Including All Students

I was reading through the ERO Report entitled Including Students with High Needs [I know a bit geeky]. It provided the following as a summary of effective practice when providing for students with high needs...

• Strong ethical leadership and standards
  This was reflected in...
  - A commitment in the face if challenges
  - A caring culture
  - Experienced and able leadership and staff
  - Management of the available funding


• Coordinated and informed approaches
  This was reflected in...
  - Teamwork, systems and relationships
  - Working with families/whanau
  - Effect use of information
  - Management of school transitions

Innovative and flexible practice

There was more provided in the reading but to me it reflected that these components should be reflected in how we meet the needs of all students. Our role and attitude to meeting individual learning needs is foundational to any success in our learning community. A school wide culture and approach is central to developing continuity and consistency in practice. We should always be willing to learn more, reflecting, modifying and refining our practice.

We do not have a many high needs students at our school, going by the ministry's definition, but we do have a school full of individual learning needs that requires us to be the best we can be to meet them.

It has challenged me to consider what type of leadership I am providing that will support the continued development of a culture that seeks to include the learning needs of all students.