? ● To what extent did the indicators and questions help to identify priorities or details of priorities that had been overlooked? ● To what extent was appropriate evidence gathered in assessing priorities and implementing development and how could this be improved? ● To what extent did the process of working with the Index contribute to more inclusive ways of working? ● How have developments been sustained and how might this process be improved? The Index in use ‘It’s become part of the fabric.’ © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools38 Before using the Index, Hindbreak Primary School had been in ‘special measures’, perceived as having both staffing and discipline problems. Relationships within the school and with governors and parents were poor. The head teacher acknowledged that staff ‘assumed they knew’ what parents wanted. Staff were ‘asked to do things they didn’t particularly believe in’. Students were failing to meet the expectations of teachers and their positive achievements were ignored. Relationships with parents, between staff and with students, were generally poor. A co-ordinating group for the Index was established which included governors, parents and staff and was steered by a critical friend, respected within the school and local authority. Consultations were broad, and the results were ‘very challenging’. For example, parents recorded their views of staff attitudes to their children: ‘They don’t care for them’, ‘They have favourites’. The significance of good communication was reinforced early on. The head had started by focusing on passing information to parents and governors and assumed teachers and other staff knew what was happening. Regular staff meetings ensured that teachers as well as others learned what was happening at roughly the same time so that people did not get hurt or feel left out. Communication with parents was improved by writing the school brochure in plain English, and by inviting them to occasions when the curriculum and homework were explained and they could join in activities with their children. Joining and leaving the school became seen as significant ‘rites of passage’. For example, the induction morning, for children starting at the school, involved parents, teachers, the chair of governors and the chair of the parent-teacher association. It started with a joint assembly and ended with shared lunch. Parents were invited to the following assembly where the children were presented with a reading folder bearing the school logo. At the end of the year, there was a barbecue for school leavers with parents and governors invited and with live music. The staff also introduced further changes following consultation: • A two-way intercom and CCTV at the entrance in response to parents’ concerns about security. • Pictures of all staff at the entrance. • Children accumulated a portfolio of their best work as they progressed through the school. • A weekly school newsletter was produced by the Year 6 Information and Communications Technology Club. • The head became more accessible and visible at the beginning and end of the day. • Circle time was introduced as well as a positive noting of good behaviour and work. • When necessary, two teaching assistants eased into the day, children who were having difficulties at home. Staff felt that the Index helped the school to put the child at the centre: ‘We have that picture of the child at the centre, with everyone, the dining room supervisors, the teaching staff, the teaching assistants, the kitchen staff, the caretakers, cleaners, all in a circle around that child, all with their bit to say. It’s about the child learning and having high expectations but it’s about the child having a say too, not just being done to, but doing things as well.’ A school council was planned and a ‘smile club’ with elected students being given assertiveness and conflict management preparation so that they could support other students who were isolated. The head felt that using the Index was ‘pulling us all together in one common focus’: ‘While I can see the benefits in all schools, I think for schools that have gone through periods of upheaval and disruption, like this one, it actually provides a good way forward’. Providing a new sense of direction © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools39 indicators DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.1 | Everyone is made to feel welcome. A.1.2 | Students help each other. A.1.3 | Staff collaborate with each other. A.1.4 | Staff and students treat one another with respect. A.1.5 | There is a partnership between staff and parents/carers. A.1.6 | Staff and governors work well together. A.1.7 | All local communities are involved in the school. A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.1 | There are high expectations for all students. A.2.2 | Staff, governors, students and parents/carers share a philosophy of inclusion. A.2.3 | Students are equally valued. A.2.4 | Staff and students treat one another as human beings as well as occupants of a ‘role’. A.2.5 | Staff seek to remove barriers to learning and participation in all aspects of the school. A.2.6 | The school strives to minimise all forms of discrimination. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.1 | Staff appointments and promotions are fair. B.1.2 | All new staff are helped to settle into the school. B.1.3 | The school seeks to admit all students from its locality. B.1.4 | The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people. B.1.5 | All new students are helped to settle into the school. B.1.6 | The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued. B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.1 | All forms of support are co-ordinated. B.2.2 | Staff development activities help staff to respond to student diversity. B.2.3 | ‘Special educational needs’ policies are inclusion policies. B.2.4 | The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice* is used to reduce the barriers to learning and participation of all students. B.2.5 | Support for those learning English as an additional language is co-ordinated with learning support. B.2.6 | Pastoral and behaviour support policies are linked to curriculum development and learning support policies. B.2.7 | Pressures for disciplinary exclusion are decreased. B.2.8 | Barriers to attendance are reduced. B.2.9 | Bullying is minimised. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools40 indicators * DfES (2001) © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.1 | Teaching is planned with the learning of all students in mind. C.1.2 | Lessons encourage the participation of all students. C.1.3 | Lessons develop an understanding of difference. C.1.4 | Students are actively involved in their own learning. C.1.5 | Students learn collaboratively. C.1.6 | Assessment contributes to the achievements of all students. C.1.7 | Classroom discipline is based on mutual respect. C.1.8 | Teachers plan, teach and review in partnership. C.1.9 | Teaching assistants support the learning and participation of all students. C.1.10 | Homework contributes to the learning of all. C.1.11 | All students take part in activities outside the classroom. C.2 | Mobilising resources INDICATOR C.2.1 | Student difference is used as a resource for teaching and learning. C.2.2 | Staff expertise is fully utilised. C.2.3 | Staff develop resources to support learning and participation. C.2.4 | Community resources are known and drawn upon. C.2.5 | School resources are distributed fairly so that they support inclusion. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools41 indicators © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.1 | Everyone is made to feel welcome i) Is the first contact that people have with the school friendly and welcoming? ii) Is the school welcoming to all students, including students with impairments, travellers, refugees and asylum seekers? iii) Is the school welcoming to all parents/carers and other members of its local communities? iv) Is information about the school made accessible to all, irrespective of home language or impairment, for example, translated, Brailled, taped, or in large print when necessary? v) Are sign language and other first language interpreters available when necessary? vi) Is it clear from the school brochure and information given to job applicants that responding to the full diversity of students and their backgrounds is part of school routine? vii) Does the entrance hall reflect all members of the school’s communities? viii) Does the school celebrate local cultures and communities in signs and displays? ix) Are there positive rituals for welcoming new students and new staff and marking their leaving? x) Do students feel ownership of their classrooms or tutor room? xi) Do students, parents/carers, staff, governors and community members all feel ownership of the school? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools42 indicators with questions © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools43 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.2 | Students help each other i) Do students seek help from and offer help to each other when it is needed? ii) Do displays celebrate collaborative work by students as well as individual achievements? iii) Do students report to a member of staff when they or someone else needs assistance? iv) Are supportive friendships actively encouraged? v) Do students share rather than compete for friends? vi) Do students avoid racist, sexist, homophobic, disablist and other forms of discriminatory name- calling? vii) Do students understand that different degrees of conformity to school rules may be expected from different students? viii) Do students appreciate the achievements of others whose starting points may be different from their own? ix) Do students feel that disputes between them are dealt with fairly and effectively? x) Can students act as advocates for others who they feel have been treated unfairly? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools44 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.3 | Staff collaborate with each other i) Do staff treat each other with respect irrespective of their roles in the school? ii) Do staff treat each other with respect irrespective of their gender? iii) Do staff treat each other with respect irrespective of their class or ethnic background? iv) Are all staff invited to staff meetings? v) Do all staff attend meetings? vi) Is there wide participation in meetings? vii) Are all teachers and classroom assistants involved in curriculum planning and review? viii) Is teamwork between staff a model for the collaboration of students? ix) Do staff know who to turn to with a problem? x) Do staff feel comfortable about discussing problems in their work? xi) Are regular supply staff encouraged to be actively involved in the life of the school? xii) Are all staff involved in drawing up priorities for school development? xiii) Do all staff feel ownership of the school development plan? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools45 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.4 | Staff and students treat one another with respect i) Do staff address all students respectfully, by the name they wish to be called, with the correct pronunciation? ii) Do students treat all staff with respect irrespective of their status? iii) Are the opinions of students sought about how the school might be improved? iv) Do the views of students make a difference to what happens in school? v) Do students have particular opportunities to discuss school matters? vi) Do students help staff when asked? vii) Do students offer help when they see it is needed? viii) Do staff and students look after the physical environment of the school? ix) Do students know who to see when they have a problem? x) Are students confident that their difficulties will be dealt with effectively? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools46 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.5 | There is a partnership between staff and parents/carers i) Do parents/carers and staff respect each other? ii) Do parents/carers feel that there is good communication with staff? iii) Are all parents/carers well informed about school policies and practices? iv) Are parents/carers aware of the priorities in the school development plan? v) Are all parents/carers given an opportunity to be involved in decisions made about the school? vi) Are the fears that some parents/carers have about coming into school and meeting teachers, recognised and steps taken to overcome them? vii) Are there a variety of opportunities for parents/carers to become involved in the school? viii) Are there a variety of occasions when parents/carers can discuss the progress of, and concerns about, their children? ix) Are the different contributions that parents/carers can make to the school equally appreciated? x) Do staff value the knowledge that parents/carers have about their children? xi) Do staff encourage the involvement of all parents/carers in their children’s learning? xii) Are parents/carers clear about what they can do to support their children’s learning at home? xiii) Do all parents/carers feel that their children are valued by the school? xiv) Do all parents/carers feel that their concerns are taken seriously by the school? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools47 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.6 | Staff and governors work well together i) Do staff understand the roles and responsibilities of the governors? ii) Do governors understand the organisational structure of the school and the responsibilities of staff? iii) Are governors welcome to contribute to the work of the school at any time? iv) Are the skills and knowledge of governors known and valued? v) Does the composition of the governing body reflect the school’s local communities? vi) Are governors fully informed about school policies? vii) Do governors and staff agree about what governors can contribute to the school? viii) Do governors feel that their contribution is valued irrespective of their status? ix) Do governors share in-service education opportunities with staff? x) Do staff and governors share an approach to students categorised as ‘having special educational needs’? xi) Do staff and governors share a view about the identification of students who experience difficulties and the way support should be provided? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools48 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1 | Building community INDICATOR A.1.7 | All local communities are involved in the school i) Does the school involve local communities, such as elderly people and the variety of ethnic groups, in activities in the school? ii) Is the school involved in activities in the local communities? iii) Do members of local communities share facilities with staff and students such as the library, hall and canteen? iv) Do communities participate equally in the school, irrespective of their class, religious or ethnic background? v) Are all sections of local communities seen as a resource for the school? vi) Do staff and governors seek the views of local community members about the school? vii) Do the views of members of local communities affect school policies? viii) Is there a positive view of the school within the local communities? ix) Does the school encourage applications for work in the school from the local communities? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools49 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.1 | There are high expectations for all students i) Does every student feel that they attend a school in which the highest achievements are possible? ii) Are all students encouraged to have high aspirations about their learning? iii) Are all students treated as if there is no ceiling to their achievements? iv) Do staff avoid viewing students as having a fixed ability based on their current achievements? v) Are students entered for public examinations when they are ready rather than at a particular age? vi) Are all students encouraged to take pride in their own achievements? vii) Are all students encouraged to appreciate the achievements of others? viii) Do staff attempt to counter negative views of students who are keen and enthusiastic or attain highly in lessons? ix) Do staff attempt to counter negative views of students who find lessons difficult? x) Do staff attempt to counter the derogatory use of labels of low achievement? xi) Is there an attempt to address the fear of failure of some students? xii) Do staff avoid linking the potential achievement of one student to those of a sibling or another student from their area? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools50 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.2 | Staff, governors, students and parents/carers share a philosophy of inclusion i) Is building a supportive school community seen to be as important as raising academic achievement? ii) Is fostering collaboration seen to be as important as encouraging independence? iii) Is there an emphasis on the appreciation of difference rather than conformity to a single ‘normality’? iv) Is diversity seen as a rich resource to support learning rather than as a problem? v) Is there a shared resolve to minimise inequalities of opportunity in the school? vi) Is there a shared wish to accept students from the local communities, irrespective of background, attainment and impairment? vii) Are attitudes about the limits to inclusion challenged, such as for students with severe impairments? viii) Is there a shared understanding that inclusion is about increasing participation in, as well as access to, the school? ix) Is exclusion understood as a process that takes place in staffrooms, classrooms and playgrounds and may end in separation from the school? x) Do all members of the school take responsibility for making the school more inclusive? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools51 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.3 | Students are equally valued i) Is a variety of backgrounds and home languages seen to make a positive contribution to school life? ii) Are regional accents and dialects seen to enrich the school and society? iii) Are differences in family structure acknowledged and appreciated? iv) Are parents/carers regarded as equally valuable to the school, irrespective of the status of their work or whether they are employed or unemployed? v) Are students and staff with impairments as welcomed into the school as those without impairments? vi) Are higher and lower attaining students valued equally? vii) Is the work of all students displayed within the school and classrooms? viii) Does the reporting of achievements within and beyond the school include all students? ix) Do all students leave secondary school with a nationally recognised accreditation? x) Are the achievements of boys and girls given equal support and prominence? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools52 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.4 | Staff and students treat one another as human beings as well as occupants of a ‘role’ i) Is every student known well by some members of staff? ii) Do students feel that teachers like them? iii) Are all members of the school regarded as both learners and teachers? iv) Do staff feel valued and supported? v) Are significant events, such as births, deaths and illnesses, given the appropriate acknowledgement? vi) Is it recognised that everyone, not just members of ‘ethnic minorities’, has a culture or cultures? vii) Can students (and staff) be supported to acknowledge that they are hurt, depressed or angry on a particular day? viii) Is it accepted that staff can express negative personal feelings about students in private as a way of overcoming them? ix) Do staff avoid demonising particular students? x) Are basic facilities such as toilets, showers and lockers, kept in good order? xi) Are the wishes for modesty of students respected in arrangements for showers or swimming? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools53 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.5 | Staff seek to remove barriers to learning and participation in all aspects of the school i) Do staff understand that they can make a difference to the barriers to learning and participation experienced by students? ii) Are barriers to learning and participation seen to arise in a relationship between students and their teaching and learning environment? iii) Is the teaching and learning environment understood to include student and staff relationships, buildings, cultures, policies, curricula and teaching approaches? iv) Do staff avoid seeing barriers to learning and participation as produced by deficiencies or impairments in students? v) Do staff and students understand that policies and practices must reflect the diversity of students within the school? vi) Are the barriers that arise through differences between school and home cultures recognised and countered? vii) Is it understood that anyone can experience barriers to learning and participation? viii) Do staff avoid labelling children according to notions of ability? ix) Is there an understanding of the way categorisation of students as ‘having special educational needs’ can lead to their devaluation and separation? x) Do staff avoid contrasting mainstream and ‘special needs’ students? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools54 indicators with questions DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.2 | Establishing inclusive values INDICATOR A.2.6 | The school strives to minimise all forms of discrimination i) Is there recognition of the existence of institutional discrimination and the need to minimise all forms of it? ii) Do staff and students understand the origins of discrimination in intolerance to difference? iii) Is attention paid to the exclusionary pressures on ethnic minority students and the way intolerance to difference may be interpreted as racism? iv) Is it recognised that all cultures and religions encompass a range of views and degrees of observance? v) Do staff avoid stereotyped roles for students in school productions (for example according to type of hair or skin colour)? vi) Is there respect for teachers and students irrespective of their age? vii) Are the cultures of the school equally supportive of boys and girls? viii) Do staff and students avoid gender stereotyping in expectations about achievement, student futures or in help with tasks, such as refreshments or technical support? ix) Do staff avoid valuing middle class above working class backgrounds and interests? x) Are gay and lesbian people valued by the school as part of human diversity? xi) Do staff see disability as created when people with impairments encounter negative attitudes and institutional barriers? xii) Are stereotyped views of bodily perfection challenged? xiii) Is there recognition that knowledge about their impairments makes a limited contribution to planning education for students? xiv) Do staff attempt to counter stereotyped attitudes towards people with impairments when they are seen, for example, as objects of pity or heroic battlers against adversity? xv) Is the exclusion of students with severe impairments understood to reflect limitations of attitude and policy more than practical difficulties? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools55 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.1 | Staff appointments and promotions are fair i) Are opportunities for promotion seen to be open to all who are eligible, inside and outside the school? ii) Do the promoted posts reflect the balance of genders and backgrounds of staff in the school? iii) Does the composition of teaching and non-teaching staff reflect the communities in the school locality? iv) Is there a clear strategy for removing barriers to the appointment of staff with impairments? v) Do posts of higher status disproportionately favour particular sections of the community? vi) Has the school established staffing equality targets? vii) Is the valuing of diversity in students an essential criterion for the appointment of staff? viii) Are temporary replacements found for absent support staff as well as classroom and subject teachers? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools56 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.2 | All new staff are helped to settle into the school i) Does the school recognise the difficulties that new staff may have in settling into a new job in what may be a new locality? ii) Do longer serving staff avoid making new staff feel outsiders, for example by the use of a ‘we’ or an ‘us’ which excludes them? iii) Does every new member of staff have a mentor who is genuinely interested in helping him or her to settle into the school? iv) Does the school make new staff feel that the experience and knowledge they bring to the school is valued? v) Are there opportunities for all staff, including new staff, to share their knowledge and expertise? vi) Are new staff provided with the basic information they need about the school? vii) Are new staff asked what additional information they need, and is it provided? viii) Are the observations about the school of new staff sought and valued for the fresh insights that they may contain? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools57 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.3 | The school seeks to admit all students from its locality i) Are all students from the locality encouraged to attend the school irrespective of attainment or impairment? ii) Is the inclusion of all students from the locality publicised as school policy? iii) Does the school seek to overcome barriers to participation for the variety of ethnic groups in the locality? iv) Are traveller children and young people who visit the area actively welcomed to the school? v) Are students from the locality, currently in special schools, actively encouraged to attend the school? vi) Is membership of the school equally unconditional for all students? vii) Is there an increase in the proportion of students from the locality included within the school? viii) Is there an increase in the diversity of students from the locality included in the school? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools58 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.4 | The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people i) Are the needs of deaf, blind and partially sighted people, as well as people with physical impairments considered in making the buildings accessible? ii) 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? iii) Are organisations of disabled people consulted about the accessibility of the school? iv) Is disabled access part of the building improvement plan? v) 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? vi) Is accessibility seen as about disabled staff, governors, parents/carers and other members of the community, as well as students? vii) Are projects concerned with improving the accessibility of the school buildings part of the school curriculum? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools59 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.5 | All new students are helped to settle into the school i) Does the school have an induction programme for students? ii) 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? iii) Is information available for parents/carers on the national and local education system as well as about the school? iv) Does the induction programme take into account student differences in attainment and home language? v) Are new students paired with more experienced students when they first enter the school? vi) Are steps taken to find out the extent to which new students feel at home in the school after a few weeks? vii) Is there support for students who have difficulty memorising the building layout, particularly when they first join the school? viii) Are new students clear about who to see if they experience difficulties? ix) When students are due to transfer from one school to another, do staff in each school collaborate to ease the change? x) Are steps taken to familiarise students with the school before they transfer from pre-school or primary school? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools60 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1 | Developing the school for all INDICATOR B.1.6 | The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued i) Are teaching groups treated fairly in the use of facilities, location of teaching rooms, allocation of teaching staff and staff cover? ii) Do staff consider the opportunities created for students to teach and learn from each other in diverse groups? iii) In planning teaching groups, is attention paid to friendships and the presence of others who speak the same languages? iv) Is there an attempt to minimise the organisation of teaching groups according to levels of attainment or impairment? v) Where setting occurs, are there plans to prevent negative effects, such as disaffection in lower sets? vi) Where setting occurs, do the arrangements give students an equal opportunity to move between sets? vii) 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? viii) Are seating arrangements within classes changed as necessary to improve learning opportunities for students? ix) Are schools mindful of the legal obligation to educate together students who do and do not experience difficulties in learning? x) Where there is a large imbalance of girls and boys in a particular year’s intake, do schools consider establishing some single-sex classes? xi) Do schools avoid identifying and grouping a disproportionate number of boys as low attainers or as requiring an alternative curriculum? xii) Do schools avoid restricting the curriculum (such as omitting a foreign language) for students who are given additional literacy support? xiii) Where there are option choices, are all students allowed to make real choices? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools61 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.1 | All forms of support are co-ordinated i) Are all support policies co-ordinated in a strategy for increasing the capacity of the school to respond to diversity? ii) Is the co-ordination of support given high status in the school and led by a senior member of staff? iii) Are support policies directed at preventing barriers to learning and participation for students? iv) Is there an overall inclusive support policy which is clear to all within the school? v) Is the support policy made clear to those from outside the school who support learning within it? vi) Is there a clear plan for the way external support services can contribute to the inclusive development of cultures, policies and practices? vii) Are staff aware of all the services that can support the development of learning and participation in the school? viii) Is there co-ordination of all initiatives, such as healthy schools or those aimed at high attaining students, so that they support the inclusive development of the school? ix) Are those offering support asked to co-ordinate their efforts with other overlapping initiatives? x) Are support policies guided by what is best for students rather than the maintenance of professional territories? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools62 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.2 | Staff development activities help staff to respond to student diversity i) Do all curriculum development activities address the participation of students differing in background, experience, attainment or impairment? ii) Do all curriculum development activities address the reduction of barriers to learning and participation? iii) Do staff development activities support staff in working effectively together in classrooms? iv) Is partnership teaching, followed by shared review, used to support teachers to respond to student diversity? v) Do staff observe each other’s lessons in order to reflect on the perspectives of students? vi) Do staff receive training in devising and managing collaborative learning activities? vii) Are there shared opportunities for teachers and classroom assistants to develop more effective collaboration? viii) Are there opportunities for staff and students to learn about peer tutoring? ix) Do teaching and support staff learn about using technology to support learning (such as cameras, television, video, overhead projector, tape-recorders, computers/Internet)? x) Do staff explore ways of reducing disaffection by increasing the engagement of students in curricula? xi) Is disability equality education provided for all staff? xii) Do all staff learn how to counter bullying, including racism, sexism and homophobia? xiii) Do staff and governors take responsibility for assessing their own learning needs? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools63 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.3 | ‘Special educational needs’ policies are inclusion policies i) Is there an attempt to minimise the categorisation of students as ‘having special educational needs’? ii) Does the school avoid the disproportionate categorisation of boys as ‘having special educational needs’? iii) Does the school avoid the disproportionate categorisation of particular ethnic groups as ‘having special educational needs’? iv) 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’? v) 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? vi) Are the attempts to remove barriers to learning and participation of one student seen as opportunities for improving the classroom experiences of all students? vii) Is support seen as an entitlement for those students who need it rather than as a special addition to their education? viii) Are the details of an entitlement to support made public to students and parents/carers and included within the school brochure? ix) Where possible, is support provided without recourse to formal assessment procedures? x) Are ‘special needs’ policies aimed at increasing learning and participation and minimising exclusion? xi) Is there an attempt to minimise the withdrawal of students for support outside their mainstream lessons? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools64 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.4 | The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice1 is used to reduce the barriers to learning and participation of all students i) Is the use of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice co-ordinated with the Code of Practice (Schools) from the Disability Rights Commission2? ii) Is the use of both Codes of Practice integrated into an overall inclusion policy within the school? iii) Is the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice seen as about support rather than assessment and categorisation? iv) Is support for teaching diverse groups seen as an alternative to categorisation and the provision of individual support? v) Do external support services contribute to the planning of teaching and learning to reduce barriers to learning and participation? vi) Are Individual Education Plans about providing access to, and supporting participation within, a common curriculum? vii) Do Individual Education Plans for some students improve the teaching and learning arrangements for all students? viii) Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ build on the strengths of students and possibilities for their development, rather than concentrate on identifying deficiencies? ix) Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ describe the changes in teaching and learning arrangements required to increase learning? x) Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ describe the changes in teaching and learning arrangements required to increase engagement with other students? xi) Do statements of ‘special educational needs’ specify the support required to maximise participation in mainstream curricula and communities? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● 1 DfES (2001) 2 Disability Rights Commission (2002) © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools65 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.5 | Support for those learning English as an additional language is co-ordinated with learning support i) Is support for these students seen to be the responsibility of all staff within the school? ii) Does support for these students help to reduce barriers to learning and participation for all students? iii) 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’? iv) Are high expectations for achievement maintained for all students who learn or have learned English as an additional language? v) Are interpreters of Sign Language and other first languages, available to support all who need them? vi) Is the effect of moving country and culture recognised as a possible barrier to learning and participation? vii) Is teaching and support available from someone who shares a cultural background with students? viii) Does support for these students address barriers to learning in all aspects of teaching, curricula and school organisation? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools66 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.6 | Pastoral and behaviour support policies are linked to curriculum development and learning support policies i) Is the aim of increasing the learning and participation of students seen as the primary aim of all pastoral and behaviour support staff? ii) Are difficulties with behaviour related to strategies for improving classroom and playground experiences? iii) Does behaviour support involve reflection on ways to improve teaching and learning for all students? iv) Does behaviour support address barriers to learning and participation in school policies and cultures as well as practices? v) Are all teachers and teaching assistants offered opportunities to learn how to reduce the disaffection and disruption of students? vi) Does the school attempt to raise the feelings of self-worth of those with low self-esteem? vii) Is the knowledge of parents/carers used in reducing disaffection and disruption? viii) Do students contribute to reducing disaffection and disruption of themselves and others in school? ix) Does support for children in public care encourage educational achievement? x) Does support for children in public care encourage continuity in their learning? xi) Does support for children in public care encourage strong links between the school and carers? xii) Do pastoral and behaviour support policies address the well-being of students who are quietly troubled? xiii) Does the school address the origins of disaffection in boys in the way masculinity is regarded inside and outside school? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools67 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.7 | Pressures for disciplinary exclusion are decreased i) Is disciplinary exclusion seen as a process that may be interrupted by support and intervention in teaching and learning arrangements? ii) Are there meetings, involving staff, students, parents/carers and others, that attempt to deal with problems flexibly before they escalate? iii) Are the connections recognised between devaluation of students, and disaffection, disruption and disciplinary exclusion? iv) Does the school avoid creating pools of disaffection in devalued teaching groups? v) Does the school address feelings of devaluation when they arise in ethnic minority or social class groups? vi) Does the school attempt to reduce conflict between ethnic or social class groups? vii) Are responses to concerns about the behaviour of students always to do with education and rehabilitation rather than retribution? viii) Are students, or others who are seen to have offended against the school community, treated with forgiveness? ix) Are there clear, positive plans for re-introducing students who have been excluded for disciplinary reasons? x) Is there a policy to minimise all forms of disciplinary exclusions whether temporary or permanent, formal or informal? xi) Is the aim of reducing temporary, permanent, formal and informal exclusions shared between staff? xii) Are clear records kept about informal as well as formal disciplinary exclusions? xiii) Are regular reports on disciplinary exclusion provided for the governing body? xiv) Are formal and informal disciplinary exclusions being reduced? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools68 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.8 | Barriers to attendance are reduced i) 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? ii) Does the school avoid using unauthorised absence as a reason for disciplinary exclusion? iii) Is the unauthorised absence of students treated equitably irrespective of gender or background? iv) Are the relationships between unauthorised absence, bullying and the lack of supportive friendships recognised? v) Does the school respond to student pregnancy in a way that is supportive and non-discriminatory towards girls? vi) 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? vii) Is there clear advice on extended leave to visit a ‘home’ country that has been negotiated with the school’s communities? viii) Are there guidelines for integrating into lessons the experiences gained by those who have been away for extended periods? ix) Is there a plan to improve co-operation between staff and parents/carers over unauthorised absence? x) Is there a co-ordinated strategy between the school and other agencies? xi) Is there an efficient system for reporting absence and discovering reasons for it? xii) Is a record kept of absences from individual lessons? xiii) Are absences from particular lessons seen as a reason for exploring relationships with teachers and what is taught? xiv) Are the figures collected by the school an accurate reflection of ‘real’ unauthorised absence? xv) Is the unauthorised absence of students reducing? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools69 indicators with questions DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.2 | Organising support for diversity INDICATOR B.2.9 | Bullying is minimised i) Do staff, parents/carers, governors and students share a view of what bullying is? ii) Is bullying seen as a potential part of all power relationships? iii) Is bullying seen to be concerned with verbal and emotional hurt as well as physical assault? iv) Is the threat of the withdrawal of friendship understood as a source of bullying? v) Is bullying seen as occurring potentially between staff, staff and students, and staff and parents/carers as well as between students? vi) Are racist, sexist, disablist and homophobic comments and behaviour seen as aspects of bullying? vii) Is there a clear policy statement about bullying, which sets out in detail what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable in the school? viii) Can the language of the policy statement be understood by staff, governors, students and parents/carers? ix) Are men and women available who are approachable and can give support about bullying to boys and girls? x) Do students know who to turn to if they are bullied? xi) Are there people inside and outside the school who staff can turn to if they are bullied? xii) Are students involved in strategies to prevent and minimise bullying? xiii) Are clear records kept about bullying incidents? xiv) Is bullying being reduced? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools70 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.1 | Teaching is planned with the learning of all students in mind i) Is teaching planned to support learning rather than to deliver the curriculum? ii) Do curriculum materials reflect the backgrounds, experience and interests of all learners? iii) Do lessons start from a shared experience that can be developed in a variety of ways? iv) Do lessons reflect a range of interests for both boys and girls? v) Do lessons extend the learning of all students? vi) Do lessons encourage a view of learning as continuous rather than completed with particular tasks? vii) Can different subjects be learnt in different ways, for example, intensive literacy or foreign language courses? viii) Are interpreters available for deaf students or others for whom English is an additional language? ix) Does planning reflect on and attempt to minimise barriers to learning and participation for particular students? x) Do teachers examine ways to reduce the need for the individual support of students? xi) Do lessons provide opportunities for paired and group activities as well as individual and whole classwork? xii) Is there a variety of activities involving, for example, oral presentation and discussion, listening, reading, writing, drawing, problem solving, use of library, audio/visual materials, practical tasks and computers? xiii) Can students participate in, for example, science and physical education in clothes appropriate to their religious beliefs? xiv) Is the curriculum adapted for students concerned about participating in, for example, art or music, because of their religious beliefs? xv) Are lessons adapted, if necessary, so students with physical or sensory impairments can develop skills and knowledge through physical education or practical science or the physics of light and sound? xvi) Do staff recognise the additional time required by some students with impairments to use equipment in practical work? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools71 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.2 | Lessons encourage the participation of all students i) Do class and subject teachers take responsibility for the learning of all students in their lessons? ii) Is there an attempt to view teaching and support from the point of view of students? iii) Do lessons build on differences in student knowledge and experience? iv) Do lessons pay attention to the emotional as well as the intellectual aspects of learning? v) Do lessons convey a sense of excitement in learning? vi) Is the spoken and written language made accessible to all students? vii) Is essential technical vocabulary explained and practised during lessons? viii) Can students record their work in a variety of ways, using drawings, photographs and tapes as well as written work? ix) Do lessons build on the language and literacy experiences of students outside school? x) Do lessons encourage dialogue between staff and students as well as between students themselves? xi) Do lessons encourage the development of a language for thinking and talking about learning? xii) Are there opportunities for students learning English as an additional language to speak and write in their first language? xiii) Are students who are learning English as an additional language encouraged to develop and use skills of translation from a home language into English? xiv) Is the presence of additional adults used to reflect on how curricula and teaching approaches can be used to improve the learning and participation of all students? xv) Do staff recognise the physical effort expended on tasks by some students with impairments or chronic illness, and the tiredness that can result? xvi) Do staff recognise the mental effort involved in lip-reading and using aids to vision? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools72 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.3 | Lessons develop an understanding of difference i) Are students encouraged to explore views which are different from their own? ii) Are students helped to engage in dialogue with others with a variety of backgrounds and views? iii) Are there opportunities for students to work with others who differ from themselves in background, ethnicity, impairment and gender? iv) Do staff demonstrate that they respect and value alternative views during class discussions? v) Are all ‘modern’ languages treated as equally valuable? vi) Do learning activities develop an understanding of differences of background, culture, ethnicity, gender, impairment, sexual orientation and religion? vii) Are students taught about the variety of cultural influences on language and the curriculum? viii) Do all students have opportunities to communicate with children and young people in both economically richer and poorer parts of the world? ix) Does the curriculum give a historical understanding of the oppression of certain groups? x) Are students taught to question stereotyping in curriculum materials and classroom discussion? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools73 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.4 | Students are actively involved in their own learning i) Are students encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning? ii) Do teachers explain the purpose of a lesson or group of lessons? iii) Do the classroom environment, displays and other resources help independent learning? iv) Does the support given to students help them to move on in their learning while drawing on the knowledge and skills they already possess? v) Are curriculum plans shared with students so that they can choose to study at a faster pace or in greater depth? vi) Are students taught how to research and write up a topic? vii) Are students able to use the library and information technology resources independently? viii) Are students taught how to take notes from lectures and books and organise their work? ix) Are mechanical copying activities avoided? x) Are students taught how to present their work in spoken, written and other forms, individually and in groups? xi) Are students encouraged to summarise what they have learnt verbally and in writing? xii) Are students taught how to revise for tests and examinations? xiii) Are students consulted about the support they need? xiv) Are students consulted about the quality of lessons? xv) Are students involved in finding ways to overcome their own and each other’s difficulties in learning? xvi) Are students given a choice over activities? xvii) Are the interests, knowledge and skills acquired independently by students valued and drawn upon in lessons? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools74 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.5 | Students learn collaboratively i) Do students see the offering and receiving of help as an ordinary part of classroom activity? ii) Are there established rules for students to take turns in speaking, listening and requesting clarification from each other as well as from staff? iii) Do students willingly share their knowledge and skills? iv) Do students refuse help politely when they do not need it? v) Do group activities allow students to divide up tasks and pool what they have learnt? vi) Do students learn how to compile a joint report from the different contributions of a group? vii) When others in the class are troubled, do students help to calm them down rather than wind them up? viii) Do students recognise that every student should have their share of the limelight? ix) Do students share responsibility for helping to overcome the difficulties experienced by some students in lessons? x) Are students involved in assessing each other’s learning? xi) Are students involved in helping each other to set educational goals? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools75 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.6 | Assessment contributes to the achievements of all students i) Are all staff involved in assessing learning? ii) Do teachers take responsibility for the progress of all students in their lessons? iii) Are students involved in assessing and commenting on their own learning? iv) Are parents/carers involved in the assessment process? v) Do records of achievement reflect all the skills, knowledge and experience of students, such as additional languages, other communication systems, hobbies, interests and work experience? vi) Are judgements on students respectful? vii) Are assessments based on detailed observation? viii) Is assessment directed at what is important to learn? ix) Are assessments (including national assessments) always used formatively to develop the learning of students? x) Do assessments lead to modifications in teaching plans and practice? xi) Are there a variety of ways of demonstrating and assessing learning that engage with differences in students’ characters, interests and the range of their skills? xii) Are there opportunities for assessment of work done in collaboration with others? xiii) Do students understand why they are being assessed? xiv) Are students honestly informed about the consequences of assessment, for example, when entered for different levels in examinations? xv) Does the feedback to students indicate what they have learnt and what they might do next? xvi) Is there monitoring of the achievements of different groups of students (boys/girls/ethnic minority students/students with impairments), so that any difficulties can be detected and addressed? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools76 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.7 | Classroom discipline is based on mutual respect i) Does the approach to discipline encourage self- discipline? ii) Do staff support each other to be assertive without being angry? iii) Do staff share their concerns and pool their knowledge and skills in overcoming disaffection and disruption? iv) Are classroom routines consistent and explicit? v) Are students involved in helping to resolve classroom difficulties? vi) Are students involved in formulating classroom rules? vii) Are students consulted on how to improve the classroom atmosphere? viii) Are students consulted on how to improve attention to learning? ix) Do students feel that they are treated fairly irrespective of gender or ethnicity? x) If there is more than one adult in the room do they share responsibility for the smooth running of lessons? xi) Are there clear procedures, understood by students and teachers, for responding to extremes of challenging behaviour? xii) Is it recognised by all staff and students that it is unfair for boys to take up more of a teacher’s attention than girls? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools77 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.8 | Teachers plan, teach and review in partnership i) Do teachers share in planning schemes of work for lessons and homework? ii) Are teaching activities planned so as to make full use of all adults present in the classroom? iii) Do teachers engage in partnership teaching? iv) Is partnership teaching used as an opportunity for shared reflection on the learning of students? v) Do teachers welcome comments from colleagues on, for example, the accessibility of the language of instruction and the participation of students in activities? vi) Do teachers modify their teaching in response to the feedback from colleagues? vii) Do classroom and support teachers share in working with individuals, groups and the whole class? viii) Do teachers and other staff who work together provide a model of collaboration for students? ix) Do teachers engage with others in joint problem solving when the progress of a student or group is a cause for concern? x) Do staff working in partnership share responsibility for ensuring that all students participate? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools78 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.9 | Teaching assistants support the learning and participation of all students i) Are teaching assistants involved in curriculum planning and review? ii) Are teaching assistants attached to a curriculum area rather than particular students? iii) Are teaching assistants concerned to increase the participation of all students? iv) Do teaching assistants aim to make students independent from their direct support? v) Do teaching assistants encourage peer support of students who experience difficulties in learning? vi) Are teaching assistants careful to avoid getting in the way of young people’s relationships with their peers? vii) Are teaching assistants given a job description which reflects the range of duties they undertake? viii) Are all teachers familiar with the range of activities in the job descriptions of teaching assistants? ix) Is the space in classrooms organised so that teaching assistants can work with groups as well as a range of individuals? x) Are teaching assistants paid for all the tasks they undertake, such as attendance at meetings, preparation of teaching materials and for training? xi) Are the views of teaching assistants sought about the nature of their job descriptions? xii) Is it recognised that some students with impairments may need a personal assistant, rather than a teaching assistant? xiii) Are students with impairments consulted about the support they might need and the characteristics of the person who might provide it? xiv) Is it recognised that personal assistants and teaching assistants may need to take on an advocacy role for some students? xv) Are attempts made to recruit male as well as female assistants? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools79 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.10 | Homework contributes to the learning of all i) Does homework always have a clear learning aim? ii) Is homework related to the skills and knowledge of all students? iii) Are there opportunities for recording homework in a variety of ways? iv) Does homework extend the skills and knowledge of all students? v) Do teachers support each other on how to set useful homework? vi) Are students given sufficient opportunity to clarify the requirements of homework before the end of lessons? vii) Are homework tasks modified if discussion reveals that they are not meaningful or appropriate for some students? viii) Are there opportunities to do homework on the school premises, during lunchtime or out of school hours? ix) Is homework integrated into curriculum planning for the term/year? x) Does homework encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning? xi) Do those who set homework ensure that it can be completed without assistance from parents/carers? xii) Are there opportunities for students to collaborate over homework? xiii) Do students have choice over homework so that they can relate it to the development of their knowledge and interests? xiv) Can students use homework to sustain an area of interest over a period of time? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools80 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1 | Orchestrating learning INDICATOR C.1.11 | All students take part in activities outside the classroom i) Can all students find activities which appeal to them? ii) Is there transport to enable students who have to travel far or have restricted mobility, to take part in after-school events? iii) Are all students encouraged to take part in music and drama and physical activities? iv) Can boys and girls take part in single-sex groups if there are activities in which one gender predominates, such as computer club, chess club or choir? v) Are there opportunities for single-sex groups where mixed activities are prohibited on cultural, religious or other grounds? vi) Are children and young people discouraged from monopolising the space in the playground, for example for football? vii) Are students taught a repertoire of playground games that can include children with a range of skills? viii) Do students who are chosen to represent their classes reflect the diversity of students in the school? ix) Do students chosen to represent the school reflect the diversity of students in the school? x) Are school trips, including overseas visits, made accessible to all students in the school irrespective of attainment or impairment? xi) Are all students given opportunities to take part in activities outside the school? xii) Are all students given opportunities to take part in activities which support and benefit local communities? xiii) Do games and PE lessons encourage sport and fitness for all? xiv) Do sports days include activities in which everyone can take part, irrespective of skill level or impairment? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools81 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.2 | Mobilising resources INDICATOR C.2.1 | Student difference is used as a resource for teaching and learning i) Are students encouraged to pool their knowledge and experience, for example, of different countries, regions and areas of towns or about family histories? ii) Is the capacity of students to give emotional support recognised and used sensitively? iii) Do students with more knowledge or skill in an area sometimes tutor those with less? iv) Are there opportunities for students of different ages to support each other? v) Are a wide variety of students chosen to tutor others? vi) Is everyone, irrespective of attainment or impairment, seen to make an important contribution to teaching and learning? vii) Are the variety of languages spoken by students used as an integral part of the curriculum and as a linguistic resource for language work? viii) Do students who have overcome a particular problem pass on the benefits of their experience? ix) Are the barriers to learning and participation of some students, for example in gaining physical access to a part of a building or to an aspect of the curriculum, used as problem solving tasks or projects? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools82 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.2 | Mobilising resources INDICATOR C.2.2 | Staff expertise is fully utilised i) Are all the skills and knowledge of staff known, not just those given in their job description? ii) Are staff encouraged to draw on and share all their skills and knowledge to support learning? iii) Are staff encouraged to develop their knowledge and skills? iv) Is the variety of languages spoken by staff used as a resource for students? v) Do members of staff with particular skills and knowledge offer their help to others? vi) Are the differences in culture and background of staff drawn upon in curriculum development and teaching? vii) Are there formal as well as informal opportunities for staff to resolve concerns over students by drawing on each other’s expertise? viii) Do staff offer alternative perspectives on concerns about students? ix) Do staff learn from instructive practice and experience in other schools? x) Are local special school staff invited to share their expertise with mainstream staff? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools83 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.2 | Mobilising resources INDICATOR C.2.3 | Staff develop resources to support learning and participation i) Do teachers develop shared, reusable resources to support learning? ii) Do all staff know of the resources available to support their lessons? iii) Does the library support independent learning? iv) Is the library organised so that it supports the learning of all? v) Is there a range of good quality fiction and non-fiction for all learners in the variety of languages used by students? vi) Are appropriately adapted curriculum materials, for example, in large print, audiotape or Braille, available for students with impairments? vii) Is there a well organised video library? viii) Are computers integrated into teaching across the curriculum? ix) Is there a system for making effective use of educational television programmes within the curriculum? x) Is e-mail and the Internet used efficiently by staff to assist teaching and learning? xi) Are all students given opportunities to communicate with others at a distance on paper, by telephone and by e-mail? xii) Is the Internet used efficiently by students to help with school work and homework? xiii) Are cassette recorders used to support oral work across the curriculum? xiv) Are new technological opportunities exploited when they become available, for example, voice recognition programmes, as a support for students who have extreme difficulty in writing? xv) Are worksheets used only when they are clearly understood by students and extend their learning? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools84 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.2 | Mobilising resources INDICATOR C.2.4 | Community resources are known and drawn upon i) Is there a regularly updated record of resources in the locality that can support teaching and learning? This might include: – museums – art galleries, – local religious centres – representatives of community groups and associations, – parish, town, city and council councils, – local businesses – hospitals, – homes for the elderly, – police service, – fire service, – voluntary bodies, – sports centres and facilities, – parks, – water, river and canal authorities, – politicians, – ethnic minority leaders, – unions, ii) Do members of the local communities contribute to the curriculum in school? iii) Are parents/carers and other community members used as a source of support in classrooms? iv) Are disabled adults involved in supporting students in the school? v) Do people working in the area act as mentors to support students experiencing difficulties? vi) Are the resources available to some homes, such as reference material, drawn on to support all students? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● – museums – art galleries – local religious centres – representatives of community groups and associations – parish, town, city and county councils – local businesses – hospitals – homes for the elderly – police service – fire service – voluntary bodies – sports centres and facilities – parks – water, river and canal authorities – politicians – ethnic minority leaders – unions – citizens advice bureaux – libraries – city and rural farms – countryside authorities – heritage and ancient building authorities – train stations, airports, transport authorities – study centres – further education colleges, universities. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools85 indicators with questions DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.2 | Mobilising resources INDICATOR C.2.5 | School resources are distributed fairly so that they support inclusion i) Is there an open and equitable distribution of resources in the school? ii) Is it clear how the resources are assigned to support students of different ages and attainments? iii) Are resources directed at encouraging independent learning? iv) Are staff aware of the resources delegated to the school to support students categorised as ‘having special educational needs’? v) Are resources, delegated to meet ‘special educational needs’, used to increase the capacity of the school to respond to diversity? vi) Are support resources directed at preventing barriers to learning and participation and minimising student categorisation? vii) Do staff review the use of delegated resources regularly so that they can be used flexibly to respond to the changing needs of all students? FURTHER QUESTIONS ● ● ● © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools87 summary sheet priorities for development Please put a tick by any of the groups below which indicate your relationship to the school: Teacher Teaching assistant Other member of staff Student Parent/carer Governor Other (specify) Write one or two of your priorities for development of the school under the section headings below. These might be written as an indicator or group of indicators, a question or group of questions or an issue not covered by the Index materials. You should consider the implications of a suggestion in one dimension for changes in others. DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures Building community Indicators/questions/other issues: Establishing inclusive values Indicators/questions/other issues: DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies Developing the school for all Indicators/questions/other issues: Organising support for diversity Indicators/questions/other issues: DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices Orchestrating learning Indicators/questions/other issues: Mobilising resources Indicators/questions/other issues: © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. Please tick the group(s) below indicating your involvement with the school: Teacher Teaching assistant Other member of staff Student Parent/carer Governor Other (specify) Please put a tick in the box that indicates your opinion DIMENSION A Creating inclusive cultures A.1.1 Everyone is made to feel welcome. A.1.2 Students help each other. A.1.3 Staff collaborate with each other. A.1.4 Staff and students treat one another with respect. A.1.5 There is a partnership between staff and parents/carers. A.1.6 Staff and governors work well together. A.1.7 All local communities are involved in the school. A.2.1 There are high expectations for all students. A.2.2 Staff, governors, students and parents/carers share a philosophy of inclusion. A.2.3 Students are equally valued. A.2.4 Staff and students treat one another as human beings as well as occupants of a ‘role’. A.2.5 Staff seek to remove barriers to learning and participation in all aspects of the school. A.2.6 The school strives to minimise all forms of discrimination. DIMENSION B Producing inclusive policies B.1.1 Staff appointments and promotions are fair. B.1.2 All new staff are helped to settle into the school. B.1.3 The school seeks to admit all students from its locality. B.1.4 The school makes its buildings physically accessible to all people. B.1.5 All new students are helped to settle into the school. B.1.6 The school arranges teaching groups so that all students are valued. B.2.1 All forms of support are co-ordinated. B.2.2 Staff development activities help staff to respond to student diversity. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools88 questionnaire 1 indicators continues definitely agree agree to some extent disagree need more information © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools89 questionnaire 1 B.2.3 ‘Special educational needs’ policies are inclusion policies. B.2.4 The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice is used to reduce the barriers to learning and participation of all students. B.2.5 Support for those learning English as an additional language is co-ordinated with learning support. B.2.6 Pastoral and behaviour support policies are linked to curriculum development and learning support policies. B.2.7 Pressures for disciplinary exclusion are decreased. B.2.8 Barriers to attendance are reduced. B.2.9 Bullying is minimised. DIMENSION C Evolving inclusive practices C.1.1 Teaching is planned with the learning of all students in mind. C.1.2 Lessons encourage the participation of all students. C.1.3 Lessons develop an understanding of difference. C.1.4 Students are actively involved in their own learning. C.1.5 Students learn collaboratively. C.1.6 Assessment contributes to the achievements of all students. C.1.7 Classroom discipline is based on mutual respect. C.1.8 Teachers plan, teach and review in partnership. C.1.9 Teaching assistants support the learning and participation of all students. C.1.10 Homework contributes to the learning of all. C.1.11 All students take part in activities outside the classroom. C.2.1 Student difference is used as a resource for teaching and learning. C.2.2 Staff expertise is fully utilised. C.2.3 Staff develop resources to support learning and participation. C.2.4 Community resources are known and drawn upon. C.2.5 School resources are distributed fairly so that they support inclusion. Priorities for development 1 ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2 ____________________________________________________________________________________ 3 ____________________________________________________________________________________ 4 ____________________________________________________________________________________ 5 ____________________________________________________________________________________ definitely agree agree to some extent disagree need more information © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools90 questionnaire 2 adapted indicators (students and parents/carers) Please put a tick in the box that indicates your opinion Cultures 1 Everyone is made to feel welcome at this school. 2 Students help each other. 3 Staff work well with each other. 4 Staff and students treat one another with respect. 5 Parents feel involved in the school. 6 Staff and governors work well together. 7 Teachers do not favour one group of children and young people over another. 8 Teachers try to help all students to do their best. 9 Teachers think all students are equally important. Policies 10 The school makes it easy for children and young people with impairments to come to this school. 11 When you first join this school you are helped to feel settled. 12 Teachers like teaching all their classes. 13 The teachers try to sort out difficulties over behaviour without wanting children to leave the school. 14 The teachers work hard to make the school a good place to come to. 15 Everything possible is done to stop bullying. Practices 16 Teachers try to make the lessons easy to understand for everyone. 17 Students are taught to appreciate people who have different backgrounds to their own. continues definitely agree agree to some extent disagree Please indicate: Student Parent/carer © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools91 questionnaire 2 18 Students generally know what will be taught next in lessons. 19 In lessons teachers expect students to help each other. 20 In most lessons students and teachers behave well towards each other. 21 Teachers help everyone who has difficulties with lessons. 22 Teaching assistants work with anyone who needs help. 23 Homework helps with learning and is properly explained. 24 Activities are arranged outside of lessons which interest everyone. What three changes would you like to see at the school? 1 _______________________________________________________________________________ 2 _______________________________________________________________________________ 3 _______________________________________________________________________________ definitely agree agree to some extent disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools92 questionnaire 3 my primary school 1 Sometimes I do class work in pairs with a friend. 2 Sometimes my class is divided into groups for work. 3 I help my friends with their work when they get stuck. 4 My friends help me with my work when I get stuck. 5 My work is put on the walls for other people to see. 6 My teacher likes to listen to my ideas. 7 My teacher likes to help me with my work. 8 I like to help my teacher when she or he has jobs that need doing. 9 I think our classroom rules are fair. 10 Some of the children in my class call others by unkind names. 11 Sometimes I am bullied in the playground. 12 When I feel unhappy at school there is always an adult to look after me. 13 When children in my class quarrel, the teacher sorts it out fairly. I am a girl I am a boy I am in class _____________ continues I agree I agree to some extent I disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools93 questionnaire 3 14 I think setting targets for the term helps my work to improve. 15 Sometimes my teacher lets me choose what work to do. 16 I feel pleased with myself when I’ve done a good piece of work. 17 When I have homework I usually understand what I’m supposed to do. 18 My teacher likes me to tell her or him about what I do at home. 19 My family thinks this is a good school. 20 If I am away from school my class teacher asks me where I have been. The three things I like best about my school are 1 __________________________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________________________ 3 __________________________________________________________________ The three things I don’t really like about my school are 1 __________________________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________________________ 3 __________________________________________________________________ Thank you for your help! I agree I agree to some extent I disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools94 questionnaire 4 my secondary school 1 In lessons I often work with other students in pairs and small groups. 2 I enjoy most of my lessons. 3 When I have a problem with my work I ask the teachers for help. 4 I am learning a lot in this school. 5 My friends help me in class when I am stuck with my work. 6 Having a teaching assistant in some of my lessons helps me with my learning. 7 In lessons teachers are interested in listening to my ideas. 8 Teachers don’t mind if I make mistakes in my work as long as I try my best. 9 My work is displayed on the walls in the school. 10 The staff at this school are friendly to me. 11 I think the teachers are fair when they punish a student. 12 I think the teachers are fair when they praise a student. 13 I think some teachers like certain students more than others. 14 When I am given homework I usually understand what I have to do. 15 I usually do the homework I am given. 16 Most of the time I like being at school. 17 This school was the one I wanted to come to when I left my primary school. 18 I think this is the best school in the area. I am female I am male I am in year _____________ continues I agree I agree to some extent I disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools95 questionnaire 4 19 My family thinks this is a good school. 20 It’s good to have students from different backgrounds in this school. 21 Disabled students are treated with respect at this school. 22 Any student who lives near to this school is welcome to come here. 23 If you really misbehave at this school you will be sent home. 24 The school is right to send a student home if they have behaved badly. 25 I have some good friends in this school. 26 I worry about being called names at school. 27 I worry about being bullied at school. 28 If anyone bullied me I would tell a teacher. 29 At lunchtimes I sometimes join in clubs or do sports practice. 30 After school I sometimes join in clubs or do sports practice. 31 There are places in the school I can go to be comfortable at lunchtimes. 32 I like my form tutor. 33 My form tutor likes me. 34 If I have been away from school for a day my form tutor wants to know where I have been. These are the three things I would most like to change about this school 1 __________________________________________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________________________________________ 3 __________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for your help! I agree I agree to some extent I disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools96 questionnaire 5 secondary parents/carers 1 This school was my first choice for my child(ren). 