Inclusive Education At WSQ

GEMS Wellington School – Qatar, prides itself on its inclusive approach to education. We offer additional learning opportunities to meet the needs of our learners in an international setting, including support for English Language Learners and Special Educational Needs support.

Vision for Inclusive Education

The GEMS vision for Inclusive Education is that we achieve excellence together with all students receiving the support they need to meaningfully belong to their school and wider community, feel valued for their contributions, engage purposefully in learning and experience academic, cultural, social and emotional success in a common learning environment. Inclusion means truly accepting everybody, celebrating our differences and learning to value each other. It means understanding that we are not all the same and that our learning challenges are as unique as our fingerprints. By choosing WSQ, you become part of our aspirational and globally minded community of happy, high performing learners who achieve personal and academic excellence.

High Performance Learning

Our commitment to High Performance Learning ensures we meet the individual needs of all learners. At WSQ, we expect every child, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to fully participate in all aspects of the curriculum and integrate into the WSQ community. Our dedicated staff are proactive in identifying and managing barriers which may limit achievement, participation and progress. Through carefully made adjustments, tailored teaching strategies and effective use of additional adults to add targeted support, we are committed to educating all students in a common learning environment with similar age peers

Whole School Approach

The Inclusion Team at GEMS Wellington School – Qatar, is known as ‘Thrive.’ This represents our commitment to a holistic education, aiming to foster the growth and success of all our students, ensuring they can flourish academically, socially and emotionally. Students will have access to the Thrive Team which consists of the Head of Inclusion, two SENCOs, a specialist Thrive Teacher and two dedicated Thrive Educational Support Assistants. In addition to this, we have a School Counsellor who operates across all age groups. To further support all students, the school employs classroom Teaching Assistants. From Foundation Stage One to Year Two, there is one teaching assistant per class. In Years Three to Six, there is one Teaching Assistant between two classes. These members of staff report directly to the classroom teacher and support students as necessary.  

Students assessed as requiring the highest level of support are admitted as Wave Three students, within the school's capacity and following all appropriate information gathering and assessments. These students will be allocated additional adult support; the adult will work on an agreed basis with the student, as per the additional support contract. Parents play a full and collaborative role in this process. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be put in place within six weeks of admission, and this is reviewed on a termly basis with all stakeholders playing a full and active part. IEP targets are personalised to be appropriate and challenging, and students are assessed through formative and summative assessments with appropriate level adaptations or tailored materials. Where appropriate, IEP targets aim to develop students' learning skills to support their progress, improving access and independence. In addition, Wave Three students will receive extra support from the Thrive team as necessary. The additional support fees are paid for by parents, in addition to the school fees.

Wave Two students will usually receive extra support from the Thrive team in the form of in class support or small group withdrawal work. Wave One students are supported by the classroom teacher with high quality adaptive teaching methods. There are no extra charges for Wave One or Wave Two students. 

The Thrive team are embedded across our EYFS, Primary and Secondary phases. We support teaching and learning in a variety of ways which includes working collaboratively on curriculum design, leading professional development sessions for staff, leading small group withdrawal sessions and supporting teachers in the classroom. In addition, we work hard to build positive links with outside agencies for students who require external, specialist support. This has allowed us to facilitate parental engagement talks on a wide range of topics.

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