Following a collaborative event, held in conjunction with the Disability Policy Centre last week, Lyndsey Jenkins considers how the voices and rights of disabled people can be put at the heart of the education system in England and the rest of the UK.
On 22 May 2023, the Mile End Institute hosted a collaborative event with the Disability Policy Centre to discuss how to create a truly inclusive education system that works for all disabled children and young people.
In March 2023, the UK Government published its SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which builds on last year's Green Paper and aims to fix the current, unsatisfactory system. The aim of this discussion was to go further: understanding what best practice is for all disabled children and young people, and reimagining what the system might look like through more fundamental and radical change. It followed the recent publication of the Disability Policy Centre's The State of the Nation in SEND Education: England report.
Michelle Daley, Director of the Alliance for Inclusive Education, framed her remarks around the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, insisting on a human rights approach which does not ‘other’ disabled people. She argued that inclusive education should be a right not a struggle and, setting out a seven point plan for inclusion, highlighted the value of diversity, the importance of celebrating different forms of achievement, and the value of socialisation and friendships gained within mainstream education.
Bal Deol, a researcher at Staffordshire University, set out a vision in which everyone has the support they need to thrive in education. This does not apply only to disabled people but also other marginalised groups. She believes that classrooms should reflect society, and suggested a number of practical steps which education settings might can adopt, ensuring that student voices are central to the system. Her key takeaway for the audience was a reminder that ‘one size does not fit all’.
Dr Nicole Brown, Associate Professor at the Institute of Education at University College London, set out some of the challenges facing those working in higher education. Not only are there fewer disabled people in academia, but the drop out rates are higher, and they may not disclose their disability for fear of discrimination. She reminded us that disability might also include chronic illnesses and neurodivergence. She suggested that there are some quick fixes which should be adopted as we work towards longer term change, including shifts in academic etiquette and classroom practice.
Bethany Bale, Policy and Campaigns Officer at Disability Rights UK, examined some of the existing barriers which result from a fundamentally ableist education system (the term ‘ineducatable’ was only abolished in 1970) and argued that without transformative change, we are simply patching gaping holes in a system which has not been built for people with disabilities. Some of these issues manifest in school policies on attendance, behaviour and exclusion, and there are wider challenges around the lack of funding, resources and support at local authority level.
Sir Robert Buckland, currently undertaking a review into boosting the employment prospects of autistic people, argued that there needs to be a societal shift towards emphasising ‘potential’ rather than ‘problems. He said that while recent legislation has been well intentioned, it has not met expectations, and has resulted in too much fragmentation, with provision varying wildly. He emphasised the importance of early identification and thus joining up with health care services, suggesting there could be a place for universal scanning. He also considered the longer term implications for business, industry and the economy, stressing the untapped potential which is being wasted.
Discussion ranged widely and included a lively debate on the merits of specialist versus mainstream education. There was broad agreement on the importance of early diagnosis but also a recognition that such diagnosis can only be meaningful if accompanied by appropriate support. On a similar note, there was a recognition that the legal and policy frameworks may be right – but they are not being implemented in part due to a lack of funding, awareness and training. On the other hand, there was also a recognition of current failings around the system of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) which are resulting in adversarial practices, wasted resources battling parents and carers, as well as neglecting the broader group who might not have the most complex disabilities but still require support. Throughout, the panellists emphasised the importance of ‘nothing about us without us’ as a means of centring lived experience and the voices and rights of disabled people.
This is the beginning of a longer term collaboration between the Disability Policy Centre and the Mile End Institute. If you would like to get in touch to discuss any of the issues raised or contribute to our work, please email contact@dispolcentre.org
Catch up on the full discussion here:
Dr Lyndsey Jenkins is the Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute and a Leverhulme Fellow in the School of History at Queen Mary, University of London.