1. Inclusive Practice
Equality and Wellbeing
© L M Chapman 2010

2. Introduction
This draft document sets out the ideas, principles and practice that contribute to
young people’s long-term well-being in an educational setting. The ideas put forward
are far from extensive, however they do provide a basic framework from which
practitioners can build their own personal strategies.
Progress is rarely linear. And yet we are all taught to think in a linear way from our
earliest days to the end of university education. This is why creative people often
find themselves at odds with education and why many people who succeed in
education in increasing difficulties. These problems are deep enough to reconsider
the fundamental assumptions on which we are now basing our systems of education
and training. (Robinson, 2001, page 48)
Understanding inclusive practice is fundamental to the good practice development
within any organisation. Furthermore, supporting learner potential within an
inclusive environment is a right to which all learners are entitled. To make this a
reality however, mainstream practice needs to change in order to ensure fairer
opportunity for all. To this end practitioners have a duty to share the responsibility
to make it happen.
Celebrating Creativity
Well-being underpins creativity, because it is only when needs are met and learning
is valued that people have the capacity to be creative. Feeling equal, and being
treated differently, allows for individuality to be respected and for differences to be
encouraged. This implies that people understand that however similar their needs
are, the way they are met will be different in order to achieve fairness. When people
feel well and free from harm, they are more likely to be honest about what they
need to achieve their own success. However, being healthy and safe is only a
minimum, to flourish people need to make progress, to be engaged and able to
contribute to shared goals.

3. Section 1 – Ideas and Theory
Defining terms:
Inclusive Practice
Definitions of ‘inclusion’ vary widely, and because people’s views are polarised,
perspectives can be highly contradictory. On one side there are definitions that
support a degree of investment in segregated institutions, while at the other end of
the scale there are those that state that any learner can be made to integrate a
mainstream institution. Neither option is satisfactory in terms of the antithesis of
‘social exclusion’ which also suggests that some forms of exclusion are not social and
are therefore acceptable (Ainscow 2006). Both perspectives do not take into account
of the huge scale of change needed to realise a fully inclusive state, one that is highly
unlikely to be achieved in a lifetime. Inclusion at best may be seen as a concept
towards which both separate and mainstream services strive within existing
constraints. For this reason in this document ‘inclusive practice’ has been chosen, in
preference to ‘inclusion’, to reflect a lengthy process, one in which educational
purpose may need reviewing. Furthermore, the articulated movement implied by
practice, reinforces the idea that culture change is always subject to revaluation. The
emphasis here is on reflection, and the development of knowledge and skills
congruent with the influence of wider social pressures. Inclusive practice, therefore,
implies both personal development and organisational transformation, both clearly
articulated in the way people work. To reflect the understanding that inclusive
practice is a way of working underpinned by an understanding of transformation.
Inclusive practice is an emergent process: rather than offering an alternative to
existing norms, it builds on existing best practice and develops new ways of working
that eventually transforms culture. It is vital that inclusive practice is not understood
as a tool to ‘mainstream’ the difficult or the needy. Crucially, practice needs to be
person-centred if it is to respect and respond to individual need with flexibility. The
development of inclusive practice fundamentally tackles the issue of equity - equal
outcomes. Changes in practice made to address culture will ultimately secure a

