DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE SCHOOL PRACTICE. By Rita Cheminais. David Fulton pound;14. EDUCATIONAL INCLUSION IN ACTION. By Vic Shuttleworth. Wessex Associates pound;79. Tel: 01364 652040

These two publications address the thorny question of how schools can become more inclusive. As pressures to exclude children because of difficult behaviour or low attainment increase, both are to be welcomed for the positive advice they offer.

Rita Cheminais’s book is intensely practical. It starts with advice on developing and writing a policy and defining a role for an inclusion co-ordinator. A demonstration action plan for inclusion precedes advice for the governing body and tips on partnerships with parents and carers. Part 2 moves on to the question of teaching and learning, offering examples of study and thinking skills, ideas on citizenship, targets and assessment. The last two sections focus on staff development, Ofsted evaluations of inclusion and resources.

The book is jargon-free and its approach to teaching through examples works well. It is clearly laid out and imaginatively presented - a useful resource for staffrooms.

Educational Inclusion in Action places less emphasis on examples. The pack comprises an A4 folder and a one-hour video, and is designed to be used either by individuals or as part of staff training. The selection of material is not as comprehensive as in Cheminais’s manual although it includes interesting elements not found elsewhere, such as the implications of the Macpherson inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

The video offers little in the way of useful demonstration or discussion material, with sequences of activity that are too long to contain the richness of content that one expects from this medium. It will provide little of use to most teachers, though it may have a part to play with student teachers.

Gary Thomas