World of Inclusion

World of Inclusion Leaflet to Labour Party Conference
September 28, 2018 by Richard Rieser
Labour Party, UK Commits to Inclusive Education in National Education Service.

Inclusion Leaflet for Labour Party Conference 2018

The Leaflet supported the Reference back by Islington North of the SEND Section of the Policy Review Early Years, Education and Training because it did not committee the Labour Party to developing an Inclusive Education System. Moved by Richard Rieser, Islington North delegate and Director of World of Inclusion. This was unanimously carried.

The wording in the reference back “To ensure the NES, in line with international human rights treaties, is based on the principle of inclusive education, with sufficient funding and staff training to make this a reality” was also contained in a National Education Union leaflet to the Conference.

In moving this Richard pointed out it was Disability Labour Policy and of the Socialist Education Association and the main unions.

In her speech to Conference on the same afternoon Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education stated:

“Too often those who suffer from staff shortages are children with special educational needs and disabilities. So our National Education Service Charter, the result of thousands of submissions from our members and others guarantees it will be truly inclusive.

That is why our Shadow Children’s Minister Emma Lewell-Buck will lead plans to stop those with special educational needs and disabilities from falling out of the school system. And we would back it up with a record investment in modernising school buildings to make sure they are accessible to all who could learn in them.

Providing an excellent education to the many and not a privileged few.”

24th September 2018.

Category: News
Developing Inclusive Education and Disability Equality : A World of Inclusion Broadsheet for Global Summit July 2018
July 20, 2018 by Richard Rieser
Developing Inclusive Education and Disability Equality for children and students with disabilities

Category: News, Projects – International
World of Inclusion Response to UK Parliament Select Committee Inquiry into SEN and Disability in England June 2018
June 11, 2018 by Richard Rieser
World of Inclusion submission to the UK Parliament Education Select Committee Special Needs and disability final1

World of Inclusion submission to the UK Parliament Education Select Committee, special educational needs and disabilities inquiry.
1. World of Inclusion Ltd ( Co. No. 07207792 www.worldofinclusion.com ) is an organisation providing consultancy, advice, training and resources on achieving disability equality and inclusive education to schools and colleges in the UK and around the world. World of Inclusion has considerable experience in identifying and combating disability discrimination, harassment and bullying and developing school and local authority policies promoting disability equality and inclusive practice. We are a DPO and operate from a social/human rights approach. Richard Rieser our CEO is a disabled teacher, writer, trainer, consultant and film maker and has played a leading role in the development of policy and practice for disabled students. He was a contributor to the 2014 SEND Code of Practice with regard to disability discrimination and was at the United Nations contributing to the development of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) and the UNCRPD Committee General Comment No 4 (2016) .
2. Scope of our response Your Committee Chair, Robert Halfon MP, has said ‘One of the primary objectives of the Education Committee is to address social injustice in education. Understanding and addressing the challenges faced by children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities is an important part of this work’. Then it is necessary for the Committee to not just examine the impact of the Children and Families Act 2014, Part 3, but also the context created by other Government Policies and the wider International Human Rights’ obligations in the education of disabled children and young people.
3. The UNCRPD, ratified by the UK Government in July 2009, places strong obligations on the Government and devolved administrations with regard to the education of disabled children and young people. All those identified with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are also likely to ‘have a long term physical or mental impairment that has a substantial negative impact on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities’ which means they are disabled. The Government placed a reservation and interpretive declaration against Article 24 and this continues to limit the Article’s scope.
4. UNCRPD reservations When the UK government ratified the UNCRPD in June 2009 it placed restrictions on its obligations. Two of those relate to Article 24. The first changes the UK’s definition of a ‘general education system’ to include segregated education:
“The United Kingdom Government is committed to continuing to develop an inclusive system where parents of disabled children have increasing access to mainstream schools and staff, which have the capacity to meet the needs of disabled children. The General Education System in the United Kingdom includes mainstream, and special schools, which the UK Government understands is allowed under the Convention.” (Interpretative Declaration on Education – Convention Article 24 Clause 2 (a) and (b)).
As someone who helped write Article 24, special schools are not part of inclusive education. The second reserves the UK’s right to send disabled children to special schools outside their local area:
“The United Kingdom reserves the right for disabled children to be educated outside their local community where more appropriate education provision is available elsewhere. Nevertheless, parents of disabled children have the same opportunity as other parents to state a preference for the school at which they wish their child to be educated.” (Reservation: Education – Convention Article 24 Clause 2 (a) and 2 (b))
The UK is one of only two countries in the world to place restrictions on Article 24 (the other being Mauritius). This is completely unacceptable and we are working to get these restrictions overturned.
In September 2016, the UN Disability Committee published a General Comment on Article 24 setting out how governments can move towards greater inclusion. The UK has ignored this and remains out of step with the rest of the world.
5. UNCRPD Criticisms of Education in England In August 2017 the UN Disability Committee scrutinised the UK government’s implementation of the UNCRPD. Their findings published in October 2017 highlight the UK’s failings across all the Convention articles, including Article 24, reproduced in Appendix 1 .
6. World of Inclusion submitted evidence to this UNCRPD Committee Review and we concur that the conclusions are justified and seriously be considered by the Select Committee. However, even the UK Government reservation says ‘parents should have increasing access to mainstream schools and staff which have increasing capacity to meet the needs of disabled children’. This has not happened. An increasing number of mainstream schools say they ‘can’t meet need’ when local authorities seek to place disabled children at their school. The Committee should investigate the factors involved.
7. Statistical Trends from data over the last 10 years. A drop in numbers on school support and a rise in numbers and proportion of students with higher needs in segregated special schools.
a) From 2010 to 2017, numbers on school support have fallen in both primary and secondary schools, more so after the 2014 reforms, particularly steeply in sponsored academies. In primary 2012 24%, compared to 14% in 2017. In sponsored secondary academies and free schools the drop over the same period was 26% to 13% . Such differences are not occurring for those with EHCP/statements, which have remained constant at 2.8% .
b) The numbers and proportion of those with EHCP/statements in mainstream have reduced radically since 2007, more so since 2014 and the numbers in special schools have increased by 20,765 or 22.37%. The increase in population has only risen by 6.23% and shows a definite rise in segregation and away from inclusion for this group of students with higher needs. The numbers with an EHCP/statement has also more than doubled . In 2018, 128,144 children and young people with an EHCP/statement were in all types of mainstream schools and 126,960 in all types of special school. If the 2,330 in alternative provision are added, this leads to 50.02% children with higher level SEN in segregated provision than mainstream schools . The presumption of mainstreaming in legislation since 1981 appears to no longer hold. The doubling of Higher Needs learners in independent special schools which are much more costly (7760 in 2007 to 14,065 in 2017) is also of concern.
8. Mainstreaming Section 33 of the C&F Act has a presumption of mainstreaming which is clearly no longer working.“ In a case within section 39(5) or 40(2), the local authority must secure that the plan provides for the child or young person to be educated in a maintained nursery school, mainstream school or mainstream post-16 institution, unless that is incompatible with—(a)the wishes of the child’s parent or the young person, or(b)the provision of efficient education for others.” Article 33 specifies that the local authority in general (3), in particular (4) and governors, proprietors or principals of schools (5) can only rely on an exception if they can ‘show that there are no reasonable steps that they or the local authority could take to prevent the incompatibility’. The very useful statutory guidance Inclusive Schooling was no longer in force from September 2014. This explained how schools should interpret the law around Section 316 of the Education Act, as amended by 2001 Act, whether the school could meet need and what steps they should take to accommodate students. No new guidance was introduced to replace it. However, there are now many other factors making it more difficult for schools to meet need of children with SEN.

