Fountainhead School Malgama’s mission statement is strongly aligned with its commitment to promoting learning diversity. The school’s primary goal is to nurture every student as a potential leader, instilling both character and competence while recognizing the importance of inclusive education. In order to align everyone with the mission, the school has a robust guiding policy that ensures the inclusion of all students, giving access to personalized learning opportunities and enabling them to realize their full potential.

The school’s mission inspires all the stakeholders to proactively address each student’s unique learning needs, fostering their strengths and facilitating academic growth. This approach significantly contributes to boosting self-esteem and helps in developing mental and moral qualities. The school strives to create a nurturing and empowering environment that uplifts every student and prepares them to thrive in an ever-changing world.

At Fountainhead School Malgama, Inclusive Education is an ongoing process designed to enhance access and engagement in learning for all students by identifying and overcoming barriers. This achievement is rooted in a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, support, and effective problem-solving. The essence of inclusive education comes to life through dynamic learning experiences that embody the learner profile in action.

Guided by the Learning Diversity and Inclusion policy, the school is committed to creating a positive learning environment that aligns with the IB’s four principles of good practice: affirming identity and building self-esteem, valuing prior knowledge, scaffolding, and extending learning. By adhering to these principles, Fountainhead School Malgama ensures that each learner’s unique strengths are celebrated, and they gain academic growth. Through this inclusive approach, the school fosters a community that embraces diversity, fosters growth, and celebrates each student’s accomplishments on the educational journey.

Purpose (0101)

• The school community fosters internationally-minded people who embody all attributes of the IB learner profile. (0101-03)

Leadership and governance (0201)

• The school organizes time for learning and teaching that provides a broad, balanced and connected curriculum and serves the changing needs of its community. (0201-03)

Student support (0202)

• The school provides relevant human, natural, built, and virtual resources to implement its IB programme(s). (0202-01)
• The school identifies and provides appropriate learning support. (0202-02)
• The school fosters the social, emotional, and physical well-being of its students and teachers. (0202-03)
• The school provides guidance and support that help students succeed in its IB programme(s) and plan for the next stage of their educational and/or career-related experiences. (0202-04)
• The school builds relationships with the wider community that are a source of wisdom and expertise to strengthen the implementation of its IB programmes (0202-05).

Teacher support (0203)

• The school provides time and other resources for teachers to collaborate effectively in the implementation of IB programme(s). (0203-03)

Culture through policy implementation (0301)

• The school secures access to an IB education to the broadest possible range of students. (0301-01)
• The school implements, communicates, and regularly reviews an inclusion policy that creates cultures that support all students to reach their full potential. (0301-02)
• The school implements, communicates, and regularly reviews a language policy that helps to foster intercultural understanding through communicating in a variety of ways in more than one language (0301-04)

Coherent curriculum (0401)

• Teachers collaborate to design, plan and deliver the school’s IB programme(s). (0401-02)

Students as lifelong learners (0402)

• Students take ownership of their learning by setting challenging goals and pursuing personal inquiries. (0402-06)
• Students pursue opportunities to explore and develop their personal and cultural identities. (0402-07)

Approaches to teaching (0403)

• Teachers remove barriers to learning to enable every student to develop, pursue, and achieve challenging personal learning goals. (0403-05)

Approaches to assessment (0404)

• The school administrates assessments consistently, fairly, inclusively, and transparently. (0404-03)

Implementing inclusive practices and procedures aims to remove barriers to learning. The school keeps the following aspects in mind to ensure that it can remove barriers to learning:

School organization and resources

• Ensure all practices align with the school’s mission for inclusive education.
• Assist the leadership team in shaping and implementing these inclusive practices.
• Regularly review the curriculum to include diverse perspectives and meet the needs of all students, including those with learning disabilities.
• Use school-wide development processes to foster a culture of diversity and equity, supporting programs like Ramp and ALS classes.
• Ensure fair access to resources, particularly for students with diverse learning needs through systematic allocation of funds.
• Provide adequate human and material resources, such as maintaining a class size of 20 students and creating smaller learning groups supported by ALS teachers for Grades 1 to 5.
• Implement efficient lesson transitions to minimize disruptions and maximize learning time.
• Emphasize on providing ongoing training for teachers to better support diverse learners.
• Promote collaborative teaching methods where teachers share expertise and adapt instruction to meet diverse student needs.

Culture and policies

• Ensure staff adherence to school policies on diversity and equity.
• Provide training and support for teachers to address the needs of diverse learners effectively.
• Emphasize clear communication, training, and collaboration among staff and stakeholders.
• Foster a culture where everyone feels accountable for creating an inclusive environment.
• Encourage open dialogue and involvement in decisions related to diversity and equity.
• Encourage teachers to adopt a growth mindset to enhance student success and well-being.

Approaches to teaching and learning

• Integrate diverse perspectives, cultures, and experiences into the curriculum to address human commonalities and diversity.
• Encourage teachers to design lessons that accommodate various learning styles and needs.
• Focus on inclusive teaching methods and awareness of diverse needs.
• Offer ongoing training for teachers, staff, and administrators to enhance strategies for student access and participation.
• Establish systems to share effective strategies, including resource repositories and regular training updates.
• Involve students, parents, and staff in developing inclusive practices to understand diverse learner needs.
• Ensure access arrangements and reasonable adjustments are consistently applied in educational programs to ensure equal opportunities for all learners.

Buildings and physical environment

• Ensure school facilities are accessible to all community members.
• Encourage creativity and flexibility in reorganizing physical spaces and classrooms.

