The Changing Role of Specialist Provision in Supporting Inclusive Education

Why should we change the role of specialist provision? Specialist provision isn’t always inclusive – especially when it separates learners from their peers. Changing its role to support inclusion in mainstream classrooms can benefit teachers, learners and families.

The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education has a project called the Changing Role of Specialist Provision in Supporting Inclusive Education (CROSP). The project helps ensure schools throughout Europe can support all learners, so everyone can learn alongside their friends and peers. To learn more, visit the CROSP project web area.

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Infographic: Changing the Role of Specialist Provision to Support Inclusive Education

This two-page infographic illustrates what specialist provision is, why it should support inclusion in mainstream settings and how education policy can drive this change. The Agency promotes relevant policy changes through a project called the Changing Role of Specialist Provision in Supporting Inclusive Education (CROSP). The project helps ensure schools throughout Europe can support all learners, so everyone can learn alongside their friends and peers.

Changing the role of specialist provision towards supporting inclusive education is closely related to ensuring the rights of all learners to high-quality inclusive education.

Four cross-sectoral policy areas (governance, funding, capacity building and quality assurance mechanisms) need further development to effectively support the changing role of specialist provision in supporting mainstream schools to be inclusive.

Policy developments in governance mechanisms are needed to support co-operation between specialist and mainstream provision at all levels.

Data analysis reveals the need to further enable specialist provision to act as a resource for mainstream provision and to equip stakeholders to implement inclusive education.

To prepare all teachers for inclusion, all educators must have access to a coherent and continuous range of professional learning opportunities focusing on equity and inclusion.

Policy must review goals and consider competence areas for teacher professional learning for inclusion, and ensure a continuum of support for all teachers, schools and higher education institutions.

Policy can build capacity for teacher professional learning for inclusion in various ways, including collaborative approaches and providing adequate funding and effective monitoring.

Teacher professional learning for inclusion is an essential part of inclusive education system development.

Within legislation and policy, there must be a clear concept of equitable high-quality inclusive education, which should inform a single legislative and policy framework for all learners as the basis for rights-based practice.

Flexible mechanisms for funding and resource allocation must support the on-going development of school communities and enable them to increase their capacity to respond to diversity and to support all learners, without a formal diagnosis or label.

An effective governance plan sets out clear roles and responsibilities, opportunities for collaboration and levels of autonomy throughout all system levels.

A comprehensive quality assurance and accountability framework for monitoring, review and evaluation will support high-quality provision for all learners.

A single curriculum framework is needed that is sufficiently flexible to provide relevant opportunities for all learners, and an assessment framework that recognises and validates attainment and wider achievement.

Inclusive education systems require a strategy to increase participation in quality inclusive early childhood education and support families experiencing disadvantage.

A strategy is needed to support all learners at times of transition between phases of education – and particularly as they move into adult life.

Inclusive education is not only about policies to support individual learners. A comprehensive range of policies at all levels must refer to and implement inclusive education.

Sustainable development towards inclusive education requires a combination of three policy approaches – prevention, intervention and compensation.

Collaborative work within ministries of education, and with other ministries, institutions and authorities, is a prerequisite to ensure coherent policies for inclusive education.