9. The SEND reforms are not a leading part of the Government’s education changes. Its policies all militate against the inclusion of children and young people and those with special educational needs. These include:-
a. Setting up more free schools and sponsored academies which have their own admission policies, parents have no recourse to independent appeal panels or the Ombudsman, are reducing numbers of disabled learners and with special needs faster than other schools. This is leading to a large number of new special free schools , academies and alternative provision which are increasing the pressure for segregation against Government international obligations to develop inclusion.
b. The expansion of grammar school places are selective and drain more able learners from the surrounding schools, reducing scope for peer support and peer tutoring.
c. The introduction of a new knowledge based, narrower curriculum with less emphasis on project work and creative arts makes it more difficult to maintain interest and differentiate. The loss of National Curriculum levels with teacher moderation which were effective at identifying progress. The abolition of the p-scales, introduced as a teacher assessment tool in the face of the inadequacies of the 1988 National Curriculum for learners, with SEN working towards level 1 of the NC. The Rochford Report which the Government proposes to replace them with, will provide no continuity or progression for those working below the National Curriculum, instead replacing this with a statutory duty to assess pupils not engaged in subject-specific learning against the following seven aspects of cognition and learning and report this to parents and carers: responsiveness, curiosity, discovery, anticipation, persistence, initiation, investigation.
d. High stakes testing devalues the achievements of those who work below their expected national curriculum level. Progress 8 and Attainment 8 start at 2 NC levels above the previous curriculum level. There is insufficient recognition of alternative qualifications such as entry level, ASDAN or BTEC which evaluate students fulfilling tasks and course work. The Baccalaureate and new GCSEs reliance only on examinations have an echo of a Eugenic past, where intelligence testing condemned generations of people with learning difficulties to institutions.
e. The narrow rigidity of the OFSTED framework does not seem to recognise good inclusive provision and does not value good below expected level progress for learners with SEN. This can lead to the dire consequences of placing a school in a category and creating a fear of admitting students with SEND.
f. Government rigid policy on behaviour not recognising that many impairing conditions can lead to inappropriate or continuing disruptive behaviours, often at a low level, which account for the largest number of fixed term and permanent exclusions. The largest number are those with Social, Emotional and Mental Health impairments (1.84% permanent and 43.23% fixed term). There is little enforcement of the right to reasonable adjustments where impairment impacts on their behaviour, such as anger management, peer support and behaviour support to keep these students in school and allow them to thrive, as required by the Equality Act 2010. Primary pupils in mainstream with school support are 18.6 times more likely to be excluded on a fixed term than a pupil without SEN and 33x more if they have an EHCP/statement. With teenage behaviour, the level of exclusion goes up for the whole cohort, but secondary mainstream students with SEN support are 4.13x more likely to be excluded than those with no SEN and those with an EHC Plan or statement are 4.13 times as likely to be excluded fixed term in 2015/2016 in English schools. Ambitious about Autism obtained figures from Government that show a 44% rise in exclusions from 2011/12 to 2015/16 .
g. The increasing reliance on placing

