We consider quality and equity as two sides of the same educational coin. What is quality education with(out) equity? In this symposium we articulate the professional aspirations and tensions inherent within this conceptual pairing. Equity, then, is held as a value-base for action, a concept for analysis and pragmatic investigation across our three contributory papers; Quality teaching practices and commitment to equitable systemic change through teacher secondments (Paper One), School-wide research regarding ability-groupings and professional understandings of inclusive teaching (Paper Two) and, The role of knowledge within curriculum design (Paper Three). Our case studies draw from elementary education in Canadian and Scottish contexts, across public and independent sectors. Together we seek to advance the question, What Makes a Quality Learning Environment? With an explicit commitment to study Quality Learning, what does a school do with that knowledge? This is the dilemma of the Institute of Child Study, Laboratory School in Toronto. Richard Messina explores how the school contributes to a wider improvement of the surrounding education system. Can teacher secondments at the Lab-School advance teachers as agents of change? (Beista et al, 2015. Van der Heijden et al, 2015) If separation is the antithesis of inclusive learning environments, why might parents, teachers and neurodiverse learners at an Independent school in Toronto choose to learn apart from other peers in “small classes”? This structural separation through varied class sizes characterizes Montcrest School. Through learner experiences, Patti MacDonald interrogates the inherent tensions, philosophical dogma (Bagliaris, 2011) and justifications that underpin their inclusive practices. Educating “the best” is frequently associated with depth of disciplinary learning and mastery of concepts (Khan, 2011) For others, knowledge remains an elite pursuit. Dr Jen Kirkwood reviews the potential of knowledge-led curriculum outside of elite schooling, analysing the potential of Scotland’s, national guidance, the Curriculum for Excellence framework.