Pedagogy to Support Attainment in Diverse Classrooms
Inclusion
These inclusion resources are designed to help you engage deeply with two key research articles: Finkelstein, Sharma and Furlonger’s (2021) scoping review of teachers’ inclusive practices and Florian’s (2012) analysis of preparing educators for inclusive classrooms, so that you can ground your thinking in robust evidence before moving into frameworks and compliance. To make these ideas accessible and actionable, we have created a synthesis podcast which is available in three formats: a podcast (audio), an audiogram (audio with captioned visuals), and a full transcript, so you can select the medium that best supports your learning preferences and accessibility needs. Regardless of format, you will encounter the same carefully curated insights and through‑line arguments from both articles, presented in a way that encourages reflection and practical application.
At this stage, we have intentionally not introduced guidance documents or policy. Our aim is to prioritise your professional judgement by inviting you to start with your own expertise, your values, assumptions, and everyday teaching decisions, before layering on external frameworks. Beginning with self‑reflection helps ensure that when you later engage with policy, you do so with a clearer sense of your professional identity and a research‑informed understanding of inclusive pedagogy, rather than approaching inclusion primarily as a compliance exercise.
How to engage with the materials:
- Listen or watch first - choose the podcast or audiogram to hear a concise synthesis of the two articles’ key ideas and implications for classroom practice; use the transcript if reading supports your focus or accessibility.
- Pause and reflect - note the assumptions you hold about inclusion, the patterns you see in your current planning and interactions, and any tensions between intention and practice that the synthesis surfaces.
- Connect to practice - identify one or two specific routines, explanations, or design choices you can adjust immediately (e.g., how you structure participation, present tasks, or design for multiple means of engagement and expression).
To help you move from insight to action, the resource pack also includes short, practical prompts (weekly and monthly) and practitioner‑enquiry suggestions. These are intended to support evidence‑informed experimentation in your classroom, building a habit of noticing, testing, and refining inclusive practices. As you work through these activities, you will generate classroom‑based evidence that will make subsequent engagement with policy and guidance more meaningful and context‑aware.
Inclusion is Practice Audiogram.mp4
Inclusion is Practice Transcript
By engaging thoughtfully with these materials and choosing the format that best supports your learning, you will begin to build a strong, research‑informed foundation for inclusive practice. This early focus on self‑reflection and professional judgement ensures that, when you later encounter policy and guidance, you will be equipped to interpret it critically and apply it meaningfully within your own classroom context. Our goal is to support you in developing not only an understanding of inclusive pedagogy, but the confidence to enact it in ways that genuinely enhance participation, belonging, and learning for every child.
Something you can do this week
To reinforce and deepen your learning after listening to the podcast, a powerful next step is to conduct a Structured Inclusive Practice Audit. This task involves shifting your mindset from a "most and some" approach to an "everyone" approach by evaluating your classroom through five evidence-based themes of inclusive practice.
The Mindset Audit (The "Heart")
Before observing specific behaviours, evaluate your underlying assumptions about your pupils. This "apprenticeship of the heart" is the foundation of inclusive pedagogy.
- Shift to Transformability: Consciously reject "bell-curve" thinking—the idea that some pupils have a fixed, limited capacity to learn. Instead, adopt the principle of transformability, believing that every child’s capacity to learn can be improved by what you do in the present.
- From "Some" to "Everyone": Audit your planning to see if you are creating activities for "most" pupils while providing something "different" or "extra" for a few. Focus instead on extending what is generally available to every member of the classroom community.
Something you can do this month
Use the following five themes to observe your own teaching or invite a trusted colleague for a non-judgmental peer observation. Select one lesson over the next month and record instances of the following:
|
Theme |
Key Inclusive Action to Observe |
|
Instructional Support |
Do you use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by providing multiple ways for pupils to engage with and express their learning? |
|
Organisational Practices |
Do you intentionally arrange the physical space and use non-verbal signals to ensure access for all, such as repositioning materials for high visibility? |
|
Social/Emotional Support |
How do you use language to express value for every pupil and proactively dismantle barriers to belonging (e.g., dealing with bullying or exclusion)? |
|
Determining Progress |
Are you using a "whole child" perspective for assessment, tracking social and emotional goals alongside academic progression? |
|
Collaboration |
Are you actively sharing best practices with colleagues or engaging with families to coordinate pupil support? |
Practitioner enquiry
Collaborative Reflection (The "Head")
Deepen the learning by discussing your findings with a peer or engaging in practitioner enquiry. Based on your audit, choose one specific area to focus on and enquire into, for example.
- In what ways, if any can a focus on peer-assisted learning support all students to improve their confidence in learning?
- In what ways can the use of formative assessment strategies, for example, ADD YOUR STRATEGY HERE, to support children to feel more engaged in their learning?
You may choose a different question for your enquiry.
References
Finkelstein, S., Sharma, U., & Furlonger, B. (2021). The inclusive practices of classroom teachers: a scoping review and thematic analysis. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(6), 735–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1572232
Florian, L. (2012). Preparing Teachers to Work in Inclusive Classrooms: Key Lessons for the Professional Development of Teacher Educators from Scotland’s Inclusive Practice Project: Key Lessons for the Professional Development of Teacher Educators from Scotland’s Inclusive Practice Project. Journal of Teacher Education, 63(4), 275-285.