10. Against the bias to inclusion Governments since 2010 have a misguided and unsubstantiated policy ‘against the bias to inclusive education’ . This has been highly damaging to disabled children in mainstream schools. There was never such a bias, but this policy has acted as a brake on supporting and developing inclusion in our mainstream schools. Throughout this period, at least 90% of children with identified disabilities or SEN have attended mainstream schools until last year. (DfE statistics in 2016 show the vast majority, 90.6 percent, of school pupils and students with SEN are in mainstream schools -121,525 with statements or EHC Plans and 991,980 school support In 2017, this drops to 86% 116,255 with EHC Plans or statements and 915,355 school support. ) The Children and Families Act and subsequent SEND Code of Practice mainly concentrated on the minority with a statement, converting these to Education Health and Care Plans, little addressing the needs of the majority of disabled children in mainstream schools. Section 33 & 34 ensure placement for the large majority without a plan or statement in mainstream school ‘Those concerned with making special educational provision for the child must secure that the child engages in the activities of the school together with children who do not have special educational needs’. Increasingly teachers and schools are finding the pressures from beyond the school are making this difficult. There is not sufficient wholeschool training with grants available and insufficient input on initial teacher training.
11. An emphasis in the reforms on SEN –Assess, Plan, Do, Review hardly compensates. The SEND Code of Practice limits itself to Chapter 1 to talk about disability. But the vast majority of children with special educational needs also tick the definition of disability under the 2010 Equality Act. This definition is not a high threshold and was drawn up in this way to protect from discrimination.

12. A major failure of the reforms was to not give sufficient weight to the Equality Act Duties schools have towards disabled learners, a lack of enforcement and scrutiny of these duties. To be recognised by the school as disabled, the child does not need a medical diagnosis. The school can be told by the parents or surmise this for themselves. Thus, if the school has placed a child/young person on SEN Support, it is very likely that the definition will apply to them. It is also likely to apply to young people with medical needs and mental health issues who are not on SEN support. As soon as the school is informed, they have a duty to make individual reasonable adjustments including providing auxiliary aids and support for those who count as disabled. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is an anticipatory duty.

13. There is a duty on Governing bodies or proprietors of schools, before knowing about an individual, to adjust their policies, provision, criteria and practices to not put disabled people at a substantial disadvantage and take steps to meet the likely needs of disabled learners with the need to make reasonable adjustments. For example, admissions, exclusions, sports activities, school activities and trips, lunch time/after school activities and access to learning, should have been regularly reviewed and adjusted so as not to place disabled people at substantial detriment. This is not happening! The school is under a duty to not discriminate directly, indirectly or on the basis of issues arising from disability, and to eliminate bullying and harassment. Disabled children and young people experience the highest level of bullying and harassment in our schools. The Anti Bullying Alliance focuses on this. Unless school staff and students take ownership of zero bullying, not much will change. The Government does not provide clear advice, training or guidance on these duties.
14. World of Inclusion find that schools and their leaders no longer prioritise this type of training. This compares to our previous organisation Disability Equality in Education, which between 2000 and 2008, provided highly evaluated training to 150,000 teachers and other educational professionals. Independent evaluations demonstrated that this training changed attitudes and practices. It was based on a Social model approach in line with the UNCRPD, to which the Government says it subscribes. There is little evidence of this in the Department for Education edicts, SEND Code of Practice or legislation. This training is essential for the vast majority of schools to take seriously their responsibilities on disability equality or inclusion.

15. If there are breaches in the current Equality Act or presumption of inclusion, it is left to individual parents or the affected young person to apply to the SEN Disability Tribunal for redress. There is no statutory body that oversees schools on implementation such as school inspectors – OFSTED or the Equality and Human Rights Commission should do this.

16. OFSTED have a responsibility for ensuring ALL schools in England have an up to date Access Plan under the Equality Act, 2010 Section, Schedule 10 covering access to the environment, learning and formats other than written English-e.g. Braille, BSL and Easy Read.

17. There is no separate funding stream to schools from Government to implement this legislation. It is not monitored and there is no end date when all schools have to meet access standards. Only new or refurbished have to meet access standards. Lack of physical access or access to the curriculum is regularly used as an excuse to keep disabled students out of the school. This is a breach of Article 9 UNCRPD -Accessibility and the right to temporary adjustments until the necessary structural changes have been made.

