On Tuesday 23rd April, Parkside hosted an inspiration day called “Same but Different”. The aim of the day was to broaden our pupils’ understanding of neurodiversity and to look at this diversity positively. We looked at the definition of being neurodiverse and some of the different ways of learning and thinking that pupils may have. Whilst we learned about the science behind dyslexia, ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, Tourette’s syndrome and dyscalculia, we also carefully considered the challenges that these may pose to learning. We looked at how neurodiversity positively impacts our school – we looked at how famous people have used their diversity as a strength and how the different ways of viewing the world can ensure that pupils who are neurodiverse can be successful in a range of different subjects and ways. We celebrated our different minds and ways of thinking within our school.
We ended the day by thinking carefully about the roles we play in supporting each other – how we can help and use empathy to support everyone within our Parkside family positively. Our pupils explained this in a variety of ways and spent some time creating some art work and ‘class pledges’ which will be displayed in classrooms and around the school. Our pupils have said the following about the day:
“We have gained a better understanding about the challenges our peers might face.”
“We learned that we should celebrate individual people’s talents”
“It was a very informative day. We learned a lot!”