4. better entitlement for all children and ensure an increasing quality and better
standards across all provision.
The principle of equality has to be reinforced and extended by the practice of equity.
On the basis of the discussion so far three broad principles about the nature of
inclusive practice will inform the rest of this document:
Equality: every human being has an absolute and equal right to common dignity and
parity of esteem and entitlement to access the benefits of society on equal terms.
Equity: every human being has a right to benefit from the outcomes of society on
the basis of fairness and according to need.
Social justice: justice requires deliberate and specific intervention to secure equality
and equity. (Chapman & West-Burnham 2009, page 26)
Intentional steps towards greater equity engage all participants by creating an
environment that enables well-being. It builds on existing success by changing
practice and policies within organisations, in order to strengthen the relationships
that help improve the lives of whole communities. Evidence from the UK shows that
irrespective of their differences, all learners can be successfully included in
appropriately accommodated mainstream settings. However, the challenge is to
address both inequality and variation, so that all families can rely on high quality
provision irrespective of locality.
Inclusive practice is an important component of a wider move towards enabling
environments and positive relationships, one which will ensure all children can reach
and exceed expectation, fulfil early promise and develop latent potential. At the
heart of inclusive practice is the expectation of participation, fulfilment and success.
(NCSL West-Burnham 2008).
The development of inclusive practice will ultimately have a positive impact on every
learner’s well-being, as specific strategies are developed to give a worthwhile and
more enjoyable experience. The extent to which children’s well-being is taken
seriously and their experience monitored will help improve life-chances for all.
Well-being
Being proactive in seeking well-being can be understood as a two-step process. On

5. the one hand, people need the present to be positive; on the other, they need to
entertain and plan for a future that is both hopeful and possible. According to
research, people are happier when having identified their strengths; they can put
them to good use in a meaningful way. If the skills enabling present happiness are so
important to people’s long-term well-being, they need to be part of the
organisation’s strategic priorities. Early years settings, schools, colleges and
universities are quite prepared to teach learners many skills, yet those that underpin
well-being are sometimes not seen as primary concern. One of the reasons this may
be that well-being is viewed as deeply personal. However, to enable learners to
flourish, practitioners need to gain a deeper understanding of its qualities in order to
develop explicit strategies to build up learner resilience. Where these are successful,
learners will be better able to achieve their potential within education and beyond.
Increasing research suggests that happiness in the short term can be seen as a
reliable indicator for future well-being. So teaching people in a way that enables
present happiness will make it more likely that they develop in way that make well-
being possible. From this perspective, and in congruence with an ethically
committed and rights based approach, seeking to build well-being also delivers on
fairness. Insofar as it is easier to extend to all young people the strategies that
benefit well-being, rather than having to decide which categories of learners need
help. While all learners are entitled to education, often a hierarchy of need imposes
restrictions on access and opportunity. It could be argued that access is easiest for
those who are most able to reach the highest places in educational attainment in the
first place.
If the purpose of an educational organisation is to support young people in their
learning, and well-being impacts on development and creativity, by which criteria
is marginalisation or exclusion permissible? Who does deserve a restricted
entitlement?
Table 1. Alternative perspectives on the components of well-being.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6. Loving Family X X
Friendship X X X X X
Healthy lifestyle X X X X X X
Effective education X X X X X
Mental health X X
Economic security X X X X
Physical welfare X X X
Future potential X
Personal safety X
Community Connection X X
Resilience Self-esteem X X X
Cognitive development X
Personal values X
Meaning and Purpose X X
Key:
1= Layard and Dunn
2= Alexander
3= ECM
4= UNICEF
5= New Economics Foundation
6= National Accounts of Wellbeing
7= Fauth and Thompson
Any attempt to synthesise a range of alternative perspectives will always distort and
this figure is no exception... However it is very interesting to reflect on the
dominance of the interpersonal perhaps at the expense of the intrapersonal. There
are only very limited references to moral and spiritual dimensions of life and, equally
significant, no reference to happiness; although it is clearly implicit to most of the
models. (West-Burnham 2010, unpublished)
Why consider well-being? Why change culture?