18. Funding The current ‘perfect storm’ around SEN funding has to be tackled urgently otherwise the whole structure will be put in jeopardy.
a) Higher Needs Budgets are not keeping up with big increases in demand, partly caused by expansion to 19-25.
b) 4,152 students with an EHC plan are not placed in school in 2017/18 compared to 776 in 2010 .
c) The unlawful practice of off rolling is being widely practiced with upwards of 100,000 learners, mainly with SEN , not in school .
d) The large increase in home education of SEN children has caused concerns to the School Adjudicator .
e) There are at least 4 Judicial Reviews from parents against Local Authorities for proposed cuts in EHC Plan provision.
f) The cuts in SEND school support are massive, with reductions in teaching assistants and specialist teachers in nearly every school to meet budget reductions.
19. Parental Satisfaction with the Reforms.
I n 2008 in a Warwick University survey for the Lamb Inquiry 25% of parents reported they had no confidence in the SEN system for their child. Research commissioned by DFE into parental satisfaction published in 2016 found overall satisfaction but a minority 20-25% not satisfied. A qualitative survey in 4 Local Authorities only it identifies barriers in structures, procedures, skills and resources. Another larger scale survey of parents with EHC Plans completed in 2015 found 33% of parents not satisfied overall. This should not be happening after Pathfinder surveys before the reforms and suggests a similar level of dissatisfaction as in 2008.
20. The Select Committee should be proposing
i) A ring fence on school notional SEN budgets so the money cannot be used for non SEN support. Schools are using their notional SEN budget to cover cuts.
ii) Reversal of school budget cuts. Despite increases in funding this is not keeping up with extra costs or roll rises.
iii) Increase in Higher Needs Budgets to keep up with the increasing demand for EHC Plans.
iv) Mandatory annual training for all teachers on effectively including learners with SEND in the curriculum and school social life. Many teachers continue to say they are not equipped to cope with SEND pupils.
v) Revision of OFSTED framework to include practice on SEN/Inclusion, Anti-Bullying, implementation of Equality Act Duties and school access plans.
vi) Revision of assessment criteria to reward schools financially for the progress of students with SEND.
vii) Valuing alternative continuous assessments and broadening the curriculum to restore creative subjects.
viii) Strong Government guidance on implementing the Disability Equality duties in school, including differentiated behaviour policies linked to earmarked funding for training.
ix) Reinstating powers to local authorities to increase mainstream resourced provision.
x) Mandatory meeting of school staff with parents of students with SEND three times a year. This is not happening.

Richard Rieser CEO World of Inclusion rlrieser@gmail.com 07.06.2018
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Appendix 1 UNCRPD Committee Conclusions on UK Article 24 Education October 2017
“The Committee takes note of the information provided by the State party about its reservation to article 24 (2) (a) and (b) of the Convention in relation to new evidence or research findings.
51. The Committee recommends that the State party withdraw its reservation to article 24 (2) (a) and (b) of the Convention without further delay. The Committee is concerned at:
(a) The persistence of a dual education system that segregates children with disabilities in special schools, including based on parental choice;
(b)The increasing number of children with disabilities in segregated education environments;
(c)The fact that the education system is not equipped to respond to the requirements for high-quality inclusive education, particularly reports of school authorities refusing to enrol a student with disabilities who is deemed to be “disruptive to other classmates”;
(d)The fact that the education and training of teachers in inclusion competences does not reflect the requirements of inclusive education.
53. The Committee recommends that the State party, in close consultation with organizations of persons with disabilities, especially organizations representing children and young persons with disabilities, and in line with the Committee ’ s general comment No. 4 (2014) on the right to inclusive education and targets 4.5 and 4.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals:
(a) Develop a comprehensive and coordinated legislative and policy framework for inclusive education and a timeframe to ensure that mainstream schools foster real inclusion of children with disabilities in the school environment and that teachers and all other professionals and persons in contact with children understand the concept of inclusion and are able to enhance inclusive education;
(b) Strengthen measures to monitor school practices concerning enrolment of children with disabilities and offer appropriate remedies in cases of disability-related discrimination and/or harassment, including deciding upon schemes for compensation;
(c) Adopt and implement a coherent and adequately financed strategy, with concrete timelines and measurable goals, on increasing and improving inclusive education. The strategy must:
(i) Ensure the implementation of laws, decrees and regulations on improving the extent and quality of inclusive education in classrooms, support provisions and teacher training, including pedagogical capabilities, across all levels providing for high-quality inclusive environments, including within breaks between lessons and through socialization outside “ education time ” ;
(ii) Set up awareness-raising and support initiatives about inclusive education among parents of children with disabilities.”
Endnotes
http://worldofinclusion.com/world-of-inclusion-ltd-response-to-united-kingdom-response-to-list-of-issues-and-report-to-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-committee-for-forthcoming-scrutiny-on-23rd-and-24th
Dr Alison Black Summary of recent trends research-rising special school placement, an academisation effect? In SEN Policy Research Forum May 2018
Office of National Census 2018Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland [Online] Available from:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/pop
ulationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018
ibid
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110907141006/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DfES-0789-2001.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561411/Rochford_Review_Report_v5_PFDA.pdf
https://www.teachers.org.uk/files/exam-factories.pdf
Statistical First Release https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2015-to-2016 Jul 2017
https://specialneedsjungle.com/shocking-rise-in-autistic-pupils-being-excluded-from-englands-schools
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10088172
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-8578.2011.00514.x
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/16/pupils-special-educational-needs-children-mainstream-schools
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2017
The Carter Review whose recommendations on intioal teacher training were not made mandatory https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carter-review-of-initial-teacher-training

https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/all-about-bullying/sen-disability/what-does-research-say
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/schedule/10
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/16/pupils-special-educational-needs-children-mainstream-schools
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/exclusions-teachers-off-rolling-exam-results-national-foundation-education-research-a8252436.html
https://www.tes.com/news/admissions-watchdog-disturbed-schools-using-home-education-roll-pupils

