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A global partnership between Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ Leicester (Âéw¶¹´«Ã½) and Cuban educators has helped students learn valuable principles of inclusivity. 

For many years, researchers in Âéw¶¹´«Ã½’s Education team have maintained strong connections with a network of professionals in Cuba, learning from the high degree of participation which the Government places on involving community groups in the development of   

In January, Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ academics visited the Central American country, in conjunction with the Cuban Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities (ACPDI) and the University of Holguín, to discuss how approaches and techniques developed by the Attenborough Arts Centre’s SENsory Atelier programme, could be adapted to meet local economic and social conditions.  

And in March, the visit was repaid, as senior education experts from Cuba visited Leicester to meet with students in a series of workshops. 

Dr Rosi Smith, senior lecturer in Education at Âéw¶¹´«Ã½, said: “UK organisations can learn a huge amount from the efficiency of Cuba’s joined up ways of working.  

“Just since our visit in January, Cuban partners have developed and implemented fortnightly sensory arts sessions in special schools and with adult members of ACPDI, created sensory suitcases from sustainable materials to disseminate practice in isolated rural areas, and run training and awareness raising sessions with students of psychology and medicine, provincial governments, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment.” 

After hearing from some of the other partner institution in the Cuba-UK Disability Network, including Attenborough Arts, Sheffield Hallam University, and Liverpool John Moores University, attendees were invited to replicate some of the practical activities that were delivered in Cuba. 

Dr Smith said: “As well as learning about Cuban practice, the session aimed to develop our students’ understanding of process-led embodied and ways of working that start from participants’ sensory interests and preferences, rather than from predetermined aims or products.”  

During the session, attendees were invited to choose one of a number of highly decorated handmade bags on a table. In each was a sensory toolkit, inspired by the sensory suitcases used at Attenborough Arts to support multi-sensory engagement with their exhibitions, especially for disabled and neurodivergent visitors. Alongside this was a variety of tools made from recycled materials, each providing a different sensory experience. Attendees were invited to explore the tools, to describe what they find enjoyable – whether it is the clicking noise of a button, or the texture of a piece of felt. 

The tools for the session were designed by Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ Education Studies student Hannah Crouch. Of her experience on the project and the session, Hannah said: “It has been a privilege to co-create the sensory resources for this project.  

“Sharing ideas to enhance education around Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is key to making spaces more inclusive for everyone. This session was a thoroughly engaging opportunity for knowledge exchange, offering such insightful and positive discussions about neurodiversity.” 

The SEND Module was to have a particular focus on collaboration in the development of SEND education and policy, and this was reflected in the feedback from the event, which highlighted the positive impact of learning about different contexts and approaches can innovate our own thinking.