Reflective Framework

A reflective approach to identifying SEND and building inclusion.

Having strong SEND practices and a culture of inclusion are both key aspects of early years practice which should overlap and complement each other. A useful method for exploring how effective your inclusive practices are is to reflect on your provision and practice regularly. Dingley’s Promise have developed a Reflection Framework to facilitate this. It explores how inclusion is implemented holistically within your provision, and looks at the role of leaders and managers, educators, environments and transition processes. This Reflection Framework has been created through desk research on current audit and reflection tools as well as statutory guidance.

It is vital that strong SEND practices and strong inclusive practices work collaboratively and consistently, to have the biggest impact on children and help them to thrive.

Fundamentals of inclusion:

Inclusive vision and values that are woven through policy and practice

High ambitions for all children

An understanding of ‘ordinarily available provision’ requirements within your local authority

An understanding and application of the duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’

Prioritising autonomy and ensuring children with SEND are represented throughout the provision

Positive relationships between educators and peers with inclusive teaching practices embedded

The purpose of this framework is to provide more detailed insight into the consistency of knowledge across early years educators in your provision, and to enable settings to look more closely at how strategies to promote inclusion are embedded within practice. 

It has been designed to reflect and evaluate a setting from four perspectives. Each section has been carefully designed to prompt teams to look at their setting, team and processes, to ensure that there is a consistent approach across the board which enables positive whole-setting inclusion. For each point of reflection, considerations have been set out to give an example of how this may look in practice or what this could include, but it is neither a compulsory nor exhaustive list of what you may do within your provision.