Inclusion: lessons from the children

Abstract

IntroductionE a rly Ye a rs Childcare Development Pa rt n e rs h i p s (EYCDPs) have a remit to meet Government targets in England for the delive ry of good quality affo rd abl e ch i l d c a re for nought to 14-ye a r-olds and good quality free e a rly education for all fo u r-ye a r-olds and for 66% of three-year-olds. An EYCDP represents a wide range of professionals, providers and users of children's services and activities that support parents. Members are drawn from private, public and voluntary sectors. The Partnership itself does not run services or activities; it has a limited number of workers and limited additional finances to resource new or existing work. It is, therefore, dependent on individual members to deliver specific targets within the plan. The strategic principles that govern the development of early years services are reflected in an EYCDP plan. The EYCDP that was the focus for the work described in this article had an intention to raise the profile of inclusion. Partners wanted to create a 'Charter for Inclusion' that would

Pupils talking about their learning mentors: what can we learn?

“…McLaughlin (1999), in a study of a personal tutoring scheme, concluded that young people whose views were sought and appreciated developed high levels of respect for their teachers. This view is endorsed by Jones (2005), who suggests that pupils who are divorced from consultation about their own needs are more likely to become disengaged from learning. However, there is some suggestion that while teachers and researchers have become more committed to eliciting pupil opinions, this approach is not always deployed in a manner that is either meaningful or helpful.…”

‘The teacher said I'm thick!’ Experiences of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder within a school setting

“…Listening to the perspectives of children in terms of inclusive practice is acknowledged (Jones, ) and this small scale study has sought to elicit the ‘voice’ of a small group of children and adolescents who had been diagnosed with ADHD and their lived school experiences.…”

Play-based interview methods for exploring young children’s perspectives on inclusion

“…Overall, negative views of inclusion predominantly appeared among children with a lack of exposure to children with disabilities. For the most part, by the age of eight, children tend to have predominantly positive attitudes toward inclusion (Bunch & Valeo, 2004;Jones, 2005;Magiati et al, 2002).…”