Manual

Volume

1

The Facilitators Handbook – a quick guide to inclusion facilitation

Inclusive Solutions

A Practical Guide to leading person centred planning processes

Inclusive Solutions

The Facilitators Handbook

( Inclusive Solutions

48 Whittingham Rd Nottingham NG3 6BJ

Phone 0115 9556045 • Fax 0115 9567305

Chapter

1

Why facilitate?

Why have we written this book? What is facilitation? What are person centred planning tools anyway?

‘Facilitation is the art of leading people through processes toward agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership and creativity from all involved’ (David Sibbett, The Grove Consultants, 2002)

Inclusion of children with challenging needs in ordinary school settings has raised the need for radical rethinking of how lead agencies work with families and individuals in schools and community settings and who gets involved when meetings take place.

Often a wider group of community, friends and family members will get involved in planning meetings than was ever traditionally the case and this has called on new ways of working, planning and communicating.

This book focuses on how leaders and support agencies can facilitate meetings, problem solving and visioning processes. In short how facilitation of diverse groups can best be carried out.

Such facilitation can be exciting as well as challenging and new opportunities to discover new skills and gifts of communication are daily provided!

People need to be worked with and communicated with in ways that offer:

· Respect

· Good listening

· Energy and enthusiasm

· Warmth and genuineness

· Honesty and integrity

· Clear direct language

These are not new concepts, but are revisited and tested to the full in emerging person centred planning processes.

What is facilitation?

Almost all the facilitation described in this Handbook involves concurrent processes of both verbal and graphic facilitation. Two individuals are needed to do this, one providing verbal input to the group being worked with and the other keeping a graphic record of what is being planned.

VERBAL FACILITATION

By this we mean the process whereby typically someone leads, chairs and guides a group through a process to achieve some form of consensus, solve a problem or to form a view of the future.

A skilled facilitator is able to:

· Maintain high levels of interest and attention within a group

· Steer the group through an agreed process or agenda

· Deal successfully with conflict within the group

· Support consensus building

· Listen at a deeper level

Qualities of a facilitator

Jack Pearpoint and Marsha Forest (Jack and Marsha) provide an excellent list of essential qualities of a facilitator.

1. Pacing

2. Belief

3. Supportive

4. Non-judgemental

5. Listener

6. Teamwork

7. Humour

8. Flexible

9. Sharing

10. Self confidence

We would fully support this list and believe that people can learn these qualities in many different ways.

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Person friendly facilitation

We could have written about chairing, group leadership or team management but prefer the generic term facilitation. Certainly these roles involve facilitating the work of groups of people.

Who is this book for?

· Headteachers

· Deputy heads

· SENCOs

· Teachers

· Educational psychologists

· Support Service leaders

· Parent activists

· Inclusion coordinators

· Inclusion facilitators

· Voluntary organisation leaders and activists

A whole range of people who are engaged in inclusive educational processes will need to learn facilitation skills. Person centred tools are a key area where facilitation is essential.

What are person centred planning tools?

‘Person Centered Planning is a way of organising around one person to define and create a better future. This way of working has evolved over the last twenty years, mainly in North America and the UK’ (Pete Richie, 2002)

Tools which are person centred, accessible and focused on planning futures after respectful information gathering from those most involved in a situation or with a person with particular gifts and needs. So for instance:

‘Personal futures planning is an orderly process for describing a desirable future with a severely disabled person and deciding on a schedule of activities and supports that will organise available resources to move towards that future’ (John O’Brien, 1998)

We cannot provide full detail of these but would point the reader in the direction of :

1. MAPS. Jack Pearpoint and Marsha Forest(1991) work on the MAP’s 7 step Mandela is well described in a number of Inclusion Press videos and publications. This process uses wall sized paper and colourful graphics.

‘MAPS is a planning process for people and organizations that begins with a story - the history. Maps has a series of empty container questions that ask a person/organization to tell us some of the milestones on their journey, so we can get to know them, dream with them, and begin to build a plan to move in the direction of their dreams.

MAPS means Maps. We have abandoned acronyms. Maps is about listening to a person's dreams, acknowledging their nightmares, then building a rich portrait of their gifts and talents so we are able to focus on simple daily actions that move them in constructive directions’. (Pearpoint, 2004)

MAPS is a wonderful way to 'get to know' someone, in schools, in communities, in life. It is powerful and requires skilled facilitation by two facilitators - in order to make it safe for the MAP finder. A simple guideline: do no harm. The books and videos listed here introduce the idea, and demonstrate how it can be utilized with safely and integrity to move people toward a full life. Although MAPS originated in the 'disability' sector, its applications cover the full spectrum of life situations.

The steps include:

1. the Story so far

2. The Dream

3.The Nightmare

4. Who are we

5. Gifts and Talents

6. Needs?

7.Action Plan

2. PATH or Planning alternative tomorrows with hope was devised by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest and John O’Brien (1990) This approach is similar but different to MAPs. This is a very powerful visioning tool and is again well described in publications and videos available from Inclusion Press in the UK and elsewhere.

‘PATH is a creative planning tool which starts in the future and works backwards to an outcome of first (beginning) steps that are possible and positive. It is excellent for team building. It has been used to mediate conflicts. It is loved by people who actually want to change the ways we currently work. Groups teaching PATH as a tool will hopefully have a copy for each student. PATH is not for the faint of heart. It is very results oriented.’ (Pearpoint, 2004)

The steps in this approach are:

1. The Dream

2. Sensing the Goal

3. Now

4. Enrolling others

5. Building strength

6. Action over next 3 months

7. First steps

3 Solution Circles

This wonderful tool also devised by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest and John O’Brien (1990) is a 30 minute approach to getting unstuck from problems. There are two roles as in the above processes. A graphic and a process

(Graphic by Jack Pearpoint 2004)

facilitator who is also usually the timekeeper.

The steps here are as follows:

1. Problem presentation

2. Brainstorm/Thought Shower

3. Dialogue

4. First Steps

5. Round of Words

4. Circles of friends

In this approach which we have written about extensively (Newton and Wilson, 1999, 2003) to involving the peer group a facilitator works with a class of pupils then meets with a smaller group of 6-8 pupils with one focus pupil.

‘A weekly meeting with a key member of staff is set up with the 6/8 volunteers. The meeting is initiated by the group leader who has carried out the whole group session described above together with the teacher who is to run the group, observing and helping record responses. The meeting runs for 30-40 minutes and primarily uses problem solving approaches but can also explore issues, celebrate positives and examine negatives. A main purpose of the meeting is to generate supportive ideas and practical tactics. The group leader if a visitor to the school or another member of staff meets with the whole class and with the circle by the following half term or term end to follow up progress.’(Newton and Wilson, 2004)

The steps for the circle usually include:

1. why did you volunteer

2. ground rules

3. what is going well?