7. Trying to make people fit into the system has been identified as a significant cause of
disaffection, standardised delivery also reduces the possibility of creative solutions.
Therefore, in the present climate of austerity, focusing on children’s well-being may
not only help create positive strategies that improve opportunity for learner success
but also increase effective use of resources. As every young person’s learning is
enhanced by moving away from a view of children as passive receivers of adult-
controlled provision and by empowering them in the process of change. In difficult
times it is crucial to identify the strategies that act as levers, the ones that have most
beneficial and longer-lasting impact. Furthermore, if these also increase the well-
being of adults within the organisation, the whole culture may change in ways that
are congruent with deeper ethical commitment to rights. In this way, well-being is
seen less as a fad and taken as a moral imperative in addressing inequality. The
Rights agenda covers participation, and identifying what may prevent people from
participating fully is therefore at the heart of good practice. Addressing
environmental inequality reinforces the understanding that everyone has a right to
fair participation in equal opportunities. Moreover, it encourages practitioners to
focus on physical, attitudinal and systematic barriers that stand in the way of
reduced opportunity in accordance with compliance. A minimal understanding of
discrimination is important: some people will face greater disadvantage because
each day they experience less opportunity to participate in shared activities.
Examples of environmental barriers include:
• a failure to make activities accessible and enjoyable.
• a failure to remove barriers to engagement.
• a failure to identify stereotypical ideas and imagery and prejudicial
behaviour.
• a failure to provide equality in support services and adequate benefits for
families.
• a failure to take cases of unfair treatment to court.
By empowering practitioners to actively change their environment, organisations can

8. effectively ensure that all learners have an increasing access to wider opportunities.
In addition, addressing culture focuses attention on a responsibility for provision,
and away from a ‘deficit model’ of the child, adult, family or community.

9. Section 2 - Principle and Practice
Invitation and Acceptance
Belonging is everything!
To be proactive in encouraging different people to come through the door,
practitioners need to have an outward looking attitude to the welcome. As well as
having lots on offer in order to suit everyone within the organisation, the invitation
to join in needs to be intentional. When information is readily shared with other
professionals, families will be better supported when they move to new
organisations. When practitioners are both confident and competent, their skill and
knowledge is available to deliver a flexible service. When everyone is encouraged to
tell others what they need to participate, and they are properly listened to, the
welcome is assured in a way that suits them.
On the most basic level, belonging is nurtured when the culture is accepting and
allows each individual to be honest about his or her needs. Getting it right can often
be straightforward if the strategies put in place help people feel they belong.
However, things go wrong when practice does not support responsibility to develop
acceptance, and people are expected to fit in. It is a lack of ‘shared and common
agreement’ that is sometimes not expressed, and further reinforced by rigid systems,
that can make people feel unwelcome. All too often information is held back, or
decisions are made without enough thought as to who holds power in decision
making. It is all too tempting for professionals to take charge and organise activities
in ways that suit them and not the wishes of the child and families, parents and
carers.
Organisation Practice
Early years and
Children’s
services
Working with other agencies to secure an intentional path for
newborns and their families. Each member of the organisation taking
personal responsibility for outreach and getting to know local families.

10. Families, parents and carers are encouraged to stay and participate in
daily activities.
Primary school Ensuring links with nurseries and secondary schools are made, and that
relationships are established and developed, i.e. people from each
organisation having contact details (first name terms). The use of
documents to ensure transitions are stress free and enjoyable for all.
i.e. ‘All about Me’ books describing the individuality of each child.
Secondary school Ensuring links with primary schools are made, and that relationships are
established and developed. Children moving to new schools are invited
to orientation day. Schools using activity days, such as murder mystery,
to give new young people a chance to explore the environment is a safe
and meaningful way.
FE and HE ‘Fresher Week’ does more than offer a social life to new students, it is
understood that students who make friends are more likely to feel
secure, reducing chances of drop out, and increasing the likelihood of
academic progress as a result.

11. Family and Community Connection
Equal Contribution and Partnership.
Practitioners will only be able to support young people fully when families, parents
and carers are considered to be valuable and are treated as equal partners alongside
professionals. Furthermore, families are a valuable resource for all organisations.
Families, parents and carers have expert knowledge on their child. In many cases
when parent groups are hugely supportive of organisations they will make a vital
contributions to the running of events, fund raising, helping out and so on. An
inclusive setting needs this relationship, which is mutually beneficial, as the
interaction between parents and the organisations has a wider positive impact on
the community. However, some parents may need supporting in order to become
involved, so the drive for involvement needs to come from within the setting needs
to be intentional
Association Assets:
• the individual capacities of
members
• the power of relationships
• shared interests
• common goals
• local connections
• leadership potential
• energy
• local knowledge
• commitment
(Kreztmann & McKnight, ABCD Institute at Northwestern, 2010)

