Research School Network: Inclusive by design: making universal scaffolds part of everyday teaching Inclusive by design: making universal scaffolds part of everyday teaching

Georgina Ellis, Chief Education Officer for SEND at Unity Schools Partnership
Marc Rowland, Pupil Premium & Vulnerable Learners Advisor

If inclusion starts in the classroom, how can we design teaching so that more pupils can participate successfully from the outset?

The EEF’s new Guide to Inclusive Teaching provides a helpful starting point. It asks schools to consider ​“What do we do every day that is especially important for pupils with additional needs?” Its universal approaches include explicit instruction, feedback, scaffolding, positive relationships and calm classroom environments. This encourages us to think about inclusion not simply as something we do when a pupil encounters difficulty, but something we anticipate when planning teaching.

Anticipate the barriers

Good inclusive teaching does not mean creating a different lesson for every pupil. Instead, we can consider the barriers pupils might encounter and build supports into everyday teaching that make learning more accessible. This is where universal scaffolds can be particularly powerful.

The EEF’s Guide to Inclusive Teaching highlights scaffolding as an important universal approach, alongside explicit instruction, and emphasises that these strategies should be informed by what teachers know about pupils’ starting points and potential barriers. Universal scaffolds such as clear modelling, manageable steps, explicit vocabulary teaching, visual prompts and regular checks for understanding can be built into everyday classroom practice. Rather than being additional strategies introduced only when a pupil struggles, they can make learning more accessible from the start, benefiting all pupils while providing essential support for some

Scaffold towards independence

Scaffolding is not about making learning easier. It is about providing enough temporary support for pupils to engage successfully with challenging learning.

The EEF defines scaffolding as temporary support that enables pupils to complete tasks, they cannot yet complete independently. It can be visual, verbal or written and should be informed by what teachers know about pupils’ current knowledge and skills. Vitally, responsibility should increasingly transfer to the pupil.

The final point matters. A scaffold that is never removed can become a dependency. A heavily differentiated task may inadvertently reduce thinking hard and ambition.

A useful reflection for leaders

For leaders, universal scaffolding provides another helpful lens through which to look at current classroom practice.

Consider:

• Which barriers to learning are our teachers routinely anticipating?
• Which scaffolds are consistently available to pupils without the need for individual identification?
• Do our scaffolds maintain challenge and ambition?
• Are pupils becoming less dependent on them over time?
• When universal approaches are not enough, how confidently do teachers identify what more is needed?

Some of the least successful lessons are where teachers rely solely on their relationships and personality to try and will pupils into being successful. Relationships are important, of course, but too much reliance here leaves teachers exhausted and pupils can remain excluded from the learning. This is why effective scaffolding is vital.

Further, none of this is possible without clear routines, consistent boundaries and stability of experience. This is a fundamental foundation of inclusive practice.

• Margaret Mullholand, SEND and Inclusion expert wisely asks ​‘Where does the knowledge get stuck [about pupils at risk of underachievement’]. Expert knowledge cannot just sit at leadership level. Rather, we need to empower teachers with the expert knowledge of inclusive pedagogy, and also why this is valuable for all but vital for some to be successful.

Inclusive by design does not mean trying to anticipate every possible need. It means creating classrooms where fewer barriers are inadvertently built into learning in the first place. Strong universal scaffolds give more pupils a successful starting point, while allowing teachers to identify more precisely who needs something additional or different.

That is an important shift: from responding to difficulty to anticipating barriers, from providing help to building independence, and from adapting for some to designing better for everyone. When inclusive practice is excellence as standard, all pupils and practitioners thrive. The impact of educational disadvantage on pupils’ learning is less prominent when the quality of inclusive teaching is strong.

Empowered teachers means empowered pupils means empowered families.

Resources:

Guide to Inclusive Teaching | EEF