4. where do things not go so well?

5. what can the circle do to get the focus pupil back on track with their behaviour or to support them making and keeping friends?

6. Reflections

1. Circles of adults

This approach also written about and practised by us over a number of years (Newton and Wilson 2002) to in depth problem solving around complex emotional needs or systemic problems in schools involves working with a team of adults often teachers. The more diverse the team membership the more effective the work of such circles. The roles of graphic and verbal facilitator are both present in this process. A number of steps are typically followed during a ‘Circle of Adults session’ as follows:

1. Welcome

2. ground rules

3. problem presentation

4. exploration of relationships

5. synthesis

6. hypotheses generated

7. strategies brainstormed/thought showered

8. first steps agreed

9. reflections around the circle

What these approaches share and how they challenge those involved in meeting special needs in the UK and elsewhere are the following keys:

· Focus on gifts and positives as opposed to preoccupation with negatives and problems

· Working in a team, usually of two to facilitate

· Possible and positive outcomes

· Diverse membership at meetings encouraged for richer creativity and problem solving

· Use of direct language and avoidance of jargon

· Social and educational models of change precluding medical explanations and perspective

The use of person centred planning tools presents many UK special educators with something of a radical paradigm shift. Consider the following:

Traditional vs PersonCentred

· Pseudo medical perspective: ‘what is wrong with this child?’

· Remediation of diagnosed problem is purpose

· Test to locate deficits

· Inform and counsel parents about problems

· Focus on gifts and strengths to inform teaching and learning

· Listen to dreams and visions to lead planning

· Involve those who really know the person in meetings

· Jointly lead change process together with parents

Inclusive facilitators will warm to this new way of thinking and working readily, others will take a long time to unlearn the habits of a professional lifetime. Key questions to ask yourself when considering your own practice and how person centred it is must include the following:

1. How would I feel to be dealt with like this?

2. If we were discussing my child would I feel this process to be respectful of them and me?

3. Does this practice really let me express myself and be truly listened to?

4. Is what I say not only heard but responded to meaningfully?

5. Do I feel accepted for who I am or judged for my weaknesses?

6. Am I now feeling more in touch with my gifts and those of my child?

7. Have I felt the supportive presence throughout this process of someone or a range of people I really care about and trust or have I been on my own working with relative strangers?

Many of our practices would fall short within our UK public services for children labelled as having special educational needs within Health, Education and Social Services despite many legislative attempts to make the child and their parents more likely to be involved in planning processes in practice attempts have been at times crude and dangerous at others superficial and meaningless. But looking closer there have also been brilliant pockets of practice where parents and children have felt supported, involved and listened to. They have also been in meetings that have been well led and safe.

One very radical person centred process must be that of Open Space Technology.

Open Space Technology

Open Space Technology (OST) was created in the mid-1980s by organizational consultant Harrison Owen. An Open Space Event can be scheduled to last for a half a day, a whole day or even 2 to 3 days. All that is needed to bring people together is a theme or title for the event. Within an LEA, a theme/title might be ‘Increasing Inclusion’, ‘Raising Achievement for All’ or whatever large issue is currently confronting the organisation. OST events have no keynote speakers, no pre-announced schedules of workshops, no panel discussions. Instead, sitting in a large circle, participants learn in the first hour how to create their own agenda.

To initiate a workshop within OST, participants propose topics relating to the theme for the event by writing them on large sheets of paper which they post on a wall marked off with pre-established times and places for small-group meetings. When participants have posted their topics, a “village marketplace” begins: participants mill around the wall, choosing their personal schedules for the remainder of the event. Group meetings start immediately. There are no leaders; those who proposed topics act as recorders whose informal minutes form a basis for the report and recommendations, which sum up the work of the group.

OST is more highly organized than the best planning committee could possibly manage. It is also chaotic, productive, and fun. No one is in control; rather, a handful of simple OST principles guide group activity.

The most basic principle is that everyone who comes to an OST event must be interested in the topic that draws the group together and willing to take responsibility for contributing to the group activity of creating something out of that interest.

Four key principles are

whoever chooses a small group is right for that group

whatever happens is the only thing that could happen

whenever it starts is the right time

whenever it’s over, it’s over

Another OST principle is the Law of Two Feet: “If you find yourself in a situation where you aren’t learning or contributing, go somewhere else.” This principle includes the possibility of assuming responsibility either for moving the group to another level of awareness and participation or for leaving one group and moving to another.

Discussion of the most powerful issues can go on for days of intense conversation. Meals and coffee breaks become “come-when-you-can” affairs, and even these interludes may turn into extended, enthusiastic discussion. The process creates a unique spirit of community--considering that each of the participants is doing exactly what he or she chooses to do.

Through an intentional combination of order and chaos, OST resembles the creative act of a mind moving from confusion and frustration to assimilation and discovery, but OST achieves this transition not in one mind, but simultaneously in several. Intense, focused discussion leads to mutual recognition of areas of agreement and disagreement, and thus lays the ground for knowledgeable participation in the action program that concludes with the publication of a full report on the group’s findings.

During an OST event

All issues important to the participants will be raised.

Those participants most qualified and capable of getting something done on each topic will manage to address all of them.

All of the most important ideas, discussions, data, recommendations, conclusions, questions for further analysis, and plans for immediate action will be documented in a comprehensive report: finished, printed, and in the participants’ hands when they leave.

· This report can be made available to an entire organization or community within days, thus immediately informing non-participating stakeholders of the groups’ findings and inviting them to join in the work of implementation.

To read more about Open Space Technology :

Owen, Harrison 1997 Open Space Technology – A User’s Guide 2nd Edition

Berrett Koehler Publishers, San Francisco

‘How about some more orthodoxy challenges? Here are a few for starters:

* Participation must be voluntary

This one comes pretty close to a "rule" for me. And the reason is all about choice and responsibility.  When people are forced into any situation both choice and responsibility go out the window, and with their absence personal and group performance is pretty abysmal.

* People start off sitting in a circle

It seems to work. Would something else work? Well we have certainly tried all sorts of configurations over the years, and when it comes to intense, engaged discussion, the circle seems to win hands down. The geometry of the circle makes sure that everybody is eyeball to eyeball and on an equal footing (sitting) Seems to me to be a good starting point.

* The facilitator must walk the circle, and in a solemn manner

Again -- it seems to work. I don't know about the "solemn" part -- I guess it depends on the situation, but I can't imagine a "fun and games"  approach with my Israeli and Palestinian friends.

