Inclusion Policy 

The IB has stated that "Inclusion is an ongoing process that aims to increase access and engagement in learning for all students by identifying and removing barriers" (IBO 2016). We value and support inclusion as integral to our way of working to constantly improve. We recognize that barriers to learning can come especially in the form of:

• Approaches to teaching and learning: this can be in the form of individual or collective approaches. Our attendance routines are also connected to this aspect in that attendance problems may also become a barrier to learning. 

• Buildings and physical obstacles: this is describing physical accessibility.

• Relationships among the community: this describes the culture and how we interact. Barriers can be in the form of discrimination, offensive treatment, or behavior that interrupts a calm and secure learning environment. 

This Inclusion Policy includes the following aspects because....

• Plan against discrimination and offenstive treatment  because it is a barrier to learning if students do not feel emotionally and physically safe and included.

• Attendance routines  because absences become a barrier to learning already from a 10% absence rate.

• Rules and consequences because not acting in accordance with the IB learner profile attributes can result in barriers to learning. 

The school and program do not tolerate discrimination in any form or at any time in connection with one of the 7 grounds of discrimination: gender, transgender identify or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion or other belief, or age.  

All students are welcome to apply to our program following our Admissions policy, and the school works systematically to prevent discrimination and harassment in all forms. We take all complaints of discrimination of offensive treatment seriously and investigate all claims.  Thus this policy also containts our “Plan against discrimination and offensive treatment” as well.

We value the traits of the IB learner profile* as they exemplify to us traits we will maintain and keep active in our inclusive environment. 

*The IB learner profile traits: knowledgeable, caring, inquirer, thinker, communicator, risk-taker, balanced, reflective, principled, open-minded

Swedish Education Act (2010:800): Grade 10 practices are regulated under this act.

The legal requirements specific to the Swedish Education Act in regards to this policy can be found in the following portions of the law:

Chapter 1, “Inledande bestämmelser”, paragraph 4 “Syftet med utbildningen inom skolväsendet”; this discusses how the aim of education is to enrich all students’ development and learning and that the education promotes respect for human rights and the democratic values of Swedish society.

Chapter 5, “Trygghet och studiero”; this has to do with mandate to keep the learning environment secure and calm.

Chapter 6, “Åtgärder mot kränkande behandling”; this has to do with the mandate to take action against offensive behavior. The specification is co-related to Sweden’s diskrimineringslagen (2008:567). It is under this regulation for which we have Program Rules as well as a Plan against Discrimination of Offensive Behavior.  The Plan against discrimination and offensive behavior is revised annually after year 2 students are surveyed about their experience safety and security at school.

Chapter 15, “Allmänna bestömmelser om gymnasieskolan”, Paragraphs 19- 20, “mentor och “Utvecklingssamtal”, in which it is stated that each student will have a mentor and a development talk will happen at least once per term.

The principal conducts systemic quality work throughout every school year in which each aspect of school law is followed up and evaluated.  Strategic plans are created for any areas of prioritized need for improvement.

These legal requirements are specific only to Grade 10 students, however, the systemic quality work is conducted with the program as a whole whereby the IB Programme Standards and Practices have been mapped into the Swedish requirements.

IB Programme Standards and Practices (IBO, 2020 (PSP): Grade 11-12 practices are regulated by the PSP , whereby, in order to operate as an authorized IB World School,  we articulate an Inclusion Policy as per mandate. The processes in place to comply with the IB regulations are done both through the systematic quality work just described, as well as preparation and follow up for the 5 year IB evaluation. 

Discrimination Act (2008:567) Grades 10-12 are also regulated under this act.

Our mission statement not only describes our community but also is the vision we uphold for ourselves. It is as follows:

Hvitfeldtska is a modern school steeped in tradition and our IB Diploma Program is an inclusive and caring international learning community. We find joy in the autonomous and collaborative lifelong learning journey and value open and respectful communication that promotes understanding of ourselves and the world. We have high expectations and set challenging goals for ourselves, so that we may ultimately create a positive change in our local and global environment.

