This online session took place during NDTi’s Inclusive Education Festival, 15-19 March 2021. During the week, there were eight sessions to showcase great stories where inclusion really works and what needs to happen to ensure a more inclusive society.
Working to make education inclusive is something that is going on all over the world. Many countries have now developed inclusive education policies and in others the work is at ground level with parents and teachers working together to create inclusion. Introduced by Linda Jordan, in this session we hear from:
- David Towell, Centre for Inclusive Futures. David has worked internationally for many years; he has worked extensively in South America and also in Eastern Europe with families, teachers and others who are working for inclusive education. David invited Gordon, Marcia and Jessica to join him for this session.
- Gordon Porter (Director), Inclusive Education Canada. Gordon has previously worked in the school system in New Brunswick, Canada, where an inclusive education system has been created. Gordon speaks about how these changes happened as well as describing the practice today. Gordon strongly believes the “children are the special ingredient” in making inclusion happen.
- Marcia Rivas, Peru. Marcia works mainly in the poorer parts of the capital city, Lima, and also with communities in the Amazon basin. She works with primary and secondary schools and coordinates projects designed to inform public policy. Marcia describes how she and colleagues work alongside teachers to mentor and support them to include all children. Marcia previously worked for UNICEF.
- Jessica Foster, Nottingham. Jessica works at Westglade Primary School. Jessica speaks about how she loves the school because of its inclusive ethos and the diversity of the children. Lesson design seeks to adapt the curriculum to the needs of each child within a ‘whole class’ experience. Jessica describes how the school leadership promotes and supports the inclusive ethos of the school, and how the whole staff team work in partnership to anticipate what will be the experience of each child.
As this is a recording of a live, online session, the sound and picture quality may vary. To ensure quick sharing of the recordings, captions have not been added yet. If you require a transcript, please email rebecca.ryan@ndti.org.uk.