12. Organisation Practice
Early years and
Children’s
services
Supporting families as equal partners. Families, parents and carers
working in the setting as colleagues or time-share. Families
attending meetings, in-house training and events. There are close
links with Social Services and Sure Start to support families needing
support: low-income families, young mums, and absent parents.
Primary school Families, parents and carers involved in sharing children’s strengths
and setting shared goals for development through individual profiles
and learning personalizing learning plans. Behaviour plans are drawn
up with family members so that preventative strategies are shared.
Secondary
school
Families, parents and carers involved in parent partnership activities
such as skill share programmes and adult teaching sessions extended
to the whole locality. Family support has replaced respite care, with
different groups of parents taking turns in providing out of school
activities to enable others to have personal time. Meetings are held
at different times so they do not always conflict with work; language
and communications are made accessible for all, and parents views
are routinely sought and acted on.
FE and HE Professionals are appreciated for expressing a ‘can-do ‘ attitude,
such as extending invites to both under- and post- graduates to help
develop an ethos of collaborative learning where people are
supported through relationships and teaching methods that support
sharing.
Meaningful Relationships
Mutual Respect - Everyone is equally valued.
A team approach is characterised by equal respect for everyone, where the importance of

13. building relationships is viewed as central to developing a collaborative ethos. When families
and practitioners are encouraged to ask for, and accept, support trust grows. With trust
comes the honesty to speak about weaknesses that can lead to new ways of working with a
broader view and a different perspective. When everyone is encouraged to lead innovation
in areas they feel confident with, mistakes are embraced, and opportunities for learning
multiply. Also, according to most of the research, relationships are the most important
factor affecting the wellbeing and ultimately life chances. Where practitioners understand
that their work enhances resilience they know it protects children against wider social
pressures.
Organisation Practice
Early years and
Children’s services
Practitioners find it easy to say “it’s not ok” as there is a trust and
good communication between everyone. Staff meetings are set out to
support sharing: what’s going well, what do I need, what can I give.
Primary school Friendship groups are respected and are used to facilitate inquiry
work. Children are supported to work together on life based projects,
such as restaurants or papers, where different abilities are needed
and therefore skills and knowledge are shared.
Secondary school While friendships are respected, effort is valued, when young people
find ways of working with different individuals – across the group in
peer coaching relationship, or between years with peer mentoring
relationships. Great effort is taken to skill up young mentors and they
attend teacher training sessions as often as possible.
FE and HE Inter-school relationships are promoted by creating both inter-
departmental areas for shared event, visiting lectures, and joint
research. The intra-web supports a wiki of shared projects and
findings with open access for contribution. Through the business
school under and post graduate research is funded by local businesses
who employ talented learners on fixed term contracts for
development.

15. Healthy lifestyle
Balance and congruence – informed choice.
Choice and option are very different; in order to stimulate choice, options are needed, but
the two are not synonymous. Choice requires a degree of freedom and control. What feels
important to us is not always what is important for us. Exploring a person’s needs from
these different perspectives may help practitioners develop more individual practice.
Starting with what is important to each individual may help unlock their potential; this in
turn may enable a more balanced approach to physical and mental health. Furthermore,
building in activities that strengthen understanding of what is important to the learner,
while addressing what is important to them, ensures a balanced approach that is more likely
to ensure a further possibility of long-term well-being.
Important to
What is important to a person includes all of what they are ‘saying’: their words and
their behaviour. It translates as being viewed as valuable members of the community.
Important for
What is important for people includes those things that we need to keep in mind for
people regarding Issues of health and safety, or what others see as targets or
standards for the organisation.
Organisation Practice
Early years and
Children’s services
Ensuring equal and supported access to a whole range of
activities for all children. This may involve freedom to enjoy risk
in an environment free from hazard. From complex jigsaws to
high climbing frames risk does not necessarily equate to danger.
Primary school Facilitating wider option, by exploring choice/option that
interests the learner most. Subjects are negotiated with young
people in order to ‘double up’ on time for skill development. For
example, incorporating maths principles into design classes, or

