The importance of the collective voice

Students with diverse learning needs require collaborative partnerships that will support their learning needs and promote their success across the school years. These partnerships require input from a range of stakeholders to ensure a breadth and depth of knowledge of the learners’ needs can be obtained.

Valuing the views of all partners in the collaboration is an important part of this success. It can be achieved by ensuring all stakeholders can share their expertise and views and provide input to planning and goal setting for diverse learners through collaborative partnership opportunities. As part of valuing the views of all partners, all partners must feel confident in the collaboration and that every partner is being recognised as experts in their field, their child, or their perspective.

How is this achieved?

Facilitating this trust and ensuring the partnerships are valued and collaborative can be achieved by:

1. Clearly sharing and defining roles for all partners
2. Providing opportunities for partners to respectfully express their views from their experiences, profession, or viewpoint
3. Developing actions from what is said
4. Ensuring actions are followed through from collaborative planning discussions
5. Providing regular opportunities to evaluate progress and partnerships with all partners

There are actions you can take before, during, and after meetings to ensure everyone in the partnership feels valued:

Before

When a meeting is to be held send out a draft agenda at least 1 week in advance which sets out the following:

• The purpose for the meeting
• What it is hoped will be achieved in the meeting
• Meeting length
• People involved
• Roles and responsibilities 

Provide the opportunity to provide feedback on the agenda and any other business that partners wish to be added with a suitable time frame provided.

During

At the beginning of collaborative meetings make sure everyone has the opportunity to introduce themselves. 

Remind partners of:

• The shared values underpin the meeting, that is, each partner has the right to respectfully express their views from his or her experiences, profession, or viewpoint
• The purpose of the meeting
• The duration of the meeting
• Identify the intended outcome

Give everyone the opportunity to voice their opinions or provide input on the topic/s being discussed. 

Based on the discussion, develop actions to be taken identifying:

• Who will be involved in actioning this?
• In what time frame?
• Who is going to monitor the progress of actions?
• Who will evaluate the success of these actions and how?

Set a time frame for the next meeting or follow up.

After

After the meeting, share with all partners (in a format suited to the individuals involved) a summary of key information, actions, evaluations, and follow up meeting dates and times.

Provide an opportunity for feedback on anything that has been missed or that requires further information.

Check in regularly with all partners to provide regular opportunities to evaluate progress and partnerships and reflect on how collaboration could be improved.