Letters II: Lindsay the Yes rock climber, we salute you

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Inclusion: Don’T Treat Us The Same – Treat Us Equally

I READ with interest the article by Shona Craven (Let’s Learn a lesson about inclusion, The National, December 23) on inclusion in our schools.

Can I start by saying that people with disabilities, learning difficulties and mental ill-health cannot and for the main part do not want to be treated identically to people who do not have our differences. We would however like to be treated equally and having access to the universal services provided. The differences we have do not define us as people and are only part of who we are.

In teaching and learning, as for employment, there is a duty to provide education for all and that should include reasonable adjustments for all.

Inclusion, which is defined in Scotland by GIRFEC (getting it right for every child) is the benchmark for all young people. However, there is a marked difference between inclusion and integration. A student may be included by just being in the same building as others, or in every class, with support and getting support for assessments.

Putting students into classes all the time when they are not equipped for it is not inclusion, it is integration.

Encouraging all students to socialise across sport, music, art, dance and drama, as well as other school activities, enables students who have additional support needs to come more confident, independent learners and to voice what they want to do when they leave school.

Enabling the use of technology as learning tools can have a similar result.

Some students react well to mainstream education, others thrive better in specialist units, schools or residential provision, because as Ms Craven says, one size does not fit all.

The main concern is for students about to leave school and the lack of transition services for them into the world of work. Employers are not informed about services and funding for reasonable adjustments and about available schemes to enable young people to make the transition to a positive destination.

To get it right for every child, we should consider more the routes to positive destinations which are available that may not require the level of assessment and examinations currently the central indicator of the Scottish Education System.

Carol Wood
Address supplied

WHEN Shona Craven suggests “yes, inclusion is now built into every aspect of teacher training” I must point out that it is impossible for class teachers to pick up specialisms across the range of additional support needs in our mainstream schools today: English as a second language, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, autism, sensory and physical impairment, amongst other learning challenges, are across every school and the basic training for class teachers must address more creative learning and teaching styles to accommodate varied learning needs.

Teachers are like GPs and are general practitioners. They can refer to specialists such as support for learning teachers and classroom assistants who have more detailed knowledge of specialist areas and the identified needs and provisions required. The basic training in additional support needs for teachers must address their attitudes and acceptance of their responsibility to embrace diversity in the classroom and teach tolerance and encourage peer support among all pupils.

They have access to specialists such as IT specialists, learning support teachers, learning support classroom assistants and the psychological service, and while all are thin on the ground they will help put in place approaches which give greater access to the curriculum and reduce anxiety for pupils and staff.

Many of the techniques advised and resources used also benefit many other pupils as teaching styles are more creative. The school ethos must demonstrate acceptance of all learners and it is up to management teams to arrange support and nurturing for parents and children who require it. When a school makes this a priority all pupils benefit as disruption in classroom learning is reduced. Inclusion is about looking at the child and asking how can we make things better for him/her in the classroom and who can help me make it better for all?

Anne Morton
Fife

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IT IS reported that in a London street the cheapest property costs £17million yet just around the corner homeless people sleeping rough are being urinated on whilst disabled people are being stripped of their benefits.

How on earth can Tory MPs and the people who elect them sit around their tables on Christmas day and celebrate the birth of Christ whilst filling their bellies with turkey and wine knowing full well the suffering their government is inflicting on the less fortunate in society?

A Merry Christmas to all at The National and all its readers!

Diane Buick
Lanarkshire

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AS Mrs May seems desperate to know all our personal business, may I suggest to your readers that when sending emails we always include a copy to the lady. Mrs May could then have an enjoyable bedtime read prior to a nice sleep.

R Mill Irving 
Gifford

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WHILE I feel for those cut off from their loved ones on Scottish islands in the festive season, it’s perhaps a small disadvantage compared to the relative security of their position in 2017. Who knows what horrors a Trump presidency may inflict upon the world. Stuck on a stormbound island might well be the best place to be.

John Macanenay
Glasgow