* Always display the four principles and one law on the walls - oh, and besure to include a few pictures of butterflies and bees, or the magic won'twork

I just find it a nice touch -- and usually improves drab hotel walls and makes it "our space" -- Don't like it? Don't do it. No magic involved.

* Post the session reports on the wall

Again -- this is just a matter of experience. Folks seem to like to see and touch what is happening around them. I have tried just keeping it all online, but that seems to loose something. No hot bodies crowding around the latest news. Not essential -- but nice.’ Harrison Owen, 2002

Chapter

2

How to facilitate

Ground rules and structures

Ground rules and structures How many times have you been in poorly organised meetings where individuals waffle at great length, others go off on tangents, conflict over meeting purpose or content bursts out, personalities dominate and you wish you were somewhere else!

We feel that meetings need to respect people. People’s time, their commitment to the meeting, their humanity, needs and gifts.

The risks can appear great at the start of many meetings. Will the chair be ignored, will people walk out, will there be no agreement and no progress. Will you as a leader experience loss of control, rejection, and embarrassment? Will the meeting become an angry monster with you barely able to catch its tail?

Clear rules and structures can make meetings of all kinds feel safer, more constructive, focused, a better use of time and more likely to lead to productive consensus. They are the coat hangers for meeting content and a good facilitator makes sure they are always in excellent condition.

Before embarking on any kind of facilitation it is essential to be clear yourself and ideally even clearer with the group as to the nature of the ground rules that you will be following throughout the process. Elsewhere we have described a preferred set of rules when dealing with ‘circles of adults’ (Newton, 1999) as follows:

· Speak from your own experience. ‘Own’ your statements!

· Don’t give ‘good advice’/don’t preach.

· Give feedback to other group members that is owned, specific and balanced. Speak for yourself and of your own experiences in detailed and precise terms, providing both positives and negatives in balance. For instance: ‘Fore me, my feelings about Paul are that he can be both likeable and totally infuriating.’

· Maintain confidentiality regarding all personal materials unless agreed otherwise. Don’t discuss outside group unless clearly in interests of those concerned

This is a robust set of rules, which should stand the facilitator in good stead in many group situations. Even better if you have the time to negotiate a similar set of rules with the group you are working with to gain a high level of consensus at the start regarding how the meeting is going to be.

Sense of Safety

Ground rules and structures will help create that essential sense of safety that is crucial to setting the right tone although sometimes even ground rules can be intrusive to this sense of safety. Self-revelations and openness from the group leaders can help enormously with this sense of safety and trust in the room. Providing choices for risky processes, clarifications, acknowledge real challenges can all help as can humour if used honestly and respectfully.

Lose the Magnifying Glass

In our western culture we have a strong tendency to be very self critical as well as critical of each other. We magnify each other’s faults and our own. It starts with physical difference then moves quickly to how people act, behave, what they say and how they say it! We look at ourselves in the mirror, real or imagined and the critical observations begin…look at that nose, how fat are you….etc etc…Then our negative internal drivers get hold. ‘You are not good enough, clever enough, quick enough…’and the old favourite ‘One day, under my great title, my professional front, they are going to find me out…its just little old me I don’ know much!’

We encourage people to put their magnifying glass under their chairs and try and keep it there the length of the time we are together. Alternatively a judge’s wig can be used as a prop and dramatically removed! This is a simple way of reminding each other that it will help if we are not critical of the session leaders, each other or ourselves. In such a safer climate people will try out ideas, play, take risks and learning will be optimised.

A number of person centred tools have their own process steps, which provide an excellent structure for group process.

For instance the MAPs process already mentioned above provides 8 key steps:

1. What is a map?

2. The story so far

3. The dream

4. The nightmare

5. Who is the person?

6. What are our gifts and strengths?

7. What are our needs?

8. The action plan

Anyone straying from these headings can easily be reminded and refocused, as all present know that these steps are what constitute the meeting.

Listening

Whatever we can do to maximise listening when working with groups of all sizes around an individual or working as a diverse group trying to achieve consensus, listening will always be key. Listening exercises and activities designed to deepen listening can help set the tone but also strengthen the connections between those present. Starting with the simplest activities of listening uninterrupted for one minute, to activities designed to encourage deeper listening skills of reflecting back, summarising and use of open ended questions.

During person centered processes it is also helpful to emphasisie the importance of ‘respectful’ listening. Many groups will contain individuals who like to speak to the person next to them during processes as ideas or thoughts are stirred up. We encourage respectful listening with eyes, ears and heart. Listening deeper than the surface words, underneath the words where the true meaning lies. If members of the group are struggling we often rehearse these three elements and remind people about how it feels if when you are speaking someone starts to talk to their immediate neighbour. This usually works.

Native American Talking sticks, precious stones can be held by speakers to elevate the gravity of the speaker’s presence and clarify who actually is speaking. We like to use magic wands that light up!!

Its not what you say it’s the way that you say it…that’s what gets results

We will start by exploring the non-verbal aspects of excellent facilitation. How you are and what you do scream volumes to those involved in a meeting with you. Your respectful actions will express much more than thousands of well meaning words.

A few examples will underline this point.

· One head teacher had found that more than any other form of support just physically helping teachers in their classrooms working alongside them in practical ways such as mounting pictures on the wall

· The psychologist came into the room and stated working directly with the tutor group enlisting their support to help one of their troubled classmates feel more included

· He gave me his home phone number and said if ever I needed support, just to call

· There was a cup of tea and a drink for everyone waiting in the room for us, including the children

· She really listened, she didn’t actually tell me anything

· I was impressed by who had been invited to the meeting.

· We were all personally welcomed to the meeting, the name stickers were simple but really helped

· The wall graphic made sure everyone could keep track of the meeting.

Not rocket science but powerful messages that relied less on what was said than what was actually physically done and the rich meaning that was conveyed.

The key nonverbal facilitator’s tools include the following:

1. Eye contact

2. Listening deeper

3. Use of hands and body

4. Proximity…how close you are

5. Your actions!

The use of eyes, whole body, posture and intonation with emphasis from hand movements and proximity to others when either you or they are expressing themselves, all play a crucial part in the nonverbal communication of the facilitator.

Pace

Don’t rush, but don’t send them to sleep! Pace is everything in great process facilitation. Some believe that mutually satisfactory pace can evolve naturally with a group and that it is important to stay anchored in your own rhythm and style.

‘If your pace is one you can keep and has integrity with your true nature, the group will trust you more deeply, and work with you to find a mutual pace all can sustain’(Sibbet, 2002)

Fast pace brings messages of energy and enthusiasm whereas a slower pace can provide more opportunity for reflectiveness.