16. biology facts into food technology classes. While young people
have a more personal choice in medium, key knowledge is
developed using different approaches and teaching methods.
Secondary school Supporting young people to explore their chosen area of
specialisation by building in real involvement with local business
partners. These partners take time in allocating jobs for young
people that are both important to the business and worthwhile
to the individual. Better relationships between school /
community are a direct result of bringing resource into the
school and a path for school leavers.
FE and HE Mental health is a core priority, as staff are aware that students
experiencing health issues are more likely to become isolated
and disengage from their work. Each department supports a
groups and society. Field trips and joint community volunteering
are encouraged so that student sense of belonging is affirmed.
Emotional well-being is discussed in tutorials and supervision.
Preventative activity is suggested to all in order to strengthen
resilience rather than rescue when it is too late.

17. Effective Education
Right and Responsibility: All members direct their own learning.
In order to create a learning community, practitioners need to develop their own autonomy.
To be able to innovate, creative freedom and acceptance of failure are important. In order to
create strategies that facilitate other people’s learning, practitioners need to first be able to
understand and extend their own intelligence. For this, adding to an increasing knowledge
base, across organisation or sector, is pivotal. Furthermore, each member will need
opportunities to extend their learning and develop their own understanding in practice.
Activities that are developed to support a deeper understanding of how people learn will
add to well-being, if they are led by the interest and enthusiasm of individuals. Knowledge
development should not be limited to existing good practice, but a wealth of exploratory
strategies, preferably with an emphasis on play to foster enjoyment in the shared activity. A
culture of possibility, demonstrated by a can-do attitude, will be one where materials show
positive roles models of success rich in diversity. Ongoing education and support can be
accessed between organisations and from other agencies to share and promote diverse
approaches to best practice. Also, not all options involve traditional training, with self-
assessment tools, reflective diaries and peer-mentoring opportunities all adding to every
professional’s opportunity for reflective practice. The abstract nature of identity, makes the
depth of learning important with regard to the moral dimension, as ethical principles need
to be understood before they can be transferred into professional behaviour. ‘It is how we
translate our values into daily practice that determines our morality.... deep and profound
learning is where knowledge is created and understood through the use of higher-order
cognitive skills, profound learning is an extension of deep learning so that it becomes
personal to the learner’ (West-Burnham and Huws Jones, 2007, pgs 35-47).
The idea of a window is to look inside at self, to understand the way I am thinking (head),
feeling (heart) and responding (hand) to situations as I do, and also use the window to look
out at practice, in particular the way the environment influences the way I am thinking,
feeling and responding. I shall assume the effective practitioner seeks congruence between
head, heart and hand. (Johns, C. 2004, pg. 5)
This articulation of the reflective process involved in defining professional identity is a

18. metaphor for the movement towards more ownership of theories of practice. By adding
creation to the idea of participation to the rights of liberty and redistribution expressed by
Rawls (1972) and the ideas of entitlement to processes of acquisition and production
countered by Norzick (1976). Sharing what is created is fundamentally too limited if people
are excluded from the creation of knowledge. If tools, such as dialogue are not used during
to process to remedy inequality, it leaves the sharing of knowledge to the benevolence of
private charity later in the process.
Organisation Practice
Early years
and
Children’s
services
Individual profiles are put in place when the child joins the setting.
Learning plans are agreed with specific goals for each four areas (the
strong child, the skilful communicator, the healthy child, the competent
learner). Photos are taken to facilitate sharing of positive strategies and
evidence of children’s success.
Primary
school
Children are supported to understand intelligence, they explore the
basics of learning theory and multiple intelligence. In order to negotiate
different ways to access learning, they build in activities which both
create ease to extended strength, and challenge to build on weakness.
This synergetic approach is supported by ICT, which is used to give every
child an individual path that is flexible enough to provide increasing
complexity to match skill development.
Secondary
school
Alongside the ordinary work and test activities. Young people are asked
to peer assess personal portfolios. Marks are given for progress and
effort, while the class is tasked with developing a fair marking system.
the system is revaluated at the beginning of the school year to take
account of the different targets imposed by school and curriculum.
FE and HE Students are supported to find ways of extending learning opportunities
in groups and on-the-job placements. Freedom of enquiry is encouraged
with learning sets providing conferences and seminars that are hosted by
inter-department association. The innovation group publishes a

19. newsletter which summarises the most successful stories once a term.
There is a prize from the Chancellor awarded to the most enterprising
collective effort.

