‘Inclusief’ is a feature-length documentary, directed by the renowned Belgian filmmaker, Ellen Vermeulen. It is a movie which captures the experiences of the Flemish school system of children and young people with identified Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), and their families. In doing this, it raises questions about inclusive practices in education.
This short clip from ‘Inclusief’, which has English subtitles, shows Sami, a boy with special needs, get ready for a school residential. In the clip, we see a conversation about the residential, between Sami and his special needs teacher. The film then cuts to the actual day of the trip, and to the moment, just before departure, when Sami says goodbye to his mother.
Inclusive Pedagogy and ‘extending what is ordinarily available for all’.
This particular clip from the film ‘Inclusief’, with Sami, offers lots of scope to explore the notion of ‘extending what is ordinarily available to all’ which is central to the principle on ‘Inclusive Pedagogy’.
Inclusive Pedagogy is an approach for teaching all learners, which focusses on ‘extending what is ordinarily available to all’ learners rather than offering something different of additional for ‘some’ (Black-Hawkins and Florian 2012, p. 575). More can be read about the idea of ‘extending what is already available for all’ by reading the this blog post.
Through the notion of ‘extending what is ordinarily available to all’ a teacher might consider ways of working with an entire class, to prepare each learner for a school trip, rather than focus entirely on separate preparation activities for individual learners such as Sami.
A teacher has a diverse class within which various young people face multiple barriers to participating in activities. The class for example, includes learners with behavioural difficulties, physical disabilities, and with difficulties in speech, language and communication.
What might a teacher do with a whole class, to prepare them for a school residential trip?