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cedar/projects/completed2010/lambinquiry/report_v4.pdf p75Full Lamb Report is relevant here as much of what recommended were ignored in the CFAct 2014 Reforms http://www.specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/uploads/1/1/4/6/11463509/full_report.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/518963/Mapping_user_experiences_of_the_education__health_and_care_process_-_a_qualitative_study.pdf
DFE 2O16 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-health-and-care-plans-parents-and-young-people-survey

Category: News
UN 70 years towards developing inclusion for disabled people
June 8, 2018 by Richard Rieser
historyinfographic

Category: News
Developing an Inclusive Education Policy in the Labour Party
May 23, 2018 by Richard Rieser
Developing an Inclusive Education Policy in the Labour Party Richard Rieser www.worldofinclusion.com
The 2017 Manifesto committed to developing a National Education Service based on inclusivity. The Labour Party Consultation Document ‘Early Years, Education and Training’, currently (April-June 2018) out for members and wider views, is silent on the Inclusive Education issue. The 2017 Manifesto further stated “ we will deliver a strategy for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) based on inclusivity, and embed SEND more substantially into training for teachers and non-teaching staff, so that staff, children and their parents are properly supported”. This is again not mentioned in the Consultation Document. The Manifesto also committed to signing into UK Law the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This means developing an Inclusive Education System and removing the current reservations, interpretations and obstacles to implementation of Article 24 –Education. The Labour Party is also committed to a Social Model approach to disability and in education this means developing inclusion.
There is considerable evidence from research in the UK and around the world that including disabled children and young people with the full range of impairments is successful, particularly where well planned, funded and staff are well trained . I have been observing and filming inclusion working across the UK and beyond for the last 30 years and I have witnessed children with multiple impairments being successfully included . It boils down to attitudes and where there is a ‘can do’ attitude it can happen in all sorts of environments. But even where this does not occur, disabled students do better academically than those segregated into special schools. This is the case for those with cognitive and social emotional and mental health impairments, as well as those with physical and sensory impairments. From 1997 to around 2004-2006 the Labour Government had a policy of Inclusive Education but they did not defend it and allowed it to be undercut. The pressures of the Tories, Standards Agenda, reduction in central support teams, high stakes testing and the wish from special schools to expand, all undercut the policy and the Labour Party did not know how to develop and defend it. This must not happen again. See graph below.

The Coalition and Tory Governments had a commitment to end the ‘bias to inclusive education’ and a moratorium on special school closures. Although the Children and Families Act 2014 (Part 3) reaffirmed the presumption of mainstreaming for those children and young people with a Statement or Education Health and Care Plan (ECHP), in 2015, for the first time in 25 years, there were more students in these categories attending provision outside of mainstream than in. The trend has continued with a further increase in students directed/seeking provision outside mainstream. There remains a huge variation by a factor of 9 in the placement of students with a Statement or EHCP in special school environments across different Local Authorities, as is shown in Table 1. This derives from geography-large rural distances to special schools and conscious efforts by local politicians to be more inclusive. Traditional Labour areas generally have high segregation as setting up special schools was seen as something to be municipally proud of. Now this is seen as a denial of human rights.
Table 1 Percent of School Students from Local Authority in Special Schools DFE SFR 22 2017 Mean 1.1039%*
Most Segregating LAs Least Segregating LAs *includes students in
special schools (maintained, academies, independent & non-maintained) Table 5
Torbay 2.06% Havering 0.64%
Stoke-on-Trent 1.87% Kensington and Chelsea 0.56%
Leicestershire 1.86% York 0.54%
Knowsley 1.82% Cornwall 0.48%
Middlesbrough 1.67% City of London 0.38%
Wirral 1.66% Bradford 0.30%
South Tyneside 1.66% Isles of Scilly 0.29%
Stockton-on-Tees1.64% Newham 0.22%

When the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, was first adopted by the United Nations and ratified by the UK Government in 2009, the meaning of Article 24 and its interpretation lacked clarity. In 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted General Comment No 4 . This now has the status of international law and makes it clear what is expected by state parties with regard to implementing inclusive education.
The General Comment states what inclusive education is:-
1. A process of addressing and responding to the diverse needs of all children.
2. Recognises all children can learn.
3. Identification and removal of barriers.
4. Presence, full participation, accessibility, attendance and achievement of all students, especially those excluded or marginalized.
5. Builds positive relationships, friendships and acceptance.

Recognition of inclusion as the key to achieving the right to education has strengthened over the past 30 years, and is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (herein after: the Convention), the first legally binding instrument to contain a reference to the concept of quality inclusive education. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 also affirms inclusive quality and equitable education. Inclusive education is central to achieving high quality education for all learners, including those with disabilities, and for the development of inclusive, peaceful and fair societies. Furthermore, there is a powerful educational, social and economic case to be made. Only inclusive education can provide both quality education and social development for persons with disabilities, and a guarantee of universality and non-discrimination in the right to education.

A recent UNESCO publication defined Inclusive Education as a process that helps to overcome barriers limiting the presence, participation and achievement of learners and strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out to all learners. However, this generalised approach is in danger of missing the development of a pedagogy which also can meet the specific needs of disabled children and young people with different types of impairments.

