2.1 Schools and education authorities do not operate in isolation from political, social, economic and technological developments in society. They influence, and are influenced by national policy, legislation, guidance and advice. This chapter provides an overview of some relevant elements of this context.
Developments in social policy and legislation
2.2 Changing perceptions of educational inclusion in Scotland partly reflect the development of social policy and concepts of social justice throughout the United Kingdom. The publication in 1998 of the UK Government's social inclusion strategy and the more recent publication of the Scottish Executive's social justice strategy were important statements of policy at a national level.
2.3 The Executive's social justice strategy ranges across all aspects of social policy including, for example, health, housing and employment. Its aim is to provide a comprehensive, integrated strategy for countering social disadvantage. Education, whilst not the only focus, is seen as having a very important role within this overall approach.
2.4 The Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000 sets out expectations for schools and education authorities in relation to an individual child's right to education and their role in providing for it. The Act reflects a more inclusive philosophy of education by setting out:
2.5 Other relevant pieces of legislation include:
* the Human Rights Act 2000, which brings the European Convention of Human Rights within the legislative framework of Scotland;
2.6 These legislative commitments, along with the national priorities for education, have very significant implications for the development of an education system which promotes educational inclusion and achievement for all.
Frameworks for planning service delivery
2.7 Five national priorities for education were established in December 2000. While aspects of the inclusion agenda are evident across all five of these, one relates directly to 'Inclusion and Equality.' It states that priority should be given to:
'promote equality and help every pupil benefit from education, with particular regard paid to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs, and to Gaelic and other lesser used languages.'
2.8 The inclusion agenda is also being promoted nationally through a number of new planning frameworks for service provision at local authority level. These require integrated planning to various degrees across a range of agencies and service providers.
2.9 For Scotland's Children, the report of the Action Team on Better Integrated Children's Services, published in October 2001, set out a national agenda for improving the co-ordination of children's services in Scotland. The aim is to avoid the potential exclusion of vulnerable children from support. The recommendations of the report focus on making better use of existing resources, ensuring more effective communication among key agencies and improving access to universal children's services.
2.10 The community planning initiative is providing a new framework for local authorities and other organisations to come together in partnership to plan, provide and promote the well-being of their communities. It encourages the more active involvement of communities in decisions on local services that affect their lives such as education, health, transport, safety and the environment. A key task for community planning and community learning plans is to widen opportunities, enhance the quality of life for those who are most vulnerable and develop positive lifestyles for young people who are alienated or at risk of being alienated from society. Schools have a key role to play in helping to take forward these aspirations.
2.11 Within local authorities, the children's service planning process has
encouraged the co-ordinated planning of services for children of all ages across
social work, education, health and other services. This process applies the
principles of co-ordinated planning to the work of all agencies professionally
involved with children and young people. This includes schools as well as capacity
building for community and voluntary organisations.
The need for better co-ordination of education and care for a particularly vulnerable
group was highlighted in Learning with Care: The education of children looked
after away from home by Local Authorities (2001), a joint report from HM
Inspectors of Schools and the Social Work Services Inspectorate.
The report indicated that positive progress was being made by some local authorities
towards achieving more coherent support for looked-after children. However,
in many cases there was a need for Children's Service Plans and reviews to give
much greater emphasis to ensuring children's educational progress.
2.12 At the pre-school stages, childcare partnerships promote a co-ordinated strategy for expanding and improving childcare services, drawing together a range of providers. Links with community learning exist through the provision of support to parents and carers in accessing training and education and in the provision of training for childcare staff.
Specific national initiatives
2.13 From 1998 to 2001, the Excellence Fund provided a core programme of national funding intended to support targeted action at local level. This funding was used to support a range of developments in specific areas, including:
2.14 Funding was also provided centrally through the National Grid for Learning (NGfL) and the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) for the development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools. As well as providing hardware and staff development, these funds supported the development of online learning, out-of-school learning and the encouragement of community access to school facilities.
2.15 Implementation of Scotland's National Cultural Strategy, published in 2000, also led to a range of initiatives which have the explicit intention of promoting inclusion by enhancing education through arts, culture and heritage. There has been a particular focus on increasing participation in socially disadvantaged areas. Developments linked directly to schools have included the establishment of school co-ordinators for arts, culture and heritage, and increased numbers of sports co-ordinators. The appointment of school sports co-ordinators is aimed at widening pupils' access to sports and leisure facilities and providing opportunities for talent to be developed. Dance development officers are also aiming to provide pupils with activities that release their expressive and creative talents.
2.16 The HMIE report Early Intervention 1998-2000, published in 2001, reflected the range of innovative approaches developed within the Executive's Early Intervention Programme. The report did not ascribe improvements in attainment to any one approach but reported a range of positive benefits arising from local initiatives, determined by local needs.
2.17 In 1998, the new community schools programme was launched as a key element in the strategy to promote social inclusion and raise educational standards. The aim was to bring together education, health, social work and a range of other agencies, to provide a more integrated and holistic support service for children and their families. As with the early intervention initiative, a high degree of local flexibility and partnership working was encouraged in addressing local needs. The lessons from new community school projects have fundamental implications for all schools. The approach is now being extended to all Education Authority schools.
2.18 This report focuses mainly on developments at the primary and secondary education stages. It is also important to note however, that national initiatives to promote educational inclusion are also underway at the pre-school stages. The 'Sure Start' programme, for example, is providing a major source of additional funding for local authorities to develop a range of inter-agency support for vulnerable families with young children in partnership with Health Boards. Support is being targeted towards families in areas of greatest need.
