Promoting_Inclusion

Promoting Inclusion – Theory 3 Introduction I have been fortunate enough to spend the last sixteen, or so, months working for an organisation specifically set up to help people with disabilities, have an equal place within the job market. However, I know that I still have much to learn about ensuring that everyone not only feels included, in my training sessions, but actually are included. Inclusion Inclusion is ensuring that everyone feels that they belong and that they are respected. For a trainer or teacher it is giving the same level of supportive energy and commitment to everyone in your classroom, so that all of your students can do their best work. To promote inclusion in my sessions I will do my best to find out before hand, if any of my learners have any special requirements. Working for an organisation like Access to Business, I am in the privileged position of having access to a lot of equipment designed to meet a diverse range of learning needs. All of our training facilities are located on the ground floor, we have desks with adjustable height settings and software installed on our computers that can read out text and accept voice commands. Whilst I may not always work for Access to Business, the lessons I learn there I can take with me to ensure all my students have the best learning experience I can give them. An activity that I believe most would enjoy is setting the group’s ground rule, in this way you get the whole group to think about how to respect each other. Asking the students to draw their Ideas rather than just write them and allow lots of hands on learning, so that they can play with what they have learnt and express their own ideas. Another way to ensure inclusion is simply to ask people what they need, as everyone has individual needs and the person you are asking is in the best position to tell you, rather than just assuming you know what they need. Equality Equality is the right of all people to be included in activities without the fear of being treated differently on the basis of their race, sex, marital status, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation. It is the teacher’s responsibility to put aside any pre-conceived ideas or stereo types and ensure that in their classroom everyone is treated the same. It is important to remember that in many ways we are all the same, we share the same dreams and goals, we all want to move ahead and be happy. I must be honest and admit at this point I cannot think of a specific activity that would promote equality within the class. However, I do, strongly, believe that all activities that we do should encourage and uphold equality values. Diversity Whilst it could be said that equality is ignoring people’s differences, diversity is embracing and valuing the different characteristics that each person brings to the group. You must be careful when promoting diversity, that you are not singling people out, as this may have an adverse effect. To ensure that I am promoting diversity I will try to get ideas and opinions from everyone. This I hope will show that everybody is valued and show that whilst we are all the same we don’t all think the same way. One activity I would use is similar to the bingo icebreaker the PTLLS group did during our induction. I would ask the class to talk to each member of the group and get two interesting facts about each person, myself included. I would then go around the class and ask them for one fact about someone they spoke to. In this way I am helping the group get to know each other and get an idea of how interesting our differences can be. Points of referral For people with mental health problems it is all too easy for them to feel very alone. Quite often, unless someone has a sever condition, it is hard to tell if someone has a mental health problem and the person may not wish to share. There are a number of organisations, both local and national, that I could refer a person to. Mind provides help and advice for people, including a help line, advice on grants and managing their condition. They also have advice for people who know someone with mental health problems and for those looking for more information, including ‘debunking the myths’. For people with dyslexia there is the British Dyslexia Association. The BDA provide information for people with dyslexia, their parents and for teachers. They can explain how to get learning aids and additional finance, for school and on into higher education. They have advice on how we can help people with dyslexia reach their full potential. For people with sight impairments locally, I could refer them to Beacon Centre for the Blind. They provide advice, information and also have an activity centre to help people with vision problems. They also run IT courses which I could refer people to if they felt, I could not accommodate all of their needs.