I am in full agreement with your five pillars. I believe they are fundamental not only to inclusion, but to the broader flourishing of a child’s life. Within each of them, I think we find principles that are self-evident, grounded in truth and human need.
The real challenge, as you know, is not whether these are right, but how we embed them meaningfully within a system not always built to support them.
I really appreciated your response. I recognise in your list not just a plan, but a serious attempt to put a clear and principled lens into practice, one grounded in health, mastery, and responsibility. It is clear, grounded, and cuts through the noise.
I took some time to sit with it, not just to agree, which I do, but to understand how each element reflects something essential. The commitment to Direct Instruction in reading and maths is a deliberate return to structure and clarity. Placing sleep, diet, and exercise at the centre, rather than the periphery, shows a deeper understanding of what it means for a child to be ready to learn. And beginning EHCPs with shared commitments between school, student, and family reframes inclusion as something relational, not just procedural. That feels honest and necessary.
Still, I find myself wondering whether even the best strategies can fully reflect the clarity of the lens if the system they are planted in was not built to support what that lens reveals. It is not that we should delay action; we must act; but we should do so with the awareness that implementation in a flawed system can only ever approximate the vision.
That does not mean waiting for perfection. But it does mean moving with both urgency and imagination, reshaping the system as we go, so it becomes more capable of serving the truths your plan already recognises.
Which of these presents the biggest opportunity for improvement in fostering inclusion?
Such an interesting question. I think we really need to invest more time in what I’m now going to call the Big Three (sleep, exercise, and diet). Of course the other two are also super important. BUT these three are absolutely fundamental to life! Also three areas I’m super invested in personally.
The big three are a simple life equation for fulfilment. And if we’re serious about inclusion, we need to treat them as core business, not optional extras. I’ll be honest, I’m not doing enough on this yet. Time to formulate a plan…
I think from what I have read and listened to sleep is generally accepted as the #1 of the big 3 and possibly the one we have least opportunity to influence? Every friend of mine at school who struggled also went to bed when they chose. Some did exercise and some had a good diet but all stopped up watching TV and videos until the early hours
You’re right. So many students who struggle with sleep are late night gamers or endlessly scrolling TikTok their brains are overstimulated, melatonin is all over the place, and by 2am they’re raiding the fridge.
And the fix isn’t quick. That’s why I really rate movements like Smartphone Free Childhood, they go deeper than routine and start to shift mindset.
Have you read Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep? ironically I’m listening to it before I sleep (probably not what he would recommend). In one part he talks about how sleep deprived teens take more risks. Their reward centres go into overdrive while the part that weighs up consequences goes for a nap. Explains a lot!
Dear Benjamin Parnell,
I am in full agreement with your five pillars. I believe they are fundamental not only to inclusion, but to the broader flourishing of a child’s life. Within each of them, I think we find principles that are self-evident, grounded in truth and human need.
The real challenge, as you know, is not whether these are right, but how we embed them meaningfully within a system not always built to support them.
Thank you for articulating them so clearly.
Best wishes,
Ben F. Sparks
Thanks Ben. Here's a starter for 10:
1 - Teach DI corrective reading
2 - Teach DI maths and explicit times tables
3 - Build sleep into Personal Development Curriculum
4 - Only serve fresh non-processed produce at school
5 - Put fitness on the timetable every day
And 6 - Start many EHCPs with commitments by student and family to sleep, diet, exercise
Dear Benjamin Parnell,
I really appreciated your response. I recognise in your list not just a plan, but a serious attempt to put a clear and principled lens into practice, one grounded in health, mastery, and responsibility. It is clear, grounded, and cuts through the noise.
I took some time to sit with it, not just to agree, which I do, but to understand how each element reflects something essential. The commitment to Direct Instruction in reading and maths is a deliberate return to structure and clarity. Placing sleep, diet, and exercise at the centre, rather than the periphery, shows a deeper understanding of what it means for a child to be ready to learn. And beginning EHCPs with shared commitments between school, student, and family reframes inclusion as something relational, not just procedural. That feels honest and necessary.
Still, I find myself wondering whether even the best strategies can fully reflect the clarity of the lens if the system they are planted in was not built to support what that lens reveals. It is not that we should delay action; we must act; but we should do so with the awareness that implementation in a flawed system can only ever approximate the vision.
That does not mean waiting for perfection. But it does mean moving with both urgency and imagination, reshaping the system as we go, so it becomes more capable of serving the truths your plan already recognises.
Regards,
Ben F. Sparks
Which of these presents the biggest opportunity for improvement in fostering inclusion?
Such an interesting question. I think we really need to invest more time in what I’m now going to call the Big Three (sleep, exercise, and diet). Of course the other two are also super important. BUT these three are absolutely fundamental to life! Also three areas I’m super invested in personally.
The big three are a simple life equation for fulfilment. And if we’re serious about inclusion, we need to treat them as core business, not optional extras. I’ll be honest, I’m not doing enough on this yet. Time to formulate a plan…
I think from what I have read and listened to sleep is generally accepted as the #1 of the big 3 and possibly the one we have least opportunity to influence? Every friend of mine at school who struggled also went to bed when they chose. Some did exercise and some had a good diet but all stopped up watching TV and videos until the early hours
You’re right. So many students who struggle with sleep are late night gamers or endlessly scrolling TikTok their brains are overstimulated, melatonin is all over the place, and by 2am they’re raiding the fridge.
And the fix isn’t quick. That’s why I really rate movements like Smartphone Free Childhood, they go deeper than routine and start to shift mindset.
Have you read Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep? ironically I’m listening to it before I sleep (probably not what he would recommend). In one part he talks about how sleep deprived teens take more risks. Their reward centres go into overdrive while the part that weighs up consequences goes for a nap. Explains a lot!