As schools move towards inclusive practice, it is important that staff support one another to work together. This means moving away from processes that leave people isolated, confused, or overwhelmed by the task of teaching all students. The following table summarises some of the shifts in practice that working together effectively requires.
| Moving from... | Towards... |
|---|---|
| Teachers feeling unsupported | Teachers feeling supported by senior leadership and working together with others |
| Hierarchical teams | Effective teams and communities of practice that value the knowledge of all members Collaborative problem solving over time with the student as the central focus |
| Teachers considering they need specialist skills to teach some students | Teachers’ skills being valued and supported by others who know the student well and/or have the additional knowledge needed |
| Students being seen as the responsibility of someone else, such as a specialist teacher or teacher’s aide | The role of the classroom teacher being central, within a supportive team |
| Struggling to find time to get together as a team | Teachers using time in ways that work for them and others Planning ahead and making time to meet and to stay in touch day to day |
| Role confusion | Negotiation of roles so team members know what they are doing and what is expected of them |
| Thinking “It’s not my job.” | Agreeing “It is everyone’s job”, with accountability for high standards across roles |
| Issues with communication between team members | Agreed communication processes that work for those involved |
| Whānau feeling unsupported | Whānau being actively involved and respected |
In Example 4, a Learning Support Coordinator and year-13 English teacher work together to include a student who is learning at a very different level to the rest of the class; the teacher and the students in the class all benefit from taking an inclusive and supportive approach.
As a group, review the key messages from this section in the table below. Choose several statements that are pertinent to inclusive practice in your school and, for each statement, think about:
| When we work together … |
|---|
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Published on: 19 May 2015
