The conference on inclusive education - “Inclusive school – towards a unified policy and practice” - was organised by the British Council in Latvia in cooperation with ESF project No. 8.3.1.1/16/1/002 “Competency based curriculum” or Skola2030 implemented by the National Centre for Education (NCE), and with the support of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO.

The objective of the event was to promote a more in-depth understanding about inclusive education, to gather information about the good practices of parties involved in the learning process, to share it, and to find ways together for making this process more inclusive for each student. Emphasis within the conference was placed on the curriculum and the approach to it, as well as on the support needed by students and teachers.

The programme of the conference was made up of two topics:

  • Pedagogics of diversity – pedagogical approaches and strategies in classes of children with different language, social and economic backgrounds; diversity management; and,
  • Support to children with learning disabilities and special needs.

Letters from the organisers of the conference: 

The team of the British Council in Latvia expresses gratitude to its partners – the project “Skola2030” implemented by the National Centre for Education, and to the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO for the cooperation and support in organisation of the conference, as well as to the lecturers and workshop moderators for informative presentations, and to all the teaching professionals who took an active part in the conference lectures and workshops. Every child has the right to be included in the mainstream education system of the country; these are their human rights regardless of their sex, ethnicity, skills, socio-economic status or state of health. A successful and sustainable inclusive practice in schools can only be provided by implementing meaningful changes in all levels of education, which is why it is important to discuss these inclusive education issues at a time when new standards of education and approaches to learning are being implemented in our country. In future, when shaping an inclusive education environment, teachers should not only pay attention to the subject matter and the way they present it, but also to inclusive values such as respect, cooperation, tolerance, helpfulness and empathy, which clearly affect the microclimate and relationships in the classroom. With this in mind, we are happy that this conference gathered more than 250 teaching professionals and experts, who aim at a better understanding of the values of an inclusive society, and to introduce them in their daily life.

Team of the project “Competency based curriculum” or Skola2030 

Thanks to all those people involved in the organisation of the conference - “Inclusive school – towards a unified policy and practice” - for a successful event, as well as the participants for their involvement, moderators of workshops and discussions for sharing their experiences, opinions and resources, as well as the British Council in Latvia and the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO.

In Skola2030, work with the new curriculum and the approach to the mainstream education is one of the most important education principles that is based on the planning and implementation of the curriculum and the approach in schools as an inclusive educational approach. This may be implemented by evaluating the various learning needs of pupils and satisfying them with different methods and approaches, open communication, as well as shaping a safe and appropriate environment, with no discrimination. Significant resources are used within the project to develop learning and methodological tools for children with special needs; it also aims to show methods for supporting teachers when implementing inclusive education and improving their skills for work with children with different learning needs.

To effectively implement the inclusive education approach, we need a common agreement on objectives to fully include all children in the learning process, with a high quality, and to involve various cooperation partners who can offer practical solutions at national and international level. This conference was an important meeting point and conversation platform for experts and policy representatives to identify these solutions and involve partners in the implementation process. We will be glad to continue commenced collaborations within the project Skola2030 and to promote the implementation of the inclusive education approach in Latvia.

The programme of the conference with descriptions of the work sessions

Presentations of the conference lecturers

Presentations of some work sessions:

Link to photos of the conference: https://failiem.lv/u/wrhe6gue#

Inquiry on the conference and option to apply for the confirmation of participation: https://ej.uz/e4i9

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