Where two group leaders are involved an interesting congruence can be achieved even if the styles involved are different. Groups adapt and some may be more drawn to one style than to the other. There may be dangers in becoming completely erratic with pace. Pace is the beat, the meter by which meetings tick through.

Spending time setting the tone, clarifying the goals and building trust are essential to allow quick action and fast execution of activities later. This process of building alignment with a group is strengthened by steady process at the start of the day, early participation, a warm and effective welcome, opportunities for personal introductions and clarity about what is going to take place.

In this over heated constantly revved up world we all need space and time to reflect. Process facilitators that bravely wait, hold the space, especially when someone is struggling with emotions or for words will reap the benefits. The group will need times when there is a deliberate opportunity to reflect individually or with someone else in the group. Music, or silence can be aides to reflection as can slide shows. Closing circles of reflection can be a very powerful and public way of doing this. All fast pace and enthusiasm and lots of detail and people soon get lost or disengaged.

Team work

Never dive alone! The international scuba divers’ code of practice works well for facilitators too. In fact in the murky waters off the UK, the North Sea, the Atlantic and elsewhere the waters are treacherous. Divers can die if they do not dive with someone. In the challenging waters of inclusive education parents and professional trying out new tools and working for the inclusion of vulnerable and challenging pupils need to work very closely together.

Off the waters of the UK divers often need to tie themselves together. We would encourage facilitators to ‘tie’ themselves together too for safety and to enhance complementary skills. Fortunately many of the emerging person centred planning tools such as PATH and MAP for instance build in the presence of a graphic facilitator as an essential team worker with the verbal facilitator.

Close working between two workers sharing such a process with a group can only be achieved through:

· Mutual trust

· Practice in working together

· Preparing sessions in advance

· Establishing clear roles within the process

Well what do you say?

The facilitator needs some very clear scripts and needs to know the processes they are working with intimately. The person centred tools we have mentioned so far have clear processes through which the facilitator must go and with these some very clear script. It is still down to the skilful improvisation of the individual as to how safe everyone feels, how deeply the discussion probes, how much fun everyone has and how closely time scales are respected.

Welcome

It is essential to get the welcome right.

Welcome is the first key to successful inclusion of anyone so is a must for the start of a successfully facilitated inclusive meeting.

Food, drink, sweets, music and colour can provide tangible symbols of welcome.

Smiles, warm words, handshakes, hugs as people come into the room depending on your relationship with the participants and the cultural expectations of those you are meeting with all play an important part.

At other times in larger settings especially, the welcome needs more stage management and can be bigger and more dramatic. Open body position and upturned hands can accompany effusive warm welcomes. This is not a time to hold back or to only pick out certain people for a welcome.

Particular efforts should be made when welcoming parents, carers, pupils and other family members to a situation, which is unfamiliar to them or in which, they are feeling anxious, apprehensive, aggressive or defensive. This is often the case for people invited to meet on school premises (professionals included).

Communicating without jargon

We find use of the Jargon Buster or crap detector to be invaluable in all our work. This instrument is rattled if anyone in the room uses jargon or over complex sentences which are hard to understand. Our work has improved considerably since direct feedback and rattles have sounded in our ears! We commend it to any review meeting where parents and pupils may be present. Who should hold the buster? We think you know the answer!

The buster works really well in all learning situations too adult training and classrooms too! Try it out. The risks may seem high but the outcomes for greater understanding and participation are there to be won.

Jargon Buster

Keeping it safe

Tight chairing of meetings, means naming ground rules or process boundaries at the start of a session and not be afraid to name them when they are infringed. Just as it is easier to stop a car rolling down a hill if you step out early but you are guaranteed to be steamrollered if you step out at the bottom of the hill, then just the same with groups of people. Catching problems early can make them much easier to prevent escalation.

Use of humour can really help here, or simply restating the rules in a firm and clear way as soon as the line has been crossed, or you read that it is about to be.

John to Arran: What you need to do to change your life is to go out more, get a girl friend and to stop smoking

Facilitator: Aha John…lets not forget what we agreed at the start…no preaching or advising each other! Do you think you might have strayed off that a little (laugh)?

John: Woops, oh yeah, sorry Arran( laughs too)

Timing is everything!

Timing is essential when being humorous and crucially when managing any meeting. Respecting start and finish times has often been written about in training and management literature but is seldom carried out in the real world. When times of meetings are not kept to group members can soon become stressed and resentful depending on what they are about to do.

Colin once ran a workshop session for a group of parents. When he lost track of time, the parents did not and when 3pm was reached the simply all stood up and left the room, while Colin tried desperately to close the session. In this example the group shared the issue and were certainly not going to stress themselves and more important l their children, so they left!

Be clear at the start of any meeting what you believe the finish time to be and check if you need to negotiate over this. Jack and Marsha taught us another rule. If someone cannot stay to the end of the meeting who will they speak to catch up with what happened in the part they missed? This needs asking at the start of the meeting. How often have people announced their intention to leave early minutes or even moments before the end of a meeting? This way gives you much more sense of what is going on and the individual can feel less guilty about their early departure and more likely to get a sense of completion when filled in by a colleague as to what happened at the end of the session. It is rather like the film you were watching lat e at night, fell asleep, missed the end but were able to hear the ending from a close friend or family member who had stayed up. You already have the story so far and the images in your mind so hearing the ending retold as narrative works very well. So seldom is the same approach used with regard to meetings and planning sessions.

Reflecting back and paraphrasing

Once the process has begun an essential skill for the facilitator is that of reflecting back out loud what has been said. If the speaker has said a lot you will inevitably need to paraphrase what you have heard. However it is essential to respectfully stay with the person’s own words and not substitute your own. By ‘psychologising’ other peoples words with your own you will only create distance and break the connection that is being made by the speaker.

The purposes of reflecting back and paraphrasing are many and include:

1. They indicate real listening. You have heard what I am saying because you have repeated it. Many therapists have argued that to be really listened to like this can actually bring about personal growth and change with no other intervention being present.

2. They provide time and a repeat of the contribution for your graphic facilitator to hear and translate into key words or graphics.

3. They help everyone present to hear and reflect upon what has just been said.

Having reflected back we have also found it helpful to check out with the speaker, ‘have I got it right?’ ‘Was that it?’ especially when paraphrasing a long input.

Be positive and do not interpret

It is essential for the facilitator to avoid getting absorbed by negative, blaming and judgemental thinking within the group. This will not help bring about change. What is needed is the maintenance of an optimistic, hopeful meeting and the facilitator models this by the way they speak and act. The processes of good person centred planning processes will also help here. Carry out a PATH or MAPs process and be surprised that the issue everyone worried would not be addressed if all were positive is remarkably planned for in a much more effective way than if the whole meeting had been spent discussing it. Focus on gifts, strengths, abilities, skills and assets. Do not get bogged down by deficits or negative description or even problem obsessing.

