Every inspection of inclusion begins with the same request: show us the register. The inclusion register is the single list of students the school has identified as experiencing special educational needs or additional learning needs, what has been put in place for each, and when it was last reviewed. Get it right and half of the inspection conversation is already answered. Get it wrong and every other document is suspect.
Why regulators care
KHDA's Dubai framework asks schools to identify students on entry, to assess educational need, and to use that information to plan support. ADEK's policy in Abu Dhabi reaches students with additional learning needs whether or not they have a diagnosis, and it expects a specialised inclusion team. Both positions assume the school knows who its students of determination are and what it is doing for them. The register is where that knowledge lives. It is also how a school proves that support is a system rather than the memory of one dedicated adult.
What the register must contain
Keep it to the fields you will maintain. A register that is complete but stale is worse than a short one that is right.
- Student, year group and class.
- The nature of the need, described in plain terms and, where one exists, the category used by the regulator.
- Evidence on file: the date and author of any assessment or report, and what the school observed itself.
- The level of support: whether the student is helped through quality teaching in every lesson, through targeted support in small groups, or through specialist provision, using whatever tiers your school adopts.
- The plan: whether there is an individual plan, its start date and the date of the next review.
- The lead adult: the person accountable for that student's provision.
- Family contact: the date the family was last consulted and what was agreed.
- The last review outcome: continue, change or exit, in a word.
What the register should not become
It should not be the place where every observation is written; that belongs in the student's tracking record. It should not list students because a parent asked or a teacher wondered; those students go on a watch list until the school has assessed. And it should not be the only copy of anything. If the register disappears, the plans and the evidence should still exist.
Keeping it accurate
A register decays because updating it is separate from the work. Three fixes help:
- Tie updates to events. Every review, every new assessment, every change of support triggers one line in the register the same day.
- Give it one owner and many contributors. The head of inclusion owns the list; class teachers own the truth of their pupils' lines and check them each term.
- Reconcile it against the timetable. If the register says a student receives small-group support three times a week, the timetable should show it. Inspectors do exactly this cross-check.
Exiting the register
A student leaves the register when the evidence shows the need is met without additional support and the family agrees. Record the date and the reason. A register that only grows tells an inspector that reviews are not doing their job.
How Nooravi helps
In Nooravi the register is a view of live records, not a separate document: every student with a plan appears with their level of support, targets, last review and lead adult, and the tracking behind each line is one click away. The demonstration school shows the full loop with fictional pupils.
Sources
- KHDA — Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework (2017)
- ADEK — Education for People of Determination
This page is practical guidance for school record-keeping. Check your regulator's current requirements for any mandatory fields.