A useful way of thinking about developing and training for inclusive education is to think about a twin track approach. The first track cover the general inclusion of all excluded and under achieving groups takes a broad brush approach based on General Inclusion Track. In teacher education this involves developing teaching and learning strategies that support: Valuing difference and diversity; Differentiation of materials and methods; Collaborative learning where pupils and teachers work together; Peer support where pupils help each other academically and socially and challenge negative language and behaviour; Flexible curricula as well as the provision of classroom and assessment materials; An anti-bias curriculum that challenges traditional gender, tribal , class and disability perspectives; Sufficient time for meaningful learning and rewarding of effort compared to Individuals previous achievements; The creation of a stimulating and interesting multi-sensory learning environment; A child-centred approach with teacher reflection.

The second Impairment Specific track is based on fulfilling the Article 24 duty to provide appropriate individual support and reasonable accommodations or reasonable adjustments under the UK Equalities Act (2010). This recognizes that the above approaches on their own will not work equally for all children with disabilities, as they require reasonable accommodations and support arising from their impairments. These adjustments are specific to the type of impairment a child/young person has. Within this track, the teacher would learn to identify the loss of physical or mental function with a basic screening tool, and have a working knowledge of the range of adjustments that can be implemented in the classroom. Below is a list, although not comprehensive, of the tools available for teachers to use with their students with disabilities:
a) Visually Impaired or Blind – Glasses, magnification glasses, Braille, tactile maps and diagrams, audio tapes/CDs and text to talk, mobility training, large print documents and paperwork, audio description, modified orientation and creation of fixed points in class, creation of auditory environments, talking instruments, colour contrasts, and identification of hazards such as steps; b) Deaf and Hearing Impaired- Finger spelling and basic sign language, interpretation, Oral-lip reading, basic Hearing Aid maintenance, strong emphasis on visual environment, additional time and support with abstract concepts and maths; c) Deafblind – Some of the tools listed above in a) and b), Deafblind Language, provision of interpreters, creation of tactile environments; d) Physical Impairments -Adapting doorways and furniture, creation of an accessible infrastructure as well as accessible toilet and washing facilities, maintaining safe storage of equipment, provision of personal assistance, diet and medication resources, and rest time space; e) Specific learning difficulties- Creation of colour overlays and backgrounds, providing easy read texts, story tapes and text to talk, allowing the use of spell-checkers, concrete objects, and breaking activities down into small doable steps; f) Speech and Communication Difficulty/Impairment – Facilitated Communication, Augmented Communication low and high tech, pointing, switching, talkers, information grids; g) General Cognitive Impairment- Pictograms, small steps curriculum, easy read, scaffolding, Makaton, symbols, information grids, concrete objects, individual programme; h) Mental Health Impairment- Counselling and personal support, differentiated behaviour policy, empathy, quiet space, circle of friends; i) Behaviour impairment- Circle of friends, structured environment and day, differentiated behaviour policy, chill out space and mentoring. Such pedagogy needs backing up by specialist inclusion teachers working out of local resource centres as peripatetic experts.

The right to inclusive education encompasses a transformation in culture, policy and practice in all formal and informal educational environments, to accommodate the differing requirements and identities of individual students, together with a commitment to remove the barriers that impede that possibility. It involves strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out to all learners. It focuses on the full and effective participation, accessibility, attendance and achievement of all students, especially those who, for different reasons, are excluded or at risk of being marginalized. Inclusion involves access to and progress in high-quality formal and informal education without discrimination. It seeks to enable communities, systems and structures to combat discrimination, including harmful stereotypes, recognize diversity, promote participation and overcome barriers to learning and participation for all by focusing on well-being and success of students with disabilities. It requires an in-depth transformation of education systems in legislation, policy, and the mechanisms for financing, administration, design, delivery and monitoring of education. The UNCRPD does not mention ‘special education needs’, as this is rooted in an oppressive history based on eugenics and separation that has scarred generations of disabled people.

The UN CRPD Committee highlights the importance of recognising the differences between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion. Exclusion occurs when students are directly or indirectly prevented from or denied access to education in any form. Segregation occurs when the education of students with disabilities is provided in separate environments designed or used to respond to a particular or various impairments, in isolation from students without disabilities. Integration is a process of placing persons with disabilities in existing mainstream educational institutions, as long as the former can adjust to the standardized requirements of such institutions. Inclusion involves a process of systemic reform embodying changes and modifications in content, teaching methods, approaches, structures and strategies in education to overcome barriers with a vision serving to provide all students of the relevant age range with an equitable and participatory learning experience and environment that best corresponds to their requirements and preferences. Placing students with disabilities within mainstream classes without accompanying structural changes to, organisation, curriculum and teaching and learning strategies, does not constitute inclusion. Furthermore, integration does not automatically guarantee the transition from segregation to inclusion, Figure 1. (para 10 GC No.4)

The core features of inclusive education according to General Comment No 4 are :
1. Whole systems approach: education ministries must ensure that all resources advance inclusive education.
2. Whole educational environment: committed leadership introduces and embeds the culture, policies and practices to achieve inclusive education at all levels.
3. Whole person approach: flexible curricula, teaching and learning methods adapted to different strengths, requirements and learning styles.
4. Supported teachers
5. Respect for and value of diversity: everyone welcomed equally. Effective measures prevent abuse and bullying.
1. Learning-friendly environment: accessible environment where everyone feels safe, supported, stimulated and able to express themselves, with a strong emphasis on involving students themselves in building a positive school community.
2. Effective transitions: learners receive support, reasonable accommodation and equality regarding assessment, examination procedures and certification of their attainments on an equal basis with others.
3. Recognition of partnerships and monitoring (para. 12 GC No.4).