2 My child(ren) wanted to come to this school. 3 The information I was given when my child(ren) first came to the school was excellent. 4 The half-termly newsletters keep me up-to-date with changes at the school. 5 I think the school keeps me well informed about my child(ren)’s progress. 6 I think the staff are friendly towards me and other parents/carers. 7 When I am concerned about my son’s/daughter’s progress at school I know who to contact. 8 If I tell staff of concerns I have about my child(ren)’s progress I am confident that my views will be taken seriously. 9 The school provides clear information about how I can help my child(ren) with their school work at home. 10 My child(ren) enjoy being at this school. 11 I think the staff work harder to help some students than others. 12 All children who live locally are welcome at the school. 13 All families are equally valued whatever their backgrounds. 14 Bullying is a problem at the school. 15 If a student misbehaves it is right to send them home. 16 If a student continually misbehaves they should be excluded permanently from the school. Please tick any year group in which you have a child at this school year 7 year 8 year 9 year 10 year 11 sixth form Then tick one box in response to each statement in the table below. continues definitely agree agree to some extent disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools97 questionnaire 5 17 My child(ren) regularly join in with clubs and other activities taking place in the lunchtimes and after school. 18 Before changes are made in the school parents are asked for their views. 19 Parents who get involved in helping the school are valued more highly by staff than those who do not. 20 Staff at this school encourage all students to do their best, not just the most able. Thank you for completing the questionnaire. Please add below any other comments about the school which might help to make it a better place for your child(ren). ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ definitely agree agree to some extent disagree © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. Ainscow, M. (1991) Effective schools for all, London, Fulton. Ainscow, M., Hopkins, D., Southworth, G. and West, M. (1996) Creating the conditions for school improvement, London, Fulton. Ainscow, M. (1999) Understanding the development of inclusive schools, London, Falmer. Alliance for Inclusive Education (2001) The Inclusion Assistant – Helping young people with high level support needs in mainstream education, London, AIE. Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D. and Barton, L. (1999) (eds) Inclusive education: policy, contexts and comparative perspectives, London, Fulton. Balshaw, M. (1999) Help in the classroom (2nd edition), London, Fulton. Barrow, G. (1998) Disaffection and inclusion: Merton’s mainstream approach to difficult behaviour, Bristol, CSIE. Bearne, E. (1996) Differentiation and diversity in the primary curriculum, London, Routledge. Blair, M. and Bourne, J. with Coffin, C., Creese, A. and Kenner, C. (1999) Making the difference: teaching and learning strategies in successful multi-ethnic schools, London, HMSO. Booth, T., Swann, W. and Masterton, M. (eds) (1992) Curricula for diversity in education, London, Routledge. Booth, T., Swann, W. and Masterton, M. (eds) (1992) Policies for diversity in education, London, Routledge. Booth, T. and Ainscow, M. (1998) From them to us: an international study of inclusion in education, London, Routledge. Clark, C., Dyson, A. and Millward, A. (eds) (1995) Towards inclusive schools? London, Fulton. Commission for Racial Equality (2000) Auditing for equality, London, CRE. Denman, S., Moon, A., Parsons, C. and Stears, D. (2002) The health promoting school, London, Falmer. Department for Education and Employment (1999) ‘Inclusion: providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils’, in The national curriculum handbook for primary teachers in England, London, DfEE. Department for Education and Employment (2000) Working with teaching assistants: a good practice guide, London, DfEE. Department for Education and Employment (2000) Guidance on the education of children and young people in care, London, DfEE. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools99 further reading © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools100 Department for Education and Employment (2001) Inclusive school design: accommodating pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools, London, DfEE. Department for Education and Skills (2001) Statutory guidance. Inclusive schooling, children with special educational needs, London, DfES. Dixon, A., Drummond, M. J., Hart, S. and McIntyre, D. (2002) Learning without limits, Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Drummond, M. J. (1993) Assessing children’s learning, London, David Fulton. Eichinger, J., Meyer, L. H. and D’Aquanni, M. (1996) ‘Evolving best practices for learners with severe disabilities’, Special education leadership review, pp.1-13. The Employers Organisation for Local Government (2001) The equality standard, London, EOLG. Epstein, D. (ed) (1998) Failing boys? Issues in gender and achievement, Buckingham, Open University Press. Farrell, P., Balshaw, M. and Polat, F. (1999) The management role and training of learning support assistants, London, DfEE. Gillborn, D. and Gipps, C. (1996) Recent research on the achievement of ethnic minority pupils, London, HMSO. Hart, S. (1996) Beyond special needs: enhancing children’s learning through innovative thinking, London, Paul Chapman. Hart, S. (ed) (1996) Differentiation and the secondary curriculum, London, Routledge. Hart, S. (2000) Thinking through teaching, London, David Fulton. Hudak, G. M. and Kahn, P. (eds) Labelling: pedagogy and politics, London, Routledge. Jordan, L. and Goodey, C. (2002) Human rights and school change: the Newham story, Bristol, CSIE. Language and Curriculum Access Service (LCAS) (1999) Enabling progress in multilingual classrooms, London, London Borough of Enfield. Leicester, M. (1991) Equal opportunities in school: sexuality, race, gender and special needs, Harlow, Longman. Lipsky, D. and Gartner, A. (1997) Inclusion and school reform: transforming America’s classrooms, Baltimore, P. Brookes Publishing. Louis, K. S. and Miles, M. (1990) Improving the urban high school: what works and why, London, Teachers College. MacBeith, J., Boyd, B., Rand, J. and Bell, S. (1996) Schools speak for themselves, London, National Union of Teachers. Macpherson, W. (1999) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (Macpherson Report), Command Paper 4261 vol 1, London, Stationery Office. Marlowe, B. A. and Page, M. L. (1998) Creating and sustaining the constructivist classroom, London, Corwin Press/Sage. Murphy, P. F. and Gipps, C. (1999) Equity in the classroom: towards effective pedagogy for girls and boys, London, Falmer and UNESCO. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools101 Office for Standards in Education (1999) Raising the attainment of ethnic minority pupils: school and local education authority responses, London, Ofsted. Potts, P., Armstrong, F. and Masterton, M. (1995) Equality and diversity in education: learning, teaching and managing schools, London, Routledge. Potts, P. (ed) (2002) Inclusion in the city, London, Routledge. Riddell, S. (1992) Gender and the politics of the curriculum, London, Routledge. Rieser, R. and Mason, M. (eds) (1990) Disability equality in the classroom: a human rights issue, London, ILEA. Rogers, R. (1996) Developing an inclusive policy for your school, Bristol, CSIE. Rustemier, S. (2002) Social and educational justice: the human rights framework for inclusion, Bristol, CSIE. Sapon-Shevin, M. (1999) Because we can change the world; a practical guide to building co-operative, inclusive classroom communities, Boston, Allyn and Bacon. Sebba, J. and Ainscow, M. (1996) ‘International developments in inclusive education: mapping the issues’, Cambridge Journal of Education 26 (1), pp.5-18. Sebba, J. with Sachdev, D. (1997) What works in inclusive education? Ilford, Barnardo’s. Shaw, L. (1998) Inclusion in action, audio tape pack and guidebook, Bristol, CSIE. Shaw, L. (2001) Learning supporters and inclusion – roles, rewards, concerns and challenges, Bristol, CSIE. Stobbs, P. and Rieser, R. (2002) Making it work. Removing disability discrimination: are you ready? London, National Children’s Bureau. Thomas, G., Walker, D. and Webb, J. (1998) The making of the inclusive school, London, Routledge. United Nations (1989) UN Convention on the rights of the child, London, UNICEF. UNESCO (1994) The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education, Paris, UNESCO. Vaughan, M. (1995) Inclusive education in Australia: policy development and research. In Potts, P., Armstrong, F. and Masterson, M. (eds) Equality and diversity in education: national and international contexts, London, Routledge. Warwick, I. and Douglas, N. (2001) Safe for all: a best practice guide to prevent homophobic bullying in secondary schools, London, Citizenship 21. Weekes, D. and Wright, C. (1998) Improving practice: a whole school approach to raising the achievement of African Caribbean Youth, Nottingham, The Runnymede Trust. Wertheimer, Alison (1997) Inclusive education: a framework for change, Bristol, CSIE. Wilson, C. and Jade, R. (1999) Talking and listening to disabled young people at school, London, Alliance for Inclusive Education. Winter, R. (1989) Learning from experience: principles and practice in actionresearch, London, Falmer. © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged. index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools102 Disability Equality in Education (DEE) Training for Inclusion Disability Equality in Education complements the work of the Index. Disabled people are oppressed by a deeply rooted ‘disablist’ ideology. This is associated with a ‘medical’ model in which problems are seen as arising from an individual’s impairment rather than from the barriers to participation created by society. In a ‘social model’, barriers in the school environment, organisation and attitudes are seen as the major obstacles to inclusion. DEE offers schools training for whole or half days led by two disabled Disability Equality Trainers for Inclusion, who develop thinking about this social model. A national network of Trainers for Inclusion has been established by DEE with the support of the Department for Education and Skills with further development funded by the Community Fund. This work has been developed over the last ten years by Richard Rieser and Michelene Mason following the publication of Disability equality in the classroom: a human rights issue by the Inner London Education Authority in 1990. For more information contact: Disability Equality in Education Unit GL Leroy House 436 Essex Road London N1 3QP telephone 020 7359 2855 fax 020 7354 3372 e-mail r.rieser@btinternet.com web www.diseed.org.uk © 2002 CSIE. Booth, T and Ainscow, M (2002) Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools. This version has been prepared for display on the CSIE and EENET websites and can only be used for non commercial education purposes, on the condition that the source is acknowledged.