When facilitating always be careful to take what is said as it stands without putting on the psychotherapist’s hat and diving into deeper realms of meaning. Lets those meaning explain themselves and develop naturally. It is a distortion of these tools to spend time probing your own hypotheses, Reflect on these after the event.

Remember Jack and Marsha’s Checklist

1. Is this the right tool to be using?

2. Theme. Do we have a clear focus on an issue or problem?

3. Invitation. Have all the essential players been invited?

4. Time. Is there adequate time to complete the process?

5. Location. Can we be in a comfortable, inviting room with a big enough wall for a graphic and interruptions minimised?

6. The wall. Is there space for a wall graphic? (Approximately 10’ by 4’)

7. Hospitality. Are drinks and snacks available to make the environment welcoming?

8. Drawing equipment. Paper, markers and masking tape?

9. The facilitation team. Is the team balanced? Some one to create the graphic and someone to lead the process (verbal) facilitation?

Stages of Process leadership

Group processes involve a constant fluctuation between convergence and divergence, creativity and groundedness. Freedom opens up possibilities and goals where constraints and practicalities provide bottom lines. Both need to be present in effective process facilitation. Dave Sibbet (2002) usefully outlines seven key group challenges in the Grove Process Leadership Model.

1. Opening up awareness. This is about orienting the group to the purpose of the session/process.

2. Connecting People. This is the trust building stage and involves rapport building, empathising, mastering push and pull and improvising. ‘Connecting also involves learning names, listening to expectations, sensingthe mood and energy of the participants at different levels, leading ice-breakers and introduction sessions, and learning to be authentic and genuine.’(David Sibbet, 2002)

3. Drawing out information. This is where active listening about the story, the likely goals and other information can be drawn out with the help of graphic records. Structure and clear boundaries about what is and what is not being covered is very important.

4. Transferring Ownership. Leading the group to commitment where they make choices and decisions about working together. The crux is getting out of the way so the group itself takes ownership for its own actions. This is where the process leader ultimately has to physically get out of the leadership role. The strategy here is critical and paradoxical.

5. Supporting Strategy. Focus on empowerment of the group to act responsibly with whatever support can be offered.

6. Monitoring performance. Staying involved by providing feedback and coaching to team leaders and members.

7. Letting Go. Let go of preconceptions around leadership and accept whatver results occur.Moving back to the attentional level with noattachment.

The Grove Consultants (2002) helpfully also describe the 4 flows each of which need manging: attention, energy, information and operations.

Going for Action!

Ultimately training, process facilitation and even great meetings can amount to so much wind, noise, and words not to mention splashed colour and used felt pens if nothing actually happens as a result. Increasingly we become obsessed with change and with action to mobilise change. Often groups become quite tired and resistant when the meeting moves to action agreements however energised they have been with the content. We need to find ways of bringing fresh energy to real action.

Action Gloves

Action Gloves inspired by the work of Edward De Bono, an English’ Psychologist who invented the ‘Thinking Hats’ which we have recently set to music, and ‘Action Shoes’ we were inspired to invent the Action Gloves! We invite 6-8 people to wear gloves and then describe the action they will take as a result of the training session. There are many possibilities as the reader will already be guessing. Here are just a few possibilities:

The dead hand of inaction. These are the actions that will not happen and will be fuelled by complacency or fear. We will carry on doing what we already have been doing…

The builders gloves. Some serious building up of hearts and minds will need to take place before change can happen here.

The gloves of fine action. Actions that require kid gloves, fine delicate actions, we can still feel our fingers as we delicately challenge or negotiate.

Whacky gloves for those crazy actions that no one could predict but that will be necessary to bring about change.

Angry Gloves. There are times when we need to feel angry and then let the energy ensure that we act in powerful ways to bring about change despite severe obstacles or resistance. Tackling complacent attitudes towards high numbers of children being placed in special schools or units would be one example when some heart felt anger would be well placed..Yes the Incredible Hulk would be pleased to wear them!

Gripper Gloves. These gloves are well placed for tackling slippery issues! The world of education is full of such issues. Who is going to take responsibility and some action for increases in child prostitution in an area of the city?

Chapter

3

GRAPHIC FACILITATION

Facilitation takes on the quality of ‘public listening’ when a live graphic makes public what each person has said.

Many of the tools described in this handbook rely on the planning process being graphically facilitated and recorded (see above for a typical graphic). Many find this fact a huge barrier to the possibility of their learning person centred planning. When viewing the finished graphic result of a PATH or a MAP session, many will feel that this is something they will never be able to do and will wonder if they might be able to skip this part of the facilitation process. The answer is ‘No’ – if you want to use PATH, MAPS, Circles of Adults and other related tools - the graphic is essential and you need to learn how to do it. The key word is ‘learn’ – becoming an effective graphic facilitator has little or nothing to do with being able to draw or having ‘done Art’ at school – graphic facilitation is simply a skill that needs to learned, if you have ever watched someone creating an effective graphic it is helpful to remind yourself that there was a time when that person was not able to do graphic facilitation, that they practised and got better at doing it. You can do the same. There are several useful books available that will help you build your graphic facilitation skills and add to the stock of key images that you can produce quickly and efficiently.

GRAPHICS COACH

‘Graphic facilitation uses the power of pictures and visual thinking to support communications in the meeting room.’ (David Sibbett, The Grove Consultants, 2002)

General Coaching Prompts

· Paper and Pens: a typical graphic size is around 3’x10’ and it is worth giving yourself some outlines of the Path diagram marked on the paper before you begin the session proper. Remember that steps 1 and 2 – The Dream and Sensing the Goal - occupy half the available time for the Path (21/2 hours is a minimum for the full process including setting the tone and closure) and therefore half the paper needs to be set out for these steps. Marker pens need to be chisel tipped to allow you to vary line thickness easily, you need all the colours and you need highlighter pens–see below- and a box of pastel crayons gives you options beyond simply highlighting key words

· STARTING: It often makes most sense for the graphic facilitator to give the group an overview of the steps that will be gone through in whatever tool you are using

· It is important to remind the group not to wait for you to write everything down – graphic facilitation is not a verbatim recording of what was said – your aim is to capture the essence of what took place in images and key words and phrases during each step. Let the group know that you will check back at the end of each stage asking if anything has been missed/inadequately represented

· Resist the urge to précis/paraphrase or interpret when you are recording, the key words/images should be the pathfinder’s own – however you can help the pathfinder clarify an important word or image by asking for the detail - e.g. what would it look like? what colours are you seeing?