The Government have been using academisation and free schools to set up more segregated provision. Local Authorities in England are prevented from making rational planned decisions for SEN provision, both in special schools and in setting up mainstream resource bases and are now being forced to bid to set up free special schools. As of March 2018, there were 264 special school academies, a further 75 applications in the pipeline, 27 free special schools, a further 55 in the pipeline and Alternative Provision free schools 79 open and a further 31 in the pipeline.
A much larger group of students(1.14 million) are disabled with needs to be met in mainstream schools through SEN School Support. However, exclusion rates are 7 times higher for permanent and 6 times higher for fixed term exclusions than those with no SEN. Many excluded students are now in Alternative Provision permanently, rather than short term, as envisaged. Increasing numbers are being unlawfully off rolled and there is also a rise in those being home educated. The fixed term exclusion figure for sponsored secondary academies is three times higher than for non academies. Inflexible behaviour policies-three strikes and you are out, with a failure to differentiate behaviour policies are leading to many exclusions in breach of the equality duties for disabled students.

The funding crisis in our schools is particularly hitting provision for those on school support as teaching assistants and the facility for 1:1 and small group work disappears from our schools. EHC Plans are being cut as desperate Councils seek unlawfully to cut resources to spread them more thinly.
Failure by schools to take seriously their duties under the Equalities Act towards disabled students are leading to increasing discrimination and unfair treatment. Failure to implement the general Equality Duty and to make reasonable adjustments or protect disabled students from harassment and bullying are also helping to make schools less habitable for disabled students. The narrowing of curriculum, getting rid of course work and raising the bar on high stakes testing is leading to an increasing number of disabled children on SEN support being excluded or refused admission on the spurious grounds that the school cannot meet need.
Despite the gloomy outlook many schools are still struggling to provide good inclusive education in a comprehensive approach. See for example Eastlea, Newham (https://youtu.be/cAAoWGi3AKk ) or Emersons Green Primary South Gloucestershire (https://youtu.be/w4B4CGopmZw ) or Wroxham Primary, Hertfordshire (https://youtu.be/NL-Y9L3U6gY)
How would an incoming Labour Government committed to developing an inclusive National Education Service begin to tackle this increasingly discriminatory, unfair and increasingly privatised education system? The work starts now by discussing and educating the Party and the public on the alternatives and their beneficial effects. At a recent seminar for the Labour Front bench on Inclusive Education arranged by Jeremy Corbyn, presented by myself and Micheline Mason, we put forward statistical indicators of the current increasingly segregated position in many areas. Micheline started by explaining the impact of exclusion and segregation on her life & development and why she was committed to her daughter, who has the same impairment, going to mainstream school. This was about the right to be human . The International Human Rights position was explained and after identifying current barriers to inclusion in England’s school system (figures 2 and 3), discussed some of the solutions needed if Labour were returned to power.
What is to be done?

The current cuts in school budgets are hitting the inclusive practice towards disabled young people particularly hard with cuts in teaching assistants, reduction in bought in specialists and growing class sizes which are leading to increased exclusions both official ( fixed term and permanent) and big increases in off-rolling( unlawful) are leading to a crisis in our schools.
This state of affairs could be the touchstone to connect with a wide mass of parents to argue that another way is possible. Developing values based on human rights and inclusion is the firm foundation to this transformation, but developing confidence in inclusion among schools staff, parents and young people is the key. In electing a Labour Government and implementing a National Education Service based on a principle of inclusion we will need to convince staff and parents that another way is possible and practicable. Running a special school and mainstream system is expensive. It is also wasteful of young people’s potential. As we transition from the current situation to an inclusive system, capacity building will be crucial. Many more resources and expertise can be released to make inclusion work; provided the high stakes testing is dismantled and children’s happiness is at the heart of learning, with a curriculum for all, we will be able to achieve an inclusive, friendly quality education system for all.

