These slides were developed for a face to face sessin in Spring 2025.
Here’s the session overview:
Fair is Not Equal: Supporting Every Student to Succeed
Fair is not always equal—so how do we balance high expectations with the reality that some students need adjustments to thrive?
In this session, we’ll explore why some students struggle and how reasonable adjustments can help without lowering expectations. We’ll unpack common concerns like “If I do it for one, I have to do it for all” and “Am I rewarding poor behaviour?”, moving towards an approach that is fair, effective, and inclusive.
Through practical strategies and real-life examples, we’ll explore how to support students in the moment, ensuring they stay engaged and included. We’ll also consider how to build students’ academic and emotional resilience, helping them develop the skills to manage challenges more independently over time. Along the way, we’ll reflect on how consistent approaches across staff can help create an environment where every student feels supported and able to succeed.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Make small, meaningful adjustments – Learn practical strategies to help students stay engaged without singling them out or lowering expectations.
- Develop students’ academic and emotional resilience – Explore ways to equip students with skills to manage challenges, self-regulate, and thrive independently.
- Understand the ‘why’ behind student struggles – Recognise the difference between “can’t” and “won’t” and how stress, anxiety, and unmet needs impact behaviour and learning.
- Balance expectations with flexibility – Feel confident in making adjustments that meet individual needs while maintaining a structured, consistent approach across staff.
If you were there, I hope these are a helpful aide-memoire. If not, I hope they make enough sense without me to be useful. If you’d like to download them, you can do so via this page on Patreon where you’ll also find summary notes.
Further Resources
Here are some further resources referenced in the slides:
- 10 Small changes that help every student succeed
- FLexible ways for students to demonstrate learning
- I can lists resource
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