· SUMMARISING: at the completion of each step of the PATH the graphic recorder should summarise what has been recorded, both to check for missing/underdeveloped areas and to provide some synthesis of what has been said

COLOUR

Effective use of colour to amplify what a graphic is saying and to add impact to certain words or sections is one key to successful facilitation. Colours have associations, some are personal, many are shared within particular cultures and some (but by no means all – e.g. Yellow is associated with ‘Caution’ in North America) go across cultures.

As a graphic facilitator you need to bring these shared associations to a conscious level and be able to think on your feet how and what colour might do best for any particular part of a PATH or MAP. But a note of caution here – the rule book on this is vague and intuitive at best, often the most helpful idea is to ask the subject of the PATH what colour they are seeing this part of the graphic – especially if you are in the ‘Dream’ or the ‘NOW’ sections

SOME ASSOCIATIONS TO THE MAIN COLOURS YOU ARE LIKELY TO USE ARE LISTED BELOW - there are many others………

Blue – - cool temperature/ calming, blue sky, big picture, trust, authority and reliability. Blue is one of the key colours of any graphic because of its association with trust and reliability - Try and use more than one shade of Blue

Purple - denotes ‘importance’, something highly valued, royalty, wine, the good life, religion/mysticism

Red – alarm, danger, heat/hot line, stop sign, emergency, marked errors (red pen)/’in the red’ fire. A good colour for underlining, adding ticks to items where there is agreement, recording areas of tension and ‘feelings’ words at key points in the PATH. Caution: Use relatively sparingly, - too much Red is hard to look at and can act as a barrier to people’s engagement with the graphic

Green – ‘’GO!’’ recycling, nature, money, growth, new life, creativity

Yellow – sunny, ideas and invention, optimism. CAUTION! Do not use Yellow as the main colour for lettering or images – it cannot be easily seen at a distance – Use instead as a fill colour for the inside of objects or block lettering, or as a pastel ‘wash’ for parts of the graphic

Brown – earth, groundedness, foundations and underpinning ideas. Powerful in combination with green in suggesting the natural world

Orange - fruit, sun, liveliness! Sunsets, fireworks and excitement.

Try to use a fairly dark orange for use in a graphic, like yellow orange can be hard to see at a distance

Black – best used as a ‘neutral’ colour, stating facts, recording data.

Problematic if used to denote negativity/’bad’ scenarios e.g. the ‘nightmare’ in a MAP – may provoke a challenge you don’t need.

Consider use of ‘grey’ instead – using thick pencil lead as an option. Another possibility is to ask focus person of the MAP for their least favourite colour and use it for this part of the MAP

PICTURES AND SYMBOLS

It is not essential to use images when doing the PATH graphic - a strong visual picture can be created using variations in colour (including pastel shading), lettering style and size. However use of imagery will heighten the impact of the graphic and the fact is that a single image can capture the essence of an idea/vision in an immediate way and this is helpful in ‘buying time’ for the graphic facilitator as well as focusing the group on a shared idea. Images are also key when working with pathfinders who are young or do not read easily - this is one of the reasons why PATH is described as an inclusive tool. Reassure yourself that a drawing need only be 30% accurate to be recognizable, you do not have to suddenly become an artist to do graphic facilitation. It is worth developing a stock of key images that you have practiced and can draw reasonably quickly – Milly Sonneman’s book ‘’Beyond Words – a guide to drawing out ideas’’ Ten Speed Press 1997 is a excellent source of tips on developing your set of basic images.

LETTERING

In lettering, as with so many things in life, size matters – first and foremost your lettering on the graphic needs to be readable all by the group. Absolute size will depend on how big your group is – before the path starts, take a minute to stand at the back of the room and look at your poster and give yourself an idea of the general letter size that will be needed. Caution! – take care not to use lettering that is too big – you don’t have the space and you risk having participants feeling pushed out by the graphic.

Lettering is fundamental to a successful graphic – think of lettering as pictures that just happen to be words and experiment with the full range of lettering options as well as doing things with your lettering of key words so that they express meaning or emotion. Again Milly Sonneman’s book is a good source of guidance on lettering options.

FINALLY… It’s all about practice, no one is born able to do graphic facilitation, it’s not about being able to draw well, it’s about being able to listen and capture what happens in the Path in a way that facilitates the group’s efforts and provides an adequate record of their planning. Like learning any new skill – your improvement is inevitable!

OK – So how do I learn to do this stuff?

As should be clear by now the facilitation tools described in this Handbook typically involve co-facilitation of group planning and problem solving. They are not tools for the solo player. It is not enough to read about them and then go and do them with a group. A period of practice with others who also want to learn their use is essential and should be built around the following activities:

· Establish a group of like minded learners, at least 6-8 members who want to learn to use the tool in question and are able to commit to ‘staying the course’ by meeting together. Meetings will typically last for up to 3 hours and there will need to be as many meetings as there are members in the group

· A regular series of meetings, probably monthly, in which members of the group take it in turns to be the subject of whatever tool is being practiced. This aspect of learning about the use of person centred planning tools is non-negotiable and is fundamental to the values that underpin this work. We should not be expecting those we serve to undergo processes that we ourselves have no experience of and equally importantly there is no more immediate learning experience than that of being in the process as yourself. Ever after you will be a more careful and empathic facilitator because you will be able to touch back to that time when you were in the ‘hot seat’ and how that felt. Group members also need to take turns in the different facilitation roles and receive feedback -their own and others- on their performance.

· Where possible the group should enlist coaching from facilitators who are already experience in the use of person centred planning tools. If this is not possible then another point of reference is the various video and written teaching materials produced by INCLUSION PRESS and referenced at the end of this Handbook

Chapter

4

FAQs

1. What do you do if the meeting starts to break down into conflict? Keep calm! Breathe, go to the balcony, look at the view think what you will do and say, return and act! Or more simply in the words of Jack and Marsha: ‘ Breathe, think, act!’ Prevention of conflict as ever is the best cure and by following the processes described above, particularly the positive orientation difficulties should be minimised. However if things do erupt calmly remind the group of the ground rules or process boundaries. Assert the need to listen to each other respectfully without having to fully agree with each other. People are entitled to a point of view. Inclusion is about constructive coexistence, not everyone loving each other all the time. Look for opportunities to build a consensus in which those in the room can live with the way forward or solution, rather than having to be completely in agreement with every part of it.

