We Know Inclusion Works

The We Know Inclusion Works campaign was set up in three years ago to counter the false claim being created by the then opposition party that suggested there was a bias towards inclusion because disabled children were being forced into mainstream schools against the wishes of their parents. ALLFIE and our network knew this was untrue and launched this campaign to counter these false claims.  ALLFIE receives regular reminders of the benefits of inclusive education.

The We Know Inclusion Works campaign takes a positive approach by gathering personal stories from disabled children and young people, their families, teachers and support staff in schools and other professionals working in education. Those stories were collected into four volumes that were presented to the then Minister for Education and SEN, Lord Adonis, as evidence of what it takes to make inclusive education work for all disabled children and young people.

The evidence of We Know Inclusion Works shows that many disabled learners continue to face segregated education when entering into the world of further education.  After leaving school, disabled learners are often placed on ‘discrete’ employment and independent living preparation courses and often don’t receive the appropriate support they need in order to participate in mainstream education courses. Therefore our “We Know Inclusion Works” campaign has broadened its aim to include stories about disabled people’s access to all levels of mainstream education provision. 

Don't forget the "We Know Inclusion Works" campaign is still collecting your stories, pictures,photos, poems all about your experiences of inclusion. Contact us at the office for more information.

What Allfie has achieved

• We collected four volumes of stories that were presented to the then Minister for Education and SEN, Lord Adonis, as evidence of what it takes to make inclusive education work for all disabled children and young people.

• Thanks to this gathered evidence, we got the (then) Government to reaffirm its commitment to Inclusive Education.
  
  

Current campaign work

• The ongoing gathering of evidence that we are able to use to inform and support all our elements of campaign work.

What you can do

• Please send us your stories! Contact us at the office for more information.

Here are some quotes from the original responses:

"…all I have witnessed (in the classroom) has led me to believe that children will always be better off being educated with their able-bodied peers, and that furthermore, the non-disabled children benefit just as much from sharing their classroom" (Teacher, Peterborough)

"I felt I had to write as I too feel there has been a downward turn in the people's attitude towards total inclusion of people with disability in our mainstream schools and feel strongly that now is the time to stop the rot." (Parent, Scotland)

"Inclusion for me, is about a society, which respects the humanity of its people." (Disabled young person, Nottinghamshire)

"Inclusive education is a much more profound and deeper challenge to our schooling system and the way we think about learning. The starting principle is that each and every learner, irrespective of the nature or degree of their impairment should have the right to belong to their local school and their local community, with meaningful and appropriate support, enabling each learner to participate and contribute to such a learning community." (Inclusion campaigner and ally, Bolton)

"Having gone through mainstream education, I have to admit that the idea of being shut up in the box of a segregated school scares me." (Disabled young person, Ayrshire)

"As a parent of a disabled young person I have only ever had one real choice. Inclusion. There has never been any doubt or questions in our mind that this was the right path for our child." (Parent, Yorkshire)