Making learning inclusive is at its very core a matter of equity - it’s about ensuring that ALL pupils can access and engage with the curriculum and that the barriers to learning are both mitigated against and managed effectively to maximise pupils’ success.
Gathering rich and meaningful information about what the ‘gaps’ are ensures we aren’t building a house of cards in terms of strategic curriculum response. A practical way of doing this is by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to your pupils and considering different factors that are effecting and contributing to pupils’ success to unpick this.
Make a commitment to the provision you offer
The Covid-19 pandemic has presented challenges for educationalists but it has also given the opportunity for us to review our provision ‘offer’ to see how best we can support all learners. The school closures undeniably exasperated existing gaps and has shed light on our all-important purpose to narrow these gaps for all pupils in the name of equity.
Decide on what’s on offer, deliver clarity to all involved in this and make a commitment to doing less, better and more consistently. By ‘singing off of the same hymn sheet’ we can strengthen collective purpose. First we must establish a clear vision of ‘what we do’ and then we can graduate to the ever important ‘how we do what we do’ to ensure consistent quality first teaching for all pupils.
Sustainable, simplistic measures
School closures and the pandemic have put immense pressure on schools and educators and so it’s important that strategic measures taken to address this are sustainable and ‘SMART’ in design. A minimalist approach is often far more effective. Once you have a clear understanding of where the ‘gaps’ are and the measures you’re going to relentlessly commit to, you can use this to devise a plan that works for your staff and is bespoke for your pupils and your context.
Review, refine and review again
In my book ‘Curriculum to Classroom’ I share the idea of ‘curriculum kaizen’ – an ongoing culture of continual refinement and improvement by a collective team-iterations of the ‘grand plan’ to edge closer and closer to something that works for your schools, teachers and pupils.
In the face of the ‘shifting sands’ that we find ourselves constantly adapting and responding to, the review process is vital. Recognising that not every measure put in place will work and that’s ok is crucial to our professional practice (and indeed our sanity!). Swift recognition of this eliminates what doesn’t work – leaving more room for what, more importantly, does!
Ensuring involvement of all stakeholders in the review process can help you build a reliable picture of what’s working in the curriculum and what’s not – this can then inform meaningful and appropriate responses.
‘Name’ our purpose
Given the current global and educational context, I’ve saved what I strongly believe is the most vital recommendation to last – reinforcing and ‘naming’ our purpose. Keeping the ‘why we do what we do’ at the heart of teaching and developing a strong ethos around fulfilling this purpose is key to addressing the gaps that have emerged and maximising outcomes for all the pupils we serve.
Lekha Sharma, vice principal Ark Oval Primary Academy and author of Curriculum to Classroom.