2. Everyone goes silent? What do you do? You can often simply live with the silence and let people really think. Too often we want to rush in and fill silences unnecessarily. At other times recapping over what has been said and using the wall graphic (if present) to focus people. Sometimes if a group has never really got going warm up activities even in the middle of a session can be helpful involving moving seats, standing up and so on.. If the silence is hostile and people have sat next to negative allies, it can help to rotate every other person in a kind of dance routine so that new pairings may throw up new chemistry. Buzzing in pairs rather than speaking in front of the wwhole group also works well in this scenario.

3. The focus person starts crying. Tears are OK. However do not ignore them or what they may be communicating. Marsha taught us to ask the key question: ‘What are these tears telling us?’ Either the focus person or his or her supporters should be able to help answer this. At a minimum naming the tears and offering tissues and comfort directly or via other group members or through physical contact if this feels appropriate.

Chapter

5

BEYOND ‘SOLUTIONS’

FINAL REFLECTIONS ON WHAT IT MEANS TO ‘FACILITATE’

‘‘facilitate’’ – ‘to make easy or easier’ - Chambers English Dictionary.

We imagine that those who read this handbook will do so because they want to become better in some way at helping others and that the tools they currently use are not sufficiently effective in some of the situations they encounter.

Our view is that what is more likely needed in some situations is a way of thinking about what you are doing that is not necessarily based on change. What will often be useful to the facilitator is to have other ways of describing what the aim of the facilitation process is. It is at this point that we need to do all we can to clear as best we can any elements of medical model thinking from our heads. We are not aiming for ‘cures’ or ‘effective treatments’ when we undertake facilitation. Nor are we necessarily in an area where it is realistic to say that by the end of the session we will have found ‘solutions’ – we may do, but good facilitation does not stand or fall by its ability to get to quick fixes in one sharp bite. To expect this is often to demean the experience of those you are working with.

Some Other Kinds of Outcomes

Restoring Hope

Enabling people to find ‘’a reason to go on’’ (Hoffman 2001)

Overcoming fear

Clarifying what was previously confused

Building resilience

Chapter

6

References

And links

This section contains the full references to sources discussed within the main body of the book and also points you in the direction of a wider range of written and other resources relating to the vision and practice of inclusion.. Some of the materials referenced are only published in North America but can be obtained in the UK through “Inclusion Distribution”, the UK outlet for Inclusion Press. We have also included contact addresses for the major voluntary organisations in the UK whose aim is to promote inclusive education.

The Internet is a growing source of information and news about inclusive practice and we have included some websites that we think are worth a visit.

Adams, J.L. (1986) The Care and Feeding of Ideas: A Guide to

Encouraging Creativity. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

Asher, S. and Cole, J. (eds.) (1990) “Peer Rejection in Childhood” Cambridge University Press.

Bliss, T. and Tetley, J. (1993) “Circle Time” Lucky Duck Publishing. Bristol.

Carlson, M. C. (1994) “Stories of Circles, Circles of Stories” Published by the Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities. 722, Williamson St. P.O. Box 7851 Madison, WI 53707-7851

Dessent, T. (1987) “Making The Ordinary School Special” Falmer Press, Lewes Sussex.

DfEE (1997) ‘Excellence for all children. Meeting Special Educational Needs’ The Stationery Offuce, London

Falvey, M.A., Forest, M., Pearpoint, J. and Rosenberg, R. (1994) “All My Life’s a Circle- Using the tools: Circles, Maps and Path”. Inclusion Press. Toronto.

Gold, D. (1994) “We don’t call it a “circle”: the ethos of a support group”, Disability and Society ((4), 435-452.

Gray, C. A. and Garand, J.D. (1993) “Social Stories: Improving Responses of students with autism with accurate social information” Focus on Autistic Behaviour, 8(1), 1-10.

Hanko, G. (1995) “Special Needs in Ordinary Classrooms-From Staff Development to Staff Support” (Third Edition). David Fulton Publishers, London.

Hawkins, P. & Shohet, R. (1989) “Supervision in the Helping Professions” Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Heine, H. (1985) ‘Friends’ Macmillan, New York.

Highfield Junior School, Plymouth (1997) “Changing our School: Promoting Positive Behaviour “ Published by Highfields Junior School and the Institute of Education, University of London. Available from Highfield School, Torridge Way, Efford, Plymouth, Devon PL3 6JQ.

Hughes, Ted (1994) “Winter Pollen- occasional prose” Faber and Faber. London

Jordan, L. and Goodey, C. (1996) “Human rights and School Change- the Newham Story” The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, Bristol.

Lovett, H. (1996) “Learning to Listen: positive approaches and people with difficult behaviour” Jessica Kingsley, London.

Luckner, J. and McDonald, J. (1992) ‘ Teaming to Learn’ Perspectives on Deafness, 10 (1)

Luckner, J., Schauermann, D. and Allen, R. (1994) “Learning to be a Friend” Perspectives on Deafness, vol.12 no.5. pp. 2-7.

Ludum, C. D. (1993) “Tending the Candle- A Booklet for Circle Facilitators” Distributed by Communitas Inc. and available via Circles Network.

Mallory, B. and New, R. (1994) “Social Constructivist Theory and Principles of Inclusion: Challenges for Early Childhood Special Education” Journal of Special Education vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 322-337.

Mason, M. and Reiser, R. (1992) “Disability Equality in the Classroom-A Human Rights Issue” Disability Equality in Education, London

McLeod, J. (1997) “Narrative and Psychotherapy” Sage Publications, London

Mosely, J. (1990) “ The Circle Book” Published by Positive Press. Trowbridge, Wilts.

Mosely, J. (1996) “QualityCircle Time in the Primary Classroom” Published by LDA.

Mount, B. (1990) “Imperfect Change: embracing the tensions of Person Centred work” Communitas Publications, Manchester, Connecticut. Available from Circles Network.

Murray, P. and Penman, J. (1996) “ Let Our Children Be. A collection of stories” Parents with Attitude, c/o 44, Cowlishaw Rd. Sheffield S11 8XF.

Newton, C. and Tarrant, T.(1992) “Managing Change in Schools” Routledge. London.

Newton, C. (1995) ‘Circles of Adults’, Educational Psychology in Practice, 11(2), pp.8-14.

Newton, C., Taylor, G., and Wilson, D, (1996) ‘Circles of Friends; An inclusive approach to meeting emotional and behavioural needs’ , Educational Psychology in Practice, vol 11, No 4.

Newton, C. and Wilson, D.(1999) ‘Circles of Friends’, Folens, London

O’Brien J. and O’Brien C. L. (1996) “Members of Each Other- Building Community in Company With People With Developmental Disabilities” Inclusion Press. Toronto.

O’Brien J. and O’Brien C. L. (2002) “Implementing Person Centred Planning’ Inclusion Press. Toronto.

