Arguably, belonging is the ultimate goal; it is what turns a school from a place you attend into a community of which you feel part. Belonging, as one of my colleagues taught me, is when you feel like you can dance and nobody is watching. Not simply being at the party (diversity) or invited to the dance floor (inclusion), we know that when students feel belonging, they feel safe, they feel happy. They are ready to learn as themselves. Without belonging, NIS cannot deliver its mission. Children cannot learn.
Belonging does not mean you can be anyone you want to be with no expectations. Every healthy community - families, teams, friendships, schools - requires us to moderate our behaviour. We adjust and compromise as we learn how to live alongside others. But true belonging means that we are never asked to leave essential parts of ourselves at the door; we bring those with us into the communities within which we belong.
Neurodiversity-based Inclusion sits right at the heart of this, just as our culture, language or gender might differ, so too do our minds. Our brains do not all process, filter, interpret, or express in the same way. And to belong, this part of our identity needs to be fully embraced within our school.
The importance of recognizing neurodiversity is not an abstract debate; any parent of more than one child knows this instinctively to be true. How many parents reading this have raised two or more children in the same home with the same values and the same parenting, and yet your children have evolved with completely different ways of engaging with the world? Variation is not unusual - it’s the norm.
I remember early in my teaching career coming to the realization that there is no such thing as a collective noun for students. I remember one student in particular who simply could not learn (and became oppositional) if I insisted he sit still for long stretches. I came to know this was not intentional defiance or lack of ability. It was frustration with his brain not getting access to what it needed in order for him to learn. When I started to lean into what he was asking for and allowed him to move at will around the room, he began to engage with the learning and, to my surprise, became one of the thought leaders of the classroom.
My teacher's anxiety around ‘losing control’ if his classmates noticed I was ‘allowing him’ to wander off faded quickly as well; his classmates understood instinctively that this was what he needed. After all, I was only starting to offer him the same environment that they were already offering him whenever they sat to have a recess or lunch break.
In another school, I had a student who could not grasp an abstract idea until I framed it through a metaphor. Once she saw it that way, it clicked, and she became the one helping others. And in another class, I remember a student who needed to be given instructions one at a time and always with a reminder in writing; provided I did that, he was able to complete the task to the same level as the best in the class. Different brains need different things.
None of these are unusual examples. Any teacher reading this will be able to identify similar students in each and every class they teach. The world is neurodiverse. Our classrooms certainly are. Good teaching focused on belonging embraces this reality.
This does not mean there are no common patterns in how humans learn. Clear learning intentions, high-leverage teaching strategies, research-aware lesson structures, coherent models of pedagogy and aligned assessment are all important and applicable. We all share a human brain; there is more that connects us than separates us. That is what makes teaching a class of 20 or more students more than guesswork. But understanding that brains are tuned differently - that attention, processing speed, memory, emotional regulation and expression vary - shifts how teachers enact that practice each day. When we plan for the class but focus on the students, and ask how we can ensure equitable access to learning for all, we create conditions where learners can bring their full selves into the work.
Over the past two weeks, our Neurodiversity Awareness activities were one visible expression of this commitment. In homerooms, students had short but meaningful conversations about how brains work differently. Primary and Secondary students explored the ideas creatively - not as a theory, but as something lived. Staff shared stories of neurodiversity in their own lives and how this shapes them as teachers. On Conference Day, parents shared their stories of raising students who access learning in unique ways. This was a week of sharing with advocacy and pride, but also humility, resilience and honesty. These were authentic conversations helping our community understand that neurodiversity is not abstract or theoretical, nor is it about ‘other people’. It sits at the heart of who we are as a school and is a conversation that will continue as our commitment deepens and understanding strengthens.
Because, above all, embracing neurodiversity is central to living our value of belonging - ensuring that each and every one of our students has access to our mission to inquire, inspire and have impact.