Started in 1988, the IB Diploma Program is committed to offering a course selection with breadth and depth.  Throughout our program, we collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure each student reaches their highest potential.

The most important aspects of the mission statement, as they relate to this policy have been identified with bold text.

The definitions below come from the IB publication Access and Inclusion Policy (2018) and/or Learning diversity and inclusion in IB programmes (2016) and/or Approaches to teaching and learning in the Diploma Programme (2013).

Access arrangements (also referred to as inclusive access arrangements) Access arrangements are changes introduced to teaching, learning and assessment to remove or reduce barriers. They do not change what the student is expected to learn and do not lower expectations, but instead provide the optimal support to address challenges and to enable the student to work around them. At a fundamental level, they address equal access and fairness to learning and teaching and in addition, validity and meaningfulness to assessment. The arrangement must not give the candidate an advantage in any assessment component. 

A few examples of access arrangements by the category of the arrangement:

Flexibility in duration of examination, course, or deadline

Flexibility in examination location

Flexibility in presentation of the examination or input

Flexibility in method of response

If the arrangment requires IB authorization, then there will need to be both medical documentation and educational documentation that shows it is the students' usual way of working.

Access requirements A candidate with access requirements is one who requires access arrangements in teaching, learning and assessment.

Approaches to learning (ATL skills): cognitive, metacognitive, and affective skills which are linked to the attitudes and dispositions of the IB learner profile. The skills are considered crucial in "preparing students effectively for life beyond school" but also crucial for effective learning in general. (2013).

Approaches to teaching: broadly referring to 6 pedagogic principles underpinning best practices int he Diploma Programme. That teaching is 1) based on inquiry 2) focused on conceptual understanding 3) developed in local and global contexts 4) focused on effective teamwork and collaboration 5) differentiated to meet the needs of all learners 6) informed by assessment (formative and summative). (2013).

Barriers to learning: Barriers can come in the form of: 

School organization and resources

Culture and policies

Approaches to teaching and learning

Buildings and physical obstacles

Relationships among the community 

Thus barriers to learning include any disruptions in the learning atmosphere, including offensive behavior or any violation of the school rules. School Attendance Problems can also be considered a barrier to learning.   It is for this reason that our Inclusion Policy is rather extensive and includes the Program Rules, the Plan Against Discrimination and Offensive Behavior, and our Attendance Routines.

Candidate:  this refers to a student who is attempting the IB Diploma. 

Inclusion: The IB defines inclusion as “an ongoing process that aims to increase access and engagement in learning for all students by identifying and removing barriers.” (IBO, 2016). 

Learning support requirements Support and/or access required to enable some students, who have the aptitude to meet all curriculum and assessment requirements, to reach their full potential in learning and assessment. Not all students who have access requirements will need learning support. Students with identified challenges (such as: autism/Asperger’s syndrome; learning challenges; speech, communication, physical and sensory challenges; social, emotional and behavioural difficulties; medical and mental health challenges) may have learning support requirements. Also, additional language learners may receive learning support to bridge and develop their language. However, learning support is not restricted to students with identified challenges and must be provided to any student who requires support

Usual way of working The access arrangements established for a specific student during learning and teaching in school. These arrangements are put in place in response to the student’s needs and are used in classroom activities, and for class tests and examination

Hvitfeldtska specific definitions:

School attendance problems: Taking after Malin Gren Landell’s anthology (2021), we will also utilize this term to refer to a focus on attendance as opposed to absence. 

Student Health Team. The team consists of the program Principal, School Nurse, Counsellor (social-emotional), Study and Career Counselor (SYV), and a Special Pedagogue.

Approaches to teaching and learning:

Capturing information early:

We have a form that is completed at school start up in the first year in which we ask that you inform us of any special education needs.  This is given to the special needs educator who will work with you or with your teachers to ensure your usual way of working is in alignment with your needs.  If you as a student believe you have an access requirement which wasn't previously announced to us, please let your mentor know as soon as possible and you will be referred to the special needs teacher.  It is important that we know this early so that any arrangements we make for DP exams are also your usual way of working prior to exams at school. 

