School of Education

Building on the legacy of the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change, the Network for Social and Educational Equity (NSEE) is delighted to announce the launch of the Glasgow Inclusion Challenge at Glasgow Inclusion Conference with local authority staff and all of Glasgow’s headteachers.

The Glasgow Inclusion Challenge is a transformational five-year strategy designed to address one of the greatest challenges facing Scottish schools - developing more inclusive and equitable education. This research-practice partnership between Glasgow City Council and NSEE at the University of Glasgow provides a clearly defined change strategy focusing on the ‘Three Ps’ of:

• Presence – ensuring that all students attend regularly and promptly

• Participation – creating a climate within schools where all students feel welcome and valued

• Progress – developing policies and practices that maximise the achievement and ambitions of all students

In developing the strategy in relation to these intended outcomes, the following assumptions are starting points:

• Glasgow schools already do well for many students - the aim is to improve the learning of all children and young people; and
• Within the Glasgow schools and their communities there is considerable expertise that can be mobilised to address this agenda - the aim therefore is to move this knowledge around so that it is made available to all students, in every school.

Building on these assumptions, the strategy will emphasise the following approaches:

Contextual analysis. This involves determining barriers that are preventing the progress of some learners and the resources that can be mobilised in order to overcome these difficulties. It therefore requires an analysis of the best available evidence regarding the progress of children and young people across the city.

Collaborative action research. Emphasis will be placed on stimulating innovation and creativity. This will require a strong emphasis on evidence-based professional development. It also involves a particular emphasis on listening to the voices of students.

Shared  leadership. The strategy will led by schools for schools. This means that leadership will be required at all levels of the system, not least at the classroom level.

Networking and collaboration. There are already many partnerships within Glasgow that can be built upon. The strategy will focus on making sure that these are used effectively and that all schools are actively involved in ways that impact on classroom practices.

The involvement of the wider community. Building on existing  experiences in Glasgow, this will involve an emphasis on fostering improvements in health and wellbeing.

These approaches involve attempts to make better use of the existing expertise of teachers and other stakeholders. This builds on research which suggests that when teachers are involved in decision-making this is likely to promote a stronger culture for learning within schools.

Support for the Glasgow Inclusion Challenge will be provided by a team of researchers from the University of Glasgow. Professor Chris Chapman, who leads the research team, explains:

"Our contribution involves using evidence from international research to support Glasgow’s push to create a world-class education system. This provides us with a splendid opportunity to participate in and learn from a major system-wide innovation."

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First published: 2 October 2026