Good Practice Guidelines for Educational Inclusion Projects

From the experience of Bridging the Gap educational inclusion projects in schools work best when they:

1.       Recognise that schools make a difference, and adopt a whole-school approach to planning and monitoring interventions that achieve improved educational outcomes for all pupils, in partnership with parents and families

2.       Foster a culture of high expectations and success among the whole school community, including pupils, families and teachers

3.       Engage all pupils in high quality learning experiences that enable them to develop their full potential across the whole curriculum, with special focus on achieving high standards of literacy and numeracy

4.       Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed targets for all learning experiences and special interventions

5.       Monitor and measure achievement of the targets set, using formal and informal, quantitative and qualitative approaches to measurement as appropriate

6.       Feed back the results of monitoring into the school development planning process to promote continuous quality improvement

7.       Celebrate the “wins” and give recognition to all members of the school community who have contributed to successful achievement of the targets

8.       Provide professional development opportunities for principal and teachers, and enable them to participate in networks where good practice can be shared

9.       Have appropriate personnel, financial and infrastructural resources to achieve their targets and to maintain the improved outcomes

10.   Receive support from relevant external agencies that enables them to implement the necessary changes in practice and to achieve successful outcomes.