Ongoing best practices:

Teaching and learning practices are well grounded in the IB Programme Standards and Practices and follow a pattern of inquiry, implementation and reflection against the approaches to teaching and learning.

We acknowledge learning diversity and embrace differentiation which can be planned for in content, process, and product. This happens at the group and individual level as needed.  Differentiation happens within the frame of the lessons in the classroom. 

At times an individual student may need more support that what is given in the form of differentiation. We are able to provide support for a student outside of the classroom by meeting with our SEN-teacher. Typical support measures in this regard are help in preparing homework, basic skills tutoring, developing strategies for overcoming obstacles to learning.  More extensive support needs are decided by the Principal and may result in a Support Management Plan.

School organization and resources:

There is a preventative “early warning” system in place to identify students who may need access requirements in our teaching and learning experiences. The system involves dividing the school year up into 6 periods which are regularly followed up by the student health team and the teaching team, as needed.   

Outside of that system, an individual can flag a concern at any time. This could come from the mentor, a teacher, a member of student health team, the student, or a parent.

When necessary:

Þ All pertinent stakeholders are involved to investigate and collaborate to identify the student need(s).  A decision is made by a school staff member (i.e. the teacher or someone in the Student Health Team) which access requirements should be undertaken. It is the principal who decides on more extensive adjustments which also require IB approval.  A copy of the plan is communicated to the involved stakeholders.

Þ The access requirements put into place are followed up, evaluated, and revised (if needed) at the next Early Warning System student follow up meeting, or earlier if appropriate.

Prior to November 15 (in the final year) the school must make a request to the IB if any access arrangements must be made for the official IB Examinations and require IB approval. Some arrangements require both medical documentation as well as the school’s own documentation to support that the arrangement is the students’ usual way of working. 

School organization and resources:

Þ Student Health Team: The student health team is composed of the principal, school nurse, career counsellor, mental health counsellor and Special Education Needs (SEN)-teacher. The school also has access to a school psychologist and school physician in cases when their expertise might be needed. The path for diagnosis can start with the teachers noticing an issue and referring to the team, or it can start with entering students having already been diagnosed and referred to the teachers. The Student Health Team meets every other week. The entire team will also meet the teachers every term, divided by class and occasion, to go through the students to see if something has developed that would require intervention, diagnosis, or counselling. 

Culture and policies:

Þ Please see also this Inclusion Policy's other sections: Attendance Routines and Plan Against Discrimination and Offensive Treatment (of which IB Program Rules are a part).

Þ This Inclusion policy works in tandem with other school policies with the aim to support student learning. Our policies can be accessed here. Look for:

o   Admission Policy

o   Academic Honesty/Integrity Policy

o   Assessment Policy

o   Language Policy

o   Complaints Procedure

Buildings and Physical obstacles:

Þ The buildings are accessible and have wheelchair ramps, automatic doors and elevators for use for those who need them. Adjustments are made for students where it is identified they have a specific physical need in regards to their learning and engagement, for example placement in physical space, lighting and acoustics. 

There are regular "skyddsrund" (safety walks) at the school for the purposes of identifying and remedying physical obstacles or safety concerns and students are encouraged to become and undergo training as a  "skyddsombud" (safety representative).  

Relationships among the community:

Þ Our mission statement and all of our policies describe how we value building positive healthy relationships in our community and how we do that. We understand that all members of the community must feel a sense of relatedness, autonomy, and competence in good equal measure to feel motivated and engaged in their work and work actively with this notion. To ensure a calm and safe learning environment we also articulate, as part of this Inclusion policy, a Plan Against Discrimination and Offenstive Treatment, and our Program Rules. 

International Baccalaureate Organization (2020). Programme Standards and Practices. Cardiff: Peterson House.

International Baccalaureate Organization (2018). Access and Inclusion Policy. Cardiff: Peterson House.

International Baccalaureate Organization (2016). IB continuum Learning diversity and inclusion in IB programmes. The Hague: IB Publishing Ltd.

Swedish Education Act

Gy-förordning

Landell, G (2021). School Attendance Problems. A research update on where to go. Jerryfonden: Stemmler.