Strategy for inclusion - background

1.  Background

1.1

North Lanarkshire Education department's policy document Raising achievement for all (1998) set out the department's commitment to help all young people 'achieve whatever they are capable of achieving, irrespective of socio-economic background, gender, race or levels of ability and disability'. In defining 'achievement' to encompass a wide range of talents and abilities, in targeting resources towards particular groups of learners, and in constantly improving approaches to learning and teaching, the department has made huge strides towards achieving this objective.

1.2

Notwithstanding the progress made, it remains all too apparent that many young people benefit less than they should from the educational experiences on offer. Some are hard to provide for in the mainstream setting, in that their needs are particular, demanding specialist support; others are hard to reach because they may be experiencing some very difficult circumstances or times. Over past years, a number of programmes and initiatives have been undertaken which recognise the diverse needs of young people, and aim to find ways of meeting these as part of mainstream educational provision.

1.3

Inclusion as a matter of entitlement and equal rights is enshrined in the UN convention on the Rights of the child, in the European convention of human rights and in other national legislation, notably the Education additional support for learning (Scotland) bill, the Disability discrimination act and Accessibility strategy and the Standards in Scotland's schools etc act. It is the impetus behind recent Scottish Executive publications, notably, 'Count us in', 'Moving to mainstream' and 'For Scotland's children'. All of these act as major imperatives to produce and implement a strategy for inclusion, and further, set useful parameters for framing the policy and its subsequent implementation.

1.4