20. Capacity Development
Broaden-and-Build & Growth Mindset
The freedom to participate in a wide variety of activities that influence learning and enhance
possibility of well-being. The opportunity to make contact with other young people is vital,
without it children risk becoming isolated, and will lose out on the social skills that only other
children can teach. Learning from other young people supports both physical and social
development in a way that adult-led activities will not. Furthermore, to make friends, each
child needs to have met many other children in order to select those they like. Practitioners
need to recognise the importance of young people’s culture. Building opportunity for
relationships for all children can maximise the opportunities for contact across age and
social groups and with it the development of knowledge.
It is easy to confuse access to all activities with the need for all children to join in. While
good practice demands that preparation anticipates any specific need, inclusive activity
should also respond to the emerging needs of the group. Inclusive practice demands a
response which accommodates the needs of both the individual child and the group during
any activity. The issue is not about what is a right or wrong way of doing things, but about
shared experience.
Personal Capacity Development :
Gifts of the head. (Things I know something about and would enjoy talking about
with others, for example: art, history, movies, birds…).
Gifts of the hands. (Things or skills I know how to do and would like to share with
others, for example: carpentry, sports, cooking…).
Gifts of the heart. (things I care deeply about, for example: protection of the
environment, conservation and animal survival, civic life, human rights…)
(Kreztmann & McKnight, ABCD Institute at Northwestern, 2010)
Personal capacity inventories carried out to identify strength will never harm individuals in
the way some intelligence questionnaires or other tests can.

21. Organisation Practice
Early years
and
Children’s
services
Activities are child led, practitioners build in learning goals into the areas of
interest identified by individual children or groups. Practitioners make sure
turns are taken and that everyone gets a go. Naturally individuality emerges, as
no 2 children will reach the same outcome, but effort is rewarded to ensure
fairness. The children decide on the ‘fair-play’ awards, with prizes awarded for
giving, friendship, sharing etc.
Primary
school
Children are encouraged to identify what they view as contributing to both
personal and shared learning. In addition to more traditional activities, each
class explores the areas they do most work in, the curriculum areas are then
introduced and the children are invited to find ways to explore key ideas by
suggesting new activities which are then given marks and voted on. Ironically
teachers report that despite initial effort, their preparation work has now
decreased.
Secondary
school
Young people are tasked with identifying others that have more or less ability in
different subjects. Groups are then created to work on projects whose themes
are chosen by each group. At the end of term each group has to have identified
how much they have contributed, therefore they are tasked to ensure effort is
fairly shared.
FE and HE Students are divided into learning sets after course leader has met them.
Congruence between method and content is deliberate, so that each
assignment requires a high degree of dialogue to establish self-direction and
self-evaluation. Student report a high degree of different, but results have
improved and drop-out rates have fallen.