Pearpoint, J. Forest, M. and Snow, J.(1993) “The Inclusion Papers- Strategies to Make Inclusion Work”. Published by Inclusion Press. Toronto.

Perske, R. and Perske, M. (1988) “Circles of Friends” Nashville, Abingdon Press.

Priest, S. and Higgins, A. (1991) Resolving conflicts between pupils. DSDP Dissemination Conference paper, Chesterfield, Derbyshire: Educational Psychology Service

Quinton, D. (1987) “The Consequences of Care: Adult outcomes From Institutional Rearing” Maladjustment and Therapeutic Education Vol. 5, No. 2 pp.18-29.

Rieser, R. (1995) “Invisible Children- Report of the Joint Conference on Children Images and Disability” Save the Children and The Alliance for Inclusive Education. London. Available from The Alliance for Inclusive Education.

Sherwood, Susan K. (1990) “A Circle of Friends in a !st Grade Classroom” Educational Leadership, 48(3), p.41.

Shaw, L. (1990) “Each Belongs- Integrated Education in Canada” The Centre for Studies in Inclusive Education (CSIE), Bristol

Sibbet, D. (1981) “I See What You Mean! Empowering through Visual Language” . Graphics Guides Inc. San Francisco.

Snow, J. (1994) “What’s Really Worth Doing and How to do It” Inclusion Press, Toronto.

Thomas, G. (1997) “Inclusive Schools for an Inclusive Society” British Journal of Special Education, Volume 24, No. 3. pp.103-107.

Villa, R.A. and Thousand, J.S. (1995) “Creating An Inclusive School” Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Baltimore.

Wertheimer, A. (1995) “Circles of Support- Building Inclusive Communities” Published by Circles Network. Bristol.

Weinstein. M. and Goodman, J. (1980) “Playfair; Everybody’s guide to non-competitive play” Impact Publishers, San Luis, California

Whitaker, P., Barratt, P., Joy, H., Potter, M. and Thomas, G. (1998) “Children with Autism and Peer Group Support: Using Circles of Friends” to be Published in the British Journal of Special Education.

White, M. (1993) “Developing self esteem” in Bovair, K. and McLaughlin, C. (eds) Counselling in Schools - A Reader David Fulton Publishers.

White, M. and Epston, D. (1990) “Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends” W.W. Norton. New York.

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Books and videos published or produced by “Inclusion Press” are available in the UK from “Inclusion Distribution,” 29, Heron Drive, Poynton Stockport SK12 1QR. Tel: 01625 859146

The Alliance for Inclusive Education can be contacted at;

Unit 2, 70, South Lambeth Road, LONDON SW8 1RL Tel; 0171 735 5277

The Alliance campaigns for an end to compulsory segregation in education and for the facilities, curriculum and premises of mainstream educational establishments to be made accessible to all.

‘Circles Network’ is the UK national voluntary organisation committed to the development and maintenance of inclusive communities where people with and without disabilities participate, contribute and belong. Circles Network provides training and consultancy on building circles of support as well as a range of other person centred tools and strategies. Contact; Mandy Neville, Director, Circles

Network, Pamwell House, 160, Pennywell Road, Upper Easton, Bristol BS5 0TX.

VIDEO MATERIAL

PATH video and workbook produced by Inclusion press.

“With a Little Help from my Friends” Produced by Inclusion Press. This is the video that got our work started. A one hour video containing three twenty minute segments looking at fully inclusive school systems in Canada, Circle of friends work in a High school classroom (facilitated by Marsha Forest) and at the MAPS process in action. Available from Inclusion Distribution.

“Altogether Better”- by Richard Rieser and Micheline Mason. This is a pack containing a video and back-up booklet. It is a powerful resource for disability equality training and in promoting the case against segregation in educational settings and beyond.

Produced by Charity Projects it is available from; Comic Relief Education, Unit 2, Drywall Estate, Castle Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 3RL.

“Kids Belong Together” Produced by the People First Association of Alberta this 24 minute video illustrates the Circle of friends and the MAPS processes in action in Canadian schools. Available from Inclusion Distribution.

“Circles of Support” -the companion video to the book “Circles of Support -Building Inclusive Communities” which is referenced above.

Available from Circles Network, Pamwell House. 160, Pennywell Road, Easton, Bristol. Tel; 0117 939 3917.

“NEW MAPS Training Video Shafik’s Map ( plus... “Dreaming” with Judith Snow) Created by Jack Pearpoint and Marsha Forest. A step by step guide to the MAPS process. Available from Inclusion Distribution.

WEBSITES ON THE INTERNET

http://www.inclusive-solutions.com

This is our very own web site with many resources and links to support inclusive education. The sectioon headed ‘problem solving’ is particularly useful for facilitators to visit.

http://inclusion.com This is the website maintained by Jack Pearpoint Forest in Toronto. It provides many great links to other websites dealing with Inclusion as well as listing the resources produced by Inclusion Press.

http://www.thegrove.com/~grove. the website of Grove Consultants International the leading authority on graphic facilitation and other process tools.

http://funrsc.fairfield.edu/~jfleitas/contkids.html entitled ‘Band-aides and Blackboards’, this site deals with issues relating to children with chronic medical conditions at school. A child centred site, it deals with peer group issues particularly well.

http://www.downsyndrome.com/inclstud.htm practical approaches to inclusion of pupils with disabilities in mainstream classrooms.

http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists-p-t/senco-forum/welcome.html This is the website of the UK’s SENCO forum which is a meeting place of Special Needs Co-ordinators, academics, educational psychologists and other support agencies with access to Email. There are active debates on all kinds of current special needs issues on this forum.

http://www.oise.on.ca/~bwillard/facinfo.htm This site provides more ideas and links relevant to facilitation skills and process tools.

http://soeweb.syr.edu/thechp/hppress.htm This is the website of The Center on Human Policy based at Syracuse University, New York. The Center is a policy, research and advocacy organisation for the rights of people with disabilities.

http://www.kidstogether.org/ A multi-award winning site that providing information and resources that improve the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities by promoting communities where all belong

http://www.iod.unh.edu/projects/isd.htm The website of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. Includes abstracts of research on the practice of inclusion in all phases of education

http://ep.open.ac.uk/wgma/CSIE/csiehome.html Website of the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, an independent educational charity and the major UK source of information and advice on inclusive education.

Hyerle, D (2000) A Field guide to Using Visual Tools Alexandria VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Order via – www.ascd.org

Marguiles, N (1993) Maps, Mindscapes and more Tucson AZ: Zephyr Press

Sonneman, M (1997) Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing out Ideas Berkeley CA: Ten Speed Press

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