Inclusion and advocacy form an important part of our work at Latika. The Latika Wabi-Sabi team works with children, parents and schools to enable disabled kids to learn and grow alongside their abled peers in mainstream schools. The goal is participation – for many children, academic achievement is less important than the opportunity learn, play and grow up alongside other kids their age.

On 13 November 2024, we organised an ‘Inclusive Schools Round Table, Dehradun’ as a step towards recognising and celebrating the inclusion efforts of 27 schools citywide. Its objective was to provide a platform to Heads of School and teachers to share their experiences, best practices and challenges, and network for future efforts.

The speakers included Charu Sharma, Principal, Kendriya Vidhyalaya, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and recipient of the National Best Teacher Award 2024, conferred by the President of India. She spoke on ‘Inclusion: The Perspective of a Successful School Leader’. Sanchit, an autistic Class 11 student, shared his lived experience of learning in a mainstream environment. The talk by Nicola Tansley, an Educational and Developmental Psychologist and international Inclusive Education Consultant, was entitled ‘Nice Idea, But Let’s Be Practical’.

Nicola Tansley reiterated the importance of active engagement and supporting every child to achieve to their individual potential.

She urged school leaders to think of students as resources. Children can show immense creativity and empathy when they are involved, consulted and actively engaged in supporting each other. She described an unsupportive attitude as the biggest barrier to inclusion, but attitudes can be changed by school leaders — “Leaders set the tone for learning and belonging. With the right touch, they make the school feel as warm and inviting as a sunny day”.