22. Personal Values
It is important that contribution is fully valued in order to ensure an ownership of knowledge
that can lead to the development of professional identity.
The moral idea of social justice requires a co-operative community in which rewards are not
determined solely on production, but on need and the rights to participate in a social life - a
community that is not genuinely co-operative cannot be just. (Atweh et al, 2005, pg 52.)
When dealing with learners with varied individual with knowledge and skill the tools need to
be fit for purpose. ‘It may well be that the adult model is the most appropriate for any
learner as it recognises and respects individuality and demonstrates consistency in relating
learning strategy to need irrespective of age and ability’ (West-Burnham and O’Sullivan,
1999). Teaching is more than delivery of facts ‘it has a very important moral and social
dimension, in which teachers care for the pupils welfare and foster the values of mutual
respect and tolerance required in a democratic society’ (Burton and Bartlett, 2005, pg. 7).
Unlike the shared nature of principles, people tend to hold different values, these will be
influenced by personal background, preference and sensitivity. A culture that treats people
fairly will therefore uphold principles that both support shared ideas but also respect
different views, in order to allow enough flexibility for different values to be celebrated
equally (Oliver 2003). Where practice is flexible, people are not expected to agree or
conform to rigid ways of working but instead, they are encouraged to voice their own ideas
or to respectfully challenge the existing practice that poses constraint to different beliefs.
Procedures are in place to ensure sensitive and confidential identification of individual
requirements. In the worst possible scenario, organisational values that are defined by a
management committee impose conformist ideas. This will lead to meetings where senior
and articulate voices will dominate, and where people will not be able to interrupt bullying
at meetings. This example illustrates a culture where values such as ‘respect’ are not
demonstrated and despite a friendly atmosphere, prejudice is rarely challenged.
Organisation Practice
Early years and Children are guided in thought for others, difference is talked
about and perspectives are sought. Children are encouraged to

23. Children’s
services
explore differences, and practitioners are very careful to use
neutral tones. This has necessitated a lot of personal
development because they identified to understand a wealth of
backgrounds and ideas to which they were previously unaware.
Primary school Spirituality is explored from many angles, as children develop a
language to support new ideas. Teachers have paired up to
deliver a stronger message across year groups, and have
adopted a model that meets the community’s needs. This has
supported their own confidence when dealing with the more
intangible measures of improvement in school culture.
Secondary school Young people take part in the school organisation, with
members of the school council attending appointment
interviews. The young people review teacher practice, with
exchanges taking place with other schools in order to compare
strategies. Policies are updated by the council to reflect the
development of understanding as new ideas become embedded
in the school culture.
FE and HE Staff are encouraged to join the Cultural Understand Leadership
programme, this not only ensures that skills are developed to aid
sustainability among management, but the shared stories have
created a more flexible attitude among senior staff as their
understanding of different issues is heard first hand.

24. Meaning and Purpose
Achieving Equity
Whilst achieving social justice is often seen as outside the remit of educational professionals,
much of what contributes to achieving greater equity has a bearing on core purpose. The
development of inclusive practice, therefore, has moral implications. While educators
cannot impose morality, demonstrating ethical commitment can go a long way to giving
learners the environment in which they can start to fulfil their potential. While commitment
is often seen as a personality trait, such as passion that is sometimes ridiculed, the
congruence of core purpose and wider positive impact is worthy of exploration. Not
addressing the issue, by handing over responsibility, in an effort to side-step responsibility
and shift blame, is far from what may be defined in a professional code of practice. The term
‘force-for-good’ may be in vogue for good reason, inequality has deepened as gaps have
widened, and discontent is being voiced against the status quo. As the following article
about Evan Williams’ demotion to a strategic role underlines, it is so often the theme of
many publications:
Keeping to Twitter’s foundational principle (the Google-like “be a force for good”) and
fostering corporate experimentation… It is no small irony, of course, that a man so ill at ease
on the big stage is a pivotal force in a communications revolution, one that has made it
easier for people to chat, disseminate information and mobilize locally and globally with
almost anyone who has a cellphone or an Internet connection... It has helped transform the
way that news is gathered and distributed, reshaped how public figures from celebrities to
political leaders communicate, and played a role in popular protests in Iran, China and
Moldova. (New York Times 31 October 2010)
In a fully inclusive environment where people’s needs are met,capacities are equally
respected and where opportunity to develop is open to all, people may begin to work to
maximum potential. It may jar slightly with accepted custom to think of ‘fairness’ as some
people getting more than others. However, in order to create environments where
possibility can be entertained, practitioners need to expand their understanding to mean
‘everyone gets what they need to participate fully’. Achieving a culture where all can flourish
means doing more than simply meeting need, it will be one where conceptual dialogue is
part of every day conversation about business.

