Education for Disabled Learners in Schools: Examples of Good Practice for Principals and School Leaders - Guide

When we talk about disabled learners, we mean children and young people with significant needs for ongoing support, adaptations and/or accommodations to support their education. Not all members of this community might identify with this language. We’ve used this term because it links to the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

“I love school, it’s great and my teachers are great. I love being with the other students. I love being treated the same way as them and given the same opportunities. It is important to me to be included in all aspects – not just being present.”

- Disabled learner

At this school, leaders demonstrate a strong culture of valuing disabled learners and their parents and whānau. They also ensure that engagement with whānau is culturally responsive. Dedicated staff with cultural expertise liaise with whānau Māori and Pacific families of disabled learners, and support their participation at IEP meetings. “We have whānau hui four times a year and parents of disabled learners in the specialist class come in … There is also a fono for Pacific parents. The key thing is that the specialist class is not separate to the rest of the school. We are one inclusive setting. We build our relationships in those forums. It is also about being visible and approachable.’’ (Principal)

Reflective questions: Is our school inclusive and welcoming for all disabled learners and their parents and whānau? Do our policies, procedures, and local curriculum reflect the diversity of our community – and how do we seek and value their input in developing them?

A number of schools access specialist teaching expertise from the local special school outreach service. The special school is a part of a Kāhui Ako and participates in their forum for school SENCOs. This supports the sharing of effective practices and has also enabled schools to identify shared needs and issues and to collaborate on solutions. For example, the Kāhui Ako has recently coordinated staff access to Incredible Years training and run a series of parent workshops on strategies to support toileting. School leaders value how this brings a ‘team approach’ to removing barriers and finding solutions to challenges, supporting each school’s inclusivity.

Reflective questions: How might we grow our collaborative practices, to share expertise, resources and solutions to problems with other schools? How do we create opportunities for our teaching and learning support teams to learn from each other and build their capability?

At this primary school, the board regularly discusses the learning and wellbeing outcomes of diverse groups of learners, including disabled learners. This informs their decision-making and prioritisation of support for disabled learners.

Reflective questions: Do senior leaders support the school board to understand the benefits of inclusive practices, for all learners? Does the board receive good information about disabled learners’ outcomes, to inform decision-making?

This school’s commitment to inclusive education for disabled learners is explicit in its charter, as well as its strategic and annual planning. This includes specific goals to:

• support all ORS-funded students to learn alongside their peers as much as possible
• support equitable access to specialist services
• build special education pedagogy and practice school-wide.

Qualified specialist teachers and other specialists review and design the school’s curriculum to ensure it is inclusive and responsive to the needs of disabled learners. There is a cross-school focus on creating more inclusive classrooms, for example, recent professional learning for teachers and teacher aides focused on use of core boards to support communication.

Reflective questions: Do we have a shared understanding about what inclusive education for disabled learners means? How well does our school align with the best practice guidelines of inclusive education for disabled learners? (See the ‘Useful resources’ at the end of this guide for some helpful links.)

Leaders at this primary school are actively building the capability of teachers and teacher aides to deliver more inclusive education throughout the school. Recent professional learning has focused on supporting the communication goals of non-verbal learners, and on using the expanded curriculum framework for Level 1 learners to better support planning and assessment for learning.

“[Time is] put aside for staff to work together on looking at what is needed for learners. Some days the RTLB, teacher, team leader, LSC or SENCO will spend time for an hour after school to plan together around a student.’’ (Principal)

Teachers and teacher aides prioritise making time to meet together, and with specialists and specialist teachers, to plan how best to meet the needs of disabled learners. The result is that provision of learning support is flexible and responsive, and wider teaching staff are well supported to continually build their capability.

Reflective questions: Do we have clear expectations around inclusive education as a core competency for all our teaching and support staff? Do we prioritise making time for leaders, teachers and teacher aides to meet, and to undertake relevant professional learning?

Monitoring of outcomes for disabled learners happens at all levels of this school. The views of disabled learners and their parents and whānau are routinely collected and used to inform evaluation and decision-making Specialist teachers and other specialist practitioners engage in regular review and design of the school’s curriculum to ensure it is inclusive and responsive to the needs of disabled learners.. School leaders and teachers regularly report information about outcomes for disabled learners to the board. The board’s membership also includes representation of families with disabled children.

Reflective questions: How well do we collect, understand and report on inclusion, progress and achievement of disabled learners at our school? How might these practices be more specific or useful, so as to have positive impacts for disabled learners?

Regular, systematic, internal evaluation in this primary school fosters continuous improvement in education provision for disabled learners. For example, a recent strategic review of systems and practices involving ORS-funded learners identified improvement priorities around roles and responsibilities, transitions into and out of school, assessment and reporting, and teachers’ professional development.

Reflective questions: Are our decisions about disabled learners’ education informed by robust data and evidence? Are we confident that all disabled learners receive the support they need? What evidence could we gather to evaluate the impact of our practices on disabled learners’ outcomes? 

At this school, leaders advocate strongly for equity of physical access for disabled learners. This has meant making physical changes to the environment to support the free movement of visually impaired learners.

”We have a couple of students with visual impairment.  One of these learners arrived because another principal would not paint yellow lines on their ‘pretty’ buildings. We painted yellow lines on the ground and on posts and buildings. If it is good for one it is good for all. Yellow lines are also wonderful for a five-year-old running around to be mindful of where they are going.’’ (Principal)

Reflective questions: Is our physical environment safe for disabled learners? Is it designed to provide as much independent access for them as possible? How might we adapt our school and classroom environments to improve access?

This school has ensured that accessibility for disabled students is considerate of physical safety as well as social and emotional wellbeing. This has meant putting careful thought into not only facilitating access to learning experiences, but social experiences as well. “We made sure that there is ramp access to all blocks and that consideration is given so that disabled students can access classes and spaces via the same route as their friends, rather than having to go around the back.” (Principal)

Reflective questions: How does our school environment impact on our disabled learners’ opportunities to connect with their peers and grow their independence and autonomy? What adaptations could we make to create more inclusive learning environments?

At this primary school, leaders facilitate times for specialists to work with teachers around how to set up their classroom to meet the needs of disabled learners. “We use an occupational therapist to advise on adaptation of classrooms.  We follow an ecological model, we are not putting support in for the individual child, we are about changing the ecology of the classroom’’ (SENCO). Staff shared that making visible, physical changes to their classrooms has the added benefit of sending a strong message of inclusion to disabled learners as well as the wider school community.

Reflective questions: How accessible and inclusive are our classrooms for all learners? What big and small steps might we take in arranging our classrooms, to improve participation and learning of our disabled learners? How are learners supported to regulate sensory overstimulation in open/modern learning environments?

There are positive impacts when teachers are provided with the necessary resources and training to support learners’ sensory and self-regulation needs. In this school, learning support leaders have purposefully built a school-wide understanding of how to use ‘zones of regulation’ with disabled learners, and how teachers can encourage the use of fidget resources, weighted blankets and low sensory spaces for students to self-soothe. Teachers report that building their understanding of these strategies has had a positive impact on disabled learners’ independence and resilience.

Reflective questions: How do we support teachers to use sensory spaces and resources for re-engagement in learning? How can we grow knowledge, understanding and resources in this area?