Policy and guidance on meeting special educational needs
2.19 In 1998 the publication of A manual of good practice in special educational needs presented detailed guidance on developing an inclusive approach which would promote fairness and opportunity for children and young people with special educational needs. It stressed the value of engaging in a genuine dialogue with children, young people and their parents. It also acknowledged the scale of the challenge that exists in enabling schools to develop fully-effective strategies for implementing more inclusive policies and practices.
2.20 In 1999 The Riddell Committee report highlighted economic, political
and cultural factors which contribute to the marginalisation of groups and individuals
with low-incidence disabilities. In its report, a strong focus was placed on
action that needed to be undertaken to remove or circumvent barriers to both
the educational and social inclusion of pupils.
In their response, Improving our schools: special educational needs,
Scottish Ministers welcomed the report and its strong endorsement of an inclusive
approach to children with special needs.
2.21 Also in 1999, the Beattie Committee highlighted a number of issues which needed to be addressed in improving transition from school to further education and training. The HMIE report (2002) Moving on from School to College described and promoted good practice in this respect.
2.22 Substantial new legislative proposals for reform are currently being considered following national consultation on the issues set out in Assessing our children's needs: the way forward? (2001). The resulting new framework for defining and addressing special needs will be critical in taking forward the concept of inclusive education in Scotland.
Promoting positive behaviour
2.23 Many debates on the practicalities of inclusion focus on the realities and challenges of providing for pupils whose behaviour poses significant challenges for schools.
2.24 The report of a national Task Group, Better Behaviour, Better Learning (2001), made a comprehensive set of recommendations designed to improve discipline, and therefore learning conditions, for all children and young people in schools. As well as considering how to reduce low-level disruptive behaviour, it highlighted the issues raised by children and young people who are severely disaffected from school, and those with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. It recommended that policies on teaching and learning, support for pupils and positive discipline should be integrated into a single framework of effective inclusive practice. It highlighted curricular flexibility as a positive means of providing access to an appropriate curriculum for pupils who are currently disaffected. The national action plan for following up the Task Group's recommendations has been backed by substantial targeted funding. It has supported growth in the provision of flexible support for pupils experiencing behavioural difficulties, including support bases in schools, and other facilities outwith the normal classroom environment.
2.25 The Task Group's report was complemented by the HMIE report on Alternatives to School Exclusion, which was also published in 2001. This report reviewed a set of pilot projects initiated in 1997 aimed at developing effective provision for addressing the needs of pupils exhibiting severe social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in ways that minimised or eliminated the need for exclusion.
The health promotion and health education agenda
2.26 One significant barrier to full inclusion, both in school and perhaps to an even greater extent in life beyond school, is ill health. Increased incidence of poor health amongst children and adults, with all the adverse consequences that brings, is known to relate strongly to social disadvantage and lower achievement. In an attempt to break this cycle, there is an increasingly strong focus on the role of schools in health promotion. An extensive range of initiatives, aimed at schools and partner agencies working together, is being undertaken to tackle specific health hazards while at the same time promoting healthy living choices. The establishment of a national Health Promoting Schools Unit is a recent development, aimed at co-ordinating the drive towards health promotion in schools. An Expert Panel on School Meals has also been set up to look at the provision of nutritious school meals, in a way that encourages much greater take-up by pupils. Its interim report was published for consideration in June 2002 and its final report is planned to be completed by the end of 2002.
2.27 Other initiatives illustrate further features of the health promoting agenda in Scotland.
National advice on evaluating school effectiveness
2.28 Since the publication of the Effective primary schools and Effective secondary schools reports by HM Inspectors of schools in 1989 and 1988 respectively, and Effective provision for special educational needs in 1995, ideas about school effectiveness in Scotland have changed. The expectations and aspirations of users of the education system have also changed, as have perceptions about the place of the school in relation to its community.
2.29 The drive to improve school effectiveness in Scotland has been closely
linked to the development of systematic approaches to self-evaluation. The publication
of A Route to Equality and Fairness in 1999 by HM Inspectors of Schools
in partnership with South Ayrshire Council, provided schools with approaches
to evaluating their practice in combating discrimination and achieving equality
of opportunity for success. A range of other publications was also produced
to help schools to audit specific aspects of provision which had direct relevance
to inclusion.
For example, A Route to Health Promotion, published by HM Inspectors
of Schools in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and the Health Education
Board for Scotland, provided schools and partner agencies with tools for evaluating
their work in promoting effectiveness through health.
2.30 In 2002, the publication of a new edition of How good is our school? provided an updated framework of quality indicators for use in self-evaluation by schools and in the inspection of schools by HMIE. The revised framework of indicators continues to focus on the importance of encouraging high levels of attainment, good learning and teaching and effective planning for improvement. It also reflects trends in the development of inclusive schooling by giving greater prominence to the context in which schools operate. For example, it recognises the importance of good links between schools and other support agencies for pupils, the inter-relationship between pupil achievement, health and well-being, and the need for a climate of respect, equality and fairness.
Future developments
2.31 Other relevant developments are also in train. For example, the publication in June 2002 by Learning and Teaching Scotland of Education for Citizenship in Scotland: a paper for discussion and development, endorsed by Scottish Ministers, relates directly to educational inclusion. It is based on the premise that schools have an important role in developing the capacity of young people for responsible participation in political, economic, social and cultural life. This approach to education for citizenship articulates well with the broad definition of educational inclusion advocated in this report.
2.32 For the future, many of the national initiatives and programmes described earlier in this chapter are being broadened and developed under a new funding framework covering the period 2003 to 2006. The National Priority Action Fund, launched in 2002 as a result of review of the Excellence Fund and other funding streams, aims to rationalise previous initiatives with a focus on promoting the development of a more inclusive school system. The Fund will continue to encourage local flexibility. It will have as its key themes:
2.33 Taken as a whole, these past and future developments provide a backdrop which will increasingly influence how schools develop more inclusive practice.