With a lack of accessibility comes a lack of inclusivity.
Inclusive education, or inclusion in education, is very much de jour in current conversations about schools and education; the new Labour government has recently reiterated its commitment towards inclusion by 'requiring that all schools cooperate with their local authority on school admissions and the inclusion of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities ("SEND")'. And as we all know, children and young people with SEND face no shortage of barriers to their full, active and equal participation in education; notwithstanding significant positive developments that have been made in recent years, such as the UK-wide Equality Act 2010 and the duties imposed by the Children and Families Act 2014 ("CAFA") in England. But what actually is inclusive education and is it always the solution to overcoming those barriers?
In prinicple, the idea of inclusive education is simple and obvious: it is to ensure equal access to education and opportunities to all learners, regardless of their abilities, background or needs. At it's most basic level inclusive education means that all children, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, learn together in the same schools and classrooms. In practice there is considerable debate about what it involves (the vision of inclusive education promoted by the Alliance For Inclusive Education ("ALFIE") would require a fundamental shift in the way that education and schools are organised and built for example), and whether it is something that always benefits all children; particularly those with SEND.
More often when people talk about inclusive education, they mean that schools and other education settings should make adjustments to curriculum content and delivery and be more welcoming of students with disabilities. This means teachers adapting learning materials and using a variety of resources to cater to the different learning needs of their students, such as visual aids, tactile materials and technology like tablets and talk-to-text software and pitching work at different levels for different students. It also often refers to the need to make schools more accessible to physically disabed students, such as by having ramps and lifts and making new buildings easy to navigate for students with sensory impairments.
In England, the vast majority of children and young people with SEND attend mainstream school/college and all education settings are expected to be inclusive and to use their best endeavours to support learners with SEN (including those without Education Health and Care Plans) to access and achieve in education; in accordance with the Children and Families Act 2014. The Equality Act 2010 also requires schools and other education settings to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled students are not disadvantaged by reason of their disability, and whilst not all disabled students will have SEN (or vice versa) there is a significant degree of overlap between the two.
Supporters of Inclusive Education argue that it is important not only for those children and young people with SEND (a not insignificant 1 in 6 of the school population in England), but also for children without SEND and for society as a whole. For children with SEND it is said that learning alongside their peers can make them feel valued and welcomed in school, which boosts their self-esteem. It may also enhance their social skill development and promote academic potential. For children and young people without SEND, being educated together with disabled pupils and students who otherwise learn differently fosters empathy and understanding of difference and helps to reduce stigma and break down stereotypes.
However, to have any chance of making inclusive education work it is crucial that knowledge about SEND and inclusive practices are embedded into teacher training and continuing professional development. The curriculum must truly be accessible to all students and this will require a large degree of flexibility regarding not just delivery, but also content and assessment. Parents and carers must also be meaningfully engaged in their children and young people’s education and recognised as possessing valuable experience and insight. Above all, inclusion does not mean treating all children and young people the same. In fact, in many cases it means precisely the opposite. Too often, and especially in an environment of limited funding, the mantra of inclusive education is open to being used to justify removing the highly specialised support many children and young people with SEND require to access and make progress in education.
It should also be recosnised that mainstream educational settings will not be appropriate for all children and young people with SEND regardless of how inclusive they are. Some children and young people will always require a level of resourcing and/or expertise to meet their specific needs that it is unrealistic and arguably unreasonable, to expect every school to be able to provide. Specialist schools are invariably a fraction of the size of mainstream schools, and many offer staff to student ratios and a range of therapies and a degree of individualised tailoring of learning that would be unaffordable and unnecessary in mainstream settings. Inclusive education is important and necessary but it is not the only, nor is it necessarily the best, way to support every student with SEND.
For advice and support about inclusion in education, and ensuring Special Educational Provision is accessible for your child or young person, SEND Advocacy, is here to help. If you need someone in your corner to help you secure the education your child or young person deserves, contact us today.
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