Teach Middle East Magazine Apr - Jun 2020 Issue 3 Volume 7 | Page 25

a genuinely inclusive school, we are
delighted to work in partnership with
The Hemam Center, giving children
a range of learning and therapy, and
integrating them into the wider life
of the school.” Eric Shafarman, the
Board Certified Behavior Analyst,
leading provision at the Center,
added, "Our collaboration with the
Aquila School has had immense
benefits for our students. They enjoy
the opportunity to participate in the
classroom environment, access the
mainstream curriculum, and perhaps
most special - build friendships. It's
such a privilege for everyone involved,
at both the school and Hemam
Center, to see how working together
to foster a caring and inclusive school
environment has resulted in new
learning opportunities and a greater
appreciation for diversity, across
students, teachers, and parents."
Inclusive schools are those that go
beyond accepting the enrolment
of students with disability, and are
places in which all students are
welcomed, valued as full members of
the school community, and provided
with the support that they need, to
participate and achieve. Article 24
of the United Nations Convention of
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(2008) defined inclusive education
within international human-rights
law. General Comment no. 4 also
made it very clear that segregation
and inclusion are fundamentally
incompatible. The Dubai Inclusive
Education Policy Framework (KHDA,
2017) enshrines how this must be
implemented in schools in Dubai,
along with subsequent guidelines
published
in
‘Implementing
Inclusive Education’ (KHDA, 2019)
and ‘Directives and Guidelines for
Inclusive Education’ (KHDA, 2020).
While we acknowledge that there
is always more we can do, The
Aquila School and the Hemam
Learning Support Center aim to be
at the forefront of genuinely inclusive
education in Dubai.
References:
Article 24 of the CRPD (United Nations 2008).
Graham, Linda. Inclusive Education for the
21st Century: Theory, policy and practice.
2019. Allen & Unwin.