Community relationships

• Promote daily positive interactions to foster a supportive learning environment.
• Encourage open communication and active listening to ensure everyone feels valued and safe.
• Embed the learner profile into the school culture and curriculum to empower student agency and identity.
• Ensure educational practices align with learner profile principles to effectively support diverse learners.
• Promote collaborative practices among teachers, students, parents, and staff.
• Involve the school community in decision-making, problem-solving, and planning to enhance inclusion and belonging.

• The school caters to a wide range of learning styles and challenges, including ADHD, communication, social, emotional, behavioral, and other learning difficulties.
• The school focuses on developing effective language skills for First-generation learners of English (FGL).
• The school provides academic assistance to any student who needs it, not limited to those with identified challenges.
• Depending on individual needs, the school may suggest external remediation or therapy.

Additional Learning Support (ALS) roles

• Intra-Grade ALS: Supports students with literacy, numeracy, and other learning needs within their grade.
• Inter-Grade ALS: Focuses on language development and assisting students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

A student who meets some or all of the following criteria can be considered for the ALS program:

• Learning English as first-generation or non-native speakers.
• Faces challenges understanding classroom instructions or grade-level texts.
• Does not meet expected language proficiency for their previous grade.
• Receives minimal English language learning support at home due to various reasons.
• Diagnosed with a condition hindering the learning process or facing medical challenges.
• Has needs affecting their own or others’ learning consistently.
• Requires extra help in math to reach grade-level standards.
• Needs assistance within the classroom to stay on track academically.

The process of selecting students for the ALS program is designed to ensure inclusivity and fairness. In order to identify the appropriate level of intervention for each student, our school adopts the Response to Intervention model (RTI). RTI is a multi-tiered approach aimed at early identification and support for students with learning and behavioral needs. Key components of the RTI model, such as high-quality classroom instruction, ongoing student assessment, tiered and explicit instruction, and parent involvement are extensively implemented.

In addition to the RTI process, which examines a student’s behavior and academic challenges in meeting grade-level learning outcomes, the selection criteria encompass various factors such as:

• Pre-assessment data
• Listening, Speaking, and Reading Assessment
• Class Observations
• Formal or Informal Testing Report
• Parental Involvement
• Review of the Individualised Educational Plan (if applicable)
• Consulting school counselor (if applicable)

This process is formally conducted twice in the year, initially at the beginning of year and subsequently in the middle of the year. The team involved in the process are students, ALS teachers and team leaders, Homeroom teachers, Counselors, Parents, and ALS Coordinator. Additionally, the school encourages and promotes active collaboration among all the individuals involved in the process throughout the year.

• Provided to eligible students for task completion or assessments.
• Daily tasks and assessment worksheets provided with larger font size as needed.
• ALS teachers ensure explicit instructions and clarify expectations before tasks or assessments, including reading aloud questions if necessary.
• Students struggling with writing or organizing ideas are provided with a graphic organizer to aid learning and task completion.
• During assessments, a word bank sheet is provided to support students who may have difficulty recalling vocabulary.
• Students with mild dysgraphia may supplement written work with verbal expression as needed.
• Students struggling with math calculations are permitted to use a calculator for daily tasks and assessments.

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a document created for students with disabilities or identified as First-generation learners of English (FGL) to ensure they receive appropriate educational services and support. The purpose of an IEP is to:

• Tailors education to each student’s needs.
• Identifies necessary accommodations.
• Sets goals and tracks progress.
• Specifies teaching strategies.
• Records meeting details and relevant family information.

The process involves:

• 1Identifying the need for an IEP.
• 2Meeting with parents and teachers to set goals.
• 3Documenting strategies and details.
• 4Regular observations and updates.
• 5Quarterly summaries before parent meetings.

On a case to case basis the school may recommend additional support outside the school in the form of remediation or therapy.

The school may recommend a student to repeat a grade in the following cases:

• The student continues to make little to no progress in the identified areas of concern
• The student continues to have significant difficulty in acquiring and/or developing literacy and numeracy skills.

Parental agreement is needed for grade repetition.

Teachers are given opportunities to attend workshops to build on their skills and work on their approach to cater to inclusion. INSET (In Service training) by school counselors prepares teachers to screen students and cater to their needs accordingly.

School workshops are conducted to sensitize other teachers about different ways to handle a student’s challenging behavior and at times students whose behaviors interfere with learning in the classroom. Regular meetings are conducted with the homeroom teacher (HRT) and ALS teacher to ensure a smooth transition between in-class teaching and pull-out classes.

The purpose is to explain to students about the needs of the differently abled and bring awareness. Sensitization sessions take place in the classroom set up at regular intervals or as per need. The sessions are typically led by homeroom teachers/ mentor teachers/ ALS teachers / counselors as per need.

Language Policy

Many ALS students fall under the category of First Generation English learners (FGL), having zero support for English at home or being diagnosed with a condition that inhibits learning process. Additional support enables students to access the school language curriculum in a manner that allows them to reach their full potential. The ALS programme initiated by school lays a lot of weightage on the developmental process of learning language through listening, speaking, reading and writing. The language policy clearly talks about the additional support in the PYP FSM Language Policy

Assessment Policy

Student’s diverse learning needs are monitored against personal and academic goals. Performance is measured at a given point of time to analyze data to inform teaching and learning. Evidence of the student’s learning is compiled and documented. Reports allow to share progress and achievements of student’s learning with relevant stakeholders.

Details of assessments are further available in the assessment policy FSM Assessment Policy

The learning diversity policy is reviewed after 4 years based on the latest IB Inclusion and Access policy. The current policy has been reviewed in the year 2024.

The review committee is led by a member of the academic leadership team and includes representation from the school community. The review committee ensures that any revision to the policy is coherent with the beliefs and values of the IBO, the school’s philosophy towards inclusion and additional learning support, changes in student and community demographics or other circumstances which justify the need for revision.

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