25. Sector Practice
Early years and
Children’s services
A play scheme changes the rules of games on certain days to
accommodate a child who thrives on higher levels of activity. At other
times playworkers make sure children have time to talk about the rules.
These are deliberately left open so that the children can decide on what
is fair depending on what the purpose they decide for the game that
day. The point is not solely that adjustments allow everybody to join in,
but that the group has an opportunity to shape the possible outcome
according to different expectation and changes in each other’s vision.
Primary school Children are introduced to philosophy and talk about rights and wrongs.
Children talk about the way external factors may help or hinder the
progress in their learning. Classroom and activities are changed to
support different outcomes, these are compared so that children can
decide on most beneficial to all. Children are involved in planning key
strategies, i.e. mentoring, which put in place to facilitate conversations
about what the whole school wants to achieve through its different
school activities.
Secondary school Young people are given opportunity to explore wider implications of
their learning in groups and over time they support there own MAPS
and Paths, and encouraged to explore their own vision. Goals are taken
seriously and built into the Individual Education Plan, there is an onus
on the school to make time available for the availability of individual
study paths, where school capacity falls short local networks enable the
creation of shared projects between schools and colleges.
FE and HE Each school is expected to hold meeting with staff and students to talk
about its contribution to the institution and its impact on the locality.
Members represent all aspects of the institution’s life, purpose is
defined and revaluated, no two meetings are ever similar, but over time
their impact on learning and community life has benefited people from

26. both within and outside the organisation.
In conclusion:
When well-being is viewed as one of many perspectives that make up core purpose, the
impact on learning may be hugely beneficial. In short, whilst personal impact may ensure
long-term health, in the short term people are far more likely to flourish. In simple terms,
the broaden-and-build approach unlocks a creativity that fuels discovery and helps young
people move towards a broader understanding of their own success.
Wellbeing serves as a double duty. It directly supports literacy and numeracy; that is,
emotional health is strongly associated with cognitive achievement. It also is indirectly but
powerfully part of the educational and societal goal of dealing with the emotional and social
consequences of failing and being of low status. In this sense political leaders must have an
explicit agenda of wellbeing, of which education is one powerful component. (Fullan 2007,
page 46)

27. Equity means all children are getting equal levels of satisfaction and benefit from shared
activities. Having an opportunity to share in all setting activities enables the personal
development that supports increasing levels of life satisfaction, physical and mental
health. When children enjoy an equal experience, inclusive practice is working well. It
would be unrealistic to say that all settings are able to cater for all children in their
current state - much change must still take place. However, this long-term change
needs to be the goal for every setting. While workers plan long-term changes, working
more closely with multiagency teams can support and add to the settings resources. In
addition to where segregated settings exist, they have much useful knowledge to share
with mainstream settings. This can greatly benefit the community, particularly where
there are plans for different groups of children to experience new relationships across
existing settings. Without such interaction, access to community relationships and
experiences is limited. It is crucial that workers move on from the idea that the typical
child loses out is put at risk when those requiring more thought and assistance are
included. Equality is not about ‘bringing faulty children up-to-standard’.
Well-being will not be supported adequately where it is seen as an adjunct, a peripheral
consideration, left to the enthusiasts who have goodwill. In uncertain times it may be
one of the few ways open to practitioners who wish to reach the outcomes of a society
that views targets a important indicator of achievement. However, if this is the case,
then taking certain aspect, such as Invitation, Respect, Relationships, and Personal
values seriously will demand that practice reflects more a profound understanding of
morality in order to express both a professional willingness to aim for ethical
commitment in a culture that supports transformation.

28. References:
Atweh, B. Kemmis, S. and Weeks, P. (1998), Action Research in Practice: Partnerships for Social
Justice in Education, Routledge: Abingdon.
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Block, P. (2008) Community: The Structure of Belonging, Berrett-Koehler publishers: San Francisco.
Chapman, L. and West-Burnham, J. (2010), Education for Social Justice: Achieving Wellbeing for All,
Continuum: London.
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Robinson K (2001) Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, Capstone
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