In order to prepare now:-
1. Immediately set up a policy advisory group to work on fleshing out important changes.
2. More vigorously challenge current Government.
3. Develop a national and local debate on future education with inclusion at its heart.
4. Challenge current anti-inclusion thinking inside the Labour Party and beyond.
Possible policy changes when in Government:-
1. Remove caveats to Article 24 UNCRPD.
2. Strengthen Parent Carer Forums and Young Disabled People’s Forums.
3. Develop and implement a National Inclusion Strategy following involving all departments in Ministry of Education and Local Authorities.
4. This strategy will need to be at least for 10 years and identify transitional mechanisms for a dual system whilst special and mainstream schools increasingly collaborate and
continually developing the capacity of all mainstream to include wider diversity of pupils and students.
5. Restore SEND funding as part of increasing school funding including a ring fence on school SEN Support.
6. Introduce broad and balanced curriculum, including Equality and the necessity for peer support and collaboration.
7. Replace league table culture with moderated teacher assessment.
8. Introduce Access grant for school infrastructure and curriculum.
9. All schools and colleges fully accessible within 5 years.
10. Set up teacher led national curriculum and assessment review based on principles of Inclusive Education.
11. Challenge disabilist bullying/exclusions. Introduce disability equality into curriculum for all.
12. Develop behaviour policies based on emotional intelligence with differentiation ( No 3 strikes and out)
13. Restore Independent Appeal Panel for School Exclusions
14. Widen remit of the Ombudsman to cover admission of academies and to be the last resort of all complaints in schools and widen brief of Equality and Human Rights Commission to support
cases of discrimination in schools and colleges.
15. Introduce mandatory competencies on inclusive education on all Initial Teacher Training.
16. Require all serving teachers to undertake twin track training on the inclusion of disabled children/students.
17. Reverse Academies legislation. Take all schools/colleges back into local democratic control.
18. Incentivising equalities and inclusion by linking funding to value added for all students.
19. Develop financial incentives for mainstream schools to have resourced provision.
20. Reintroduce maintenance grants for all 16-19 year olds. Work towards all achieving a vocational or academic qualification.
21. Introduce Education and Equality Inspectorate with the power of fining schools in breach of the intentions of the Equality Act.
22. Develop longer term financial and organisational structure for inclusive education involving all providers.
23. Develop and fund more inclusive approaches to 19-25 education and training and link them to concrete measures for preparing for adulthood.
24. Restore and develop the Disabled Students Grant in Higher Education.

The above list is not exhaustive but has been put forward to initiate discussion in the SEA and the wider Labour Party.May 2018
The 2017 Manifesto committed to developing a National Education Service based on inclusivity lp with motion

Category: News
Films of Inclusion Working
May 23, 2017 by admin
Location of films that show inclusive education working for disabled children and young people.

Click the blue tags to see info about each school, and get the link to a video.

This is a work in progress. Please contact us if you have a video you would like to have added.

Category: News, Resources
United Nations select World of Inclusion film for 2016 Disability Film Festival
December 14, 2016 by Richard Rieser
https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/united-nations-enable-film-festival-uneff.html

The film World of Inclusion made in 2015 at Emersons Green Primary school
Inclusion Working -Primary was selected for part of the 2016 Disability Film Festival screened at the United Nations on 2nd December 2016 for World Day of Disabled People.

Category: News
Where Next for Inclusive Education 20th June Conference 2016
May 1, 2016 by Richard Rieser

Programme for the Day
9.00-10.00 Arriving and working on tables
As people arrive they will record what from their perspective is currently working and not working in light of the Government’s commitment to inclusive education.
10.00 Welcome and Introductions
Tara Flood, Tricia Nicoll, Linda Jordan and Richard Rieser
10.30 Building Friendships for Inclusion
Ella Richardson, Wilf Clark and their friends will talk about how friendship is a vital ingredient of inclusive education
Facilitated by Micheline Mason
11.45 Planning for Inclusion
Colin Newton and Derek Wilson from Inclusive Solutions will demonstrate how assessment can be person-centred and support inclusion

Facilitated by Samantha Clark

12.45 – – – – – Break for Lunch – – – – –

1.30 The Inclusive School
• Ben Wassall, Head Teacher, Chillingham Road Primary School, Newcastle.
• Jill Young, Inclusion Leader, Emersons Green Primary School, Bristol.
• Ana Grigore, Teacher, Eastlea Secondary School, Newham, London
Facilitated by Navin Kikabhai
3.00 Listening to Young Voices
Introducing a new documentary film by and for young people on their experiences of school and how the system needs to change. Q &A with the film makers.
Facilitated by Lucy Mason
3.30 What Next From Today?
We will all discuss what needs to happen in the community, at school and college level, at local level and at national level to make inclusive education a reality for all children and young people
With contributions from Lynne Elwell, Rob Greig, Tara Flood, Richard Rieser

4.30 Finish

To book a place: https://wherenextforinclusion.eventbrite.co.uk/
To apply for a free place: Email: linda.jordan@ndti.org.uk
Event website http://www.wherenextforinclusion.com/

Video of the Day Conference http://www.wherenextforinclusion.com/

Category: News
ATL equality: disabled education staff
February 22, 2016 by Richard Rieser
World of Inclusion provides draft for ATL equality: disabled education staff

This guidance aims to provide an overview of the rights of disabled workers in schools and colleges and provide practical advice for union reps and members on how to achieve equality for disabled staff.

One in five school and college students have some form of long term impairment or special educational need and they benefit enormously from having staff who are themselves disabled.

Many disabled staff have experience of disabling barriers and how to challenge them effectively and develop strong self-esteem. However, if such staff are made to feel uncomfortable or harassed at work they are far less likely to act as positive role models to the school and college community.

This guidance examines the Equality Act definition of disability, issues of disclosure and confidentiality and suggest areas of good practice.

ATL is also committed to influencing greater awareness of mental health issues in education and to tackling the stigma and ignorance often shown by those who still do not understand about mental ill health.

Published January 2016 equality-disabled-education-staff-atl-guidelines published January 2016

Times Educational Supplement 5th February 2016

Category: News
End the Myth ADD
November 6, 2015 by Richard Rieser
A vital Campaign was launched by Action on Disability and Development yesterday challenging traditional views of disability that are rife in Africa and Asia and are dangerous to disabled people and threaten their lives.

http://www.add.org.uk/endthemyth

Category: News

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Labour Party, UK Commits to Inclusive Education in National Education Service.