Assessment must be inclusive – all assessment procedures must be used to inform and promote learning for all pupils

Inclusive assessment is an approach to assessment in mainstream settings where policy and practice are designed to promote the learning of all pupils as far as possible. The overall goal of inclusive assessment is that all assessment policies and procedures should support and enhance the successful inclusion and participation of all pupils vulnerable to exclusion, including those with SEN.

How can the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities be embedded in national/local policy to ensure that all learners receive a quality education?

The OoP project suggests that national legislation and education policy should actively support the principles of both UNCRC and UNCPRD and uphold the right of all learners to full participation in school with their own local peer group. This would include in particular:

How can provision be organised to meet the needs of all the school community?

This question relates to the system and structures that are put in place to support learners – but there are inevitably close links to the question on collaboration, which refers to the processes and relationships that also contribute to a high quality education and support for learners. The five sites studied in the OoP project represented a ‘continuum of provision’.

The sites included:

What restricts the participation and learning of all children and young people and what action can be taken?

UNICEF (2013) describes participation as: ‘an ongoing process of children’s expression and active involvement in decision-making at different levels in matters that concern them, requiring information-sharing and dialogue between children/adolescents and adults based on mutual respect, and requiring that full consideration of their views be given, taking into account the child’s age and maturity’. (Take Us Seriously, page 7)

What does inclusive education mean to stakeholders in our national/local context?

This question links to all others in the resource as it is about developing conceptual clarity and a common vision to drive action towards greater inclusion. Shared principles are essential to inform the coherent development of policy and practice.

The inclusion agenda is about the right of all learners to a quality education. All education policy makers and educators need to take responsibility for all learners.

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