Learning Diversity

Learning Diversity Leader - Ms Belinda Smith

This Term 4 at St Bernard’s, we are exploring inclusion as a whole, celebrating every child, recognising their unique strengths and needs, and creating opportunities for every learner to belong, participate and thrive. Each week we will explore different aspects of Inclusion and the different ways we can continue to demonstrate this. This week’s focus is ‘Why Individual Learning Matters.’

Why Individual Learning Matters

Every child is a unique learner, bringing their own strengths, interests, experiences and needs to the learning environment. Individual learning matters because children develop at different rates and may need different types of support, challenge or encouragement. By getting to know each child as an individual, we can provide learning experiences that build confidence, nurture strengths and help every student make meaningful progress. This is why establishing authentic relationships are so important.

At times, during a lesson, one student may be ready to write a paragraph independently, while another student may need a sentence starter or word bank to support their sentence structure. Both students are working towards the same learning goal, but the support is specifically tailored to where each child is on their learning journey.

“There may be many different ways to reach the same destination, and every journey deserves the support it needs.”

As always, here are some hot tips on how we can strengthen our inclusive practices in everyday life. You might like to discuss with your child:

inviting everyone to join in
encourage children to play with different friends
celebrate differences and individual strengths
use kind and inclusive language
notice when someone may be feeling left out
encourage children to include others in games and activities
discuss that fair does not always mean the same
listen without making assumptions about others
encourage empathy and understanding
model inclusion, kindness and respect at home.