Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity? 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland

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Australian school clusters:
neighbours progressing through the phases of inclusion

Associate Professor Heather J. Jenkins
Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia
h.jenkins@curtin.edu.au

Anjie Brook
Principal Inclusion Consultant
West Australian Department of Education & Training (WADET), Perth, Australia
Anjie.Brook@det.wa.edu.au

Dini Kempers
Cluster Coordinator, Inclusion Project
Canning District Education Office
WA DET, Perth, Australia
Dini.Kempers@det.wa.edu.au

Fae Turner
Cluster Coordinator, Inclusion Project
Canning District Education Office
WA DET, Perth, Australia
Fae.Turner@det.wa.edu.au

Introduction

This poster symposium will summarize the experience of four West Australian school clusters that have progressed through the phases associated with the action research cycle to implement inclusive school development, guided by the Index for Inclusion.

Poster 1: Overview of the Australian cluster model of inclusive school development

A school cluster is a group of schools within a West Australian Education District, comprising the secondary school and its feeder primary schools. School clusters were chosen by the Canning Education District Office as the unit of implementation for inclusive school development, and the model has been resourced by the appointment of inclusion coordinators at District, cluster and school-based levels of the system. The Australian school cluster model has provided collegial support for implementing inclusive practices, and is building the District capacity to respond to inclusion more effectively among its 13 school clusters than would be possible if all 104 District schools were expected to respond individually. The cluster model is also inherently inclusive in style, an important consideration in promoting inclusive philosophy and culture.

Poster 2: Thornlie Cluster : This cluster of six primary schools, one Education Support Centre and one Secondary school was the first to pilot the Index for Inclusion strategy, and some of the lessons learned from its trial implementation will be summarized here. The primary schools in the cluster have completed all five phases of the first action cycle, and some have now progressed as far as Phase 3 (Producing an inclusive school development plan) in their second cycle. The incorporation of Index priorities into School Development Plans has provided significant impetus and has ensured the Index strategies move from being ‘added on’ to being integral to school leadership and planning processes. The secondary school experienced significant barriers to implementation of the Index processes, and some of the challenges within the secondary context, and the supports that are required to make further progress, will be identified.

Poster 3: Kelmscott Cluster : This cluster of six primary schools and one Secondary school has embraced the action research cycle and progressed through Phases 1, 2 and 3 to produce an inclusive school development plan that is guiding its progress in Phase 4 (Implementing Priorities). The poster will outline facilitators of success, and discuss the school contexts that have supported the change process.

Poster 4: Cannington Cluster : The four participating schools are the most diverse group: one primary school from a low socio-economic area; one middle school college that shares its campus with a secondary Education Support Centre; and a high-technology Senior College that functions on a university-style timetable. The success of this cluster in reaching the fourth Phase underlines the flexibility of the inclusive approach in responding to diverse school structures, staffing profiles, and student aspirations.

Poster 5: Kent Street Cluster : The four primary schools and three Education Support schools volunteering in this cluster have progressed through three phases of the action cycle, having observed the progress of the first three clusters. Each of the three Education Support schools has a history of segregated provision for students with moderate to severe disabilities, and their initial motivation is to utilize the Index for Inclusion methodology to critically examine their own practices as a precursor to developing links with mainstream schools. The cluster coordinator has emphasized the importance of all staff being included in the setting of priorities and has developed planning templates and processes to ensure that every aspect of the process is inherently inclusive. The provision of additional funding by schools within the cluster to supplement the District Education Office resources highlights the valued role of the cluster coordinator in supporting inclusion initiatives.

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