Inclusion Now Articles Volume 22
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New Lobbying Tool - CDC's Inclusion Policy
Include Me Out - A Vision for 21st Century Schools?
The Children, Skills and Learning Bill
Diana Simpson - Inclusion Warrior
One School to Another - Madeleine Bell
Secretary of State's Report on Progress to Disability Equality
ALLFIE Develops Young Disabled People's Campaign Forums
Implementing Inclusive Education
Creating a Movement
Key Issues for Teaching Assistants - Book Review
New Lobbying Tool for Inclusionists
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) have recently published
a revised version of their policy on Inclusion. What is exciting about it
is that it has the weight of the 'mainstream' disabled children services sector
behind it!
The CDC is an umbrella body of organisations working in the disabled children's
sector in England. ALLFIE is represented on the CDC Steering group as are
other members of the Inclusion movement - Parents for Inclusion and Disability
Equality in Education.
Since starting at the Alliance nearly 3 years ago I have been trying to immerse
myself in the disabled children's sector to understand where the resistance
is coming from in relation to disabled children and young people being included
in education.
Many of the people I speak to in the sector talk positively about the possibility
of including the groups of disabled children and young people their organisation
works with yet in public revert to a 'party' line of 'well of course it wouldn't
work for our children'- now all that has changed!
We know at ALLFIE that the CDC and lead organisations within the CDC network
(Mencap, Contact a Family, National Autistic Society etc) have the 'ear' of
the Department for Children, Schools and Families, therefore the Inclusion
policy from the CDC is really important because it shows a real unity about
a vision of inclusion for disabled children and young people across the sector.
The publication of the policy is also very timely when we think about what
the Government is planning to change in education over the next few months
(see our new Briefings on the ALLFIE website - www.allfie.org.uk) and the
current attempts by the Government to split the opinion of the sector on the
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The original CDC policy on Inclusion was developed in the 1990s and as we
all know much has changed since then, therefore, with the voices from the
inclusion movement better represented within the CDC, it was agreed last year
that there was a need to revise the policy.
The working group gathered together a number of times to work on the policy
and was keen that the starting point should be a focus on some core principles
in support of a childhood that is inclusive rather than only focussing on
a particular aspect of young people's lives.
Principles for Inclusion
Inclusion is a journey with a clear direction and purpose: equality of opportunity
for all children and young people. CDC believes that the following factors
are crucial to the development of inclusion:
A welcome for all disabled children, secure relationships and support for
families when they need it;
Respect for difference and a commitment to building friendships and community
to the benefit of everyone;
Equality of access to play, learning, leisure and all aspects of life;
The active participation of children and their families in decision-making;
A proactive approach to identifying and removing barriers;
Timely access to information and to people with empowering attitudes, supportive
skills and expertise.
The policy uses a Social Model of Disability approach to identify
the key barriers that currently prevent disabled children and young people
from being included in every day life rather than seeing disabled young people
as the 'problem to be fixed'. It also highlights the key role that disabled
young people themselves play in removing barriers through self-empowerment
programmes and better connections with disabled adults and organisations run
and controlled by disabled people. Personal stories of inclusion and examples
of good inclusive practice bring the policy and the issue alive and bring
to the fore the real benefits of inclusion for disabled and non disabled young
people and their families - benefits that get lost in unhelpful polemic debates
around inclusion versus segregation, much of which is driven by personal experience
and painful accounts of feeling disempowered or unsupported.
CDC's Inclusion policy focuses on the right of all disabled young people to
be included in all aspects of every day life and that such a vision can be
achieved over time.
For those of you who may have already seen the document, you may share our
view that the policy is not as clear as it could be in its support for inclusive
education, however it is an extremely helpful lobbying tool. It demonstrates
a consensus across the disabled children and young people's services sector
that inclusion in ALL aspects of everyday life MUST be a reality for ALL disabled
children and young people. Despite our reservations, ALLFIE thinks the policy
could be used in a number of different ways:
To encourage public bodies (schools, local authorities etc) to think about
inclusive provision as part of their legal duty to promote disability equality
(DDA 2006)
To encourage voluntary sector based service providers to think about the value
of inclusive activities for ALL young people
To support families and young people to feel more confident in seeking inclusive
school placements
To raise awareness of the benefits of an inclusive childhood as a starting
point for equal citizenship
Only this week the Children's Society has published a landmark report based
on an inquiry into the conditions necessary for a good childhood. The recommendations
within the "A Good Childhood" report chime absolutely with the vision
of inclusion becoming a reality for all children. The recommendations include
schools becoming "values-based communities" promoting mutual respect
between teachers, parents and children and that School league tables and SATs
should be abolished. ALLFIE absolutely supports these recommendations as they
would go some way towards the removal of barriers within education, but also
drive a culture shift in the way society views young people generally and
promote a better understanding of the harm done to young people who are excluded
for education due to disablism and other prejudice.
ALLFIE is now working with the CDC on an event to officially launch the policy.
The event will be in Westminster so we can get lots of MPs and Peers to come
along and get fired up in support of inclusion. The event gives us an important
opportunity to reframe the inclusion debate in terms of capacity building
the mainstream education system so that it is 'fit for purpose' and is better
able to support the needs of a more diverse range of young people. In addition,
because the event will happen in March this year, it also gives us an additional
opportunity to increase the pressure on the Government to think again about
its current, hugely out of date position on Article 24 on Education in the
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The new Council for Disabled Children's Inclusion Policy is available as a
pdf file on the CDC website ( www.ncb.org.uk/cdc) We also have a number of
copies here in the ALLFIE office so get in touch if you would like us to send
a copy. We'd also like your thoughts on the policy and any plans you have
to use it to promote inclusion - I carry copies with me everywhere!
Tara Flood
Include Me Out: A Vision for 21st Century Schools?
'Include me out' was a phrase attributed to Hollywood mogul
Sam Goldwyn, who used the English language creatively. He meant: "I don't
want to be part of this." We know of "inclusion departments"
in schools across the country whose job is precisely to make sure that certain
children are not part of the ordinary classroom: they are "included out".
But we also know of other schools where all children are included "in",
as it now seems necessary to add, and where they are welcomed as full human
beings rather than not potential problems.
The DCSF's consultation document preparing for a new White Paper, '21st Century
Schools: A World-Class Education for Every Child', reflects this ambiguity.
In the whole 50 pages there is just one reference to inclusion, and it comes
in the best practice example of a segregated ("special") school
which "supports mainstream secondary partners in their inclusion of pupils
with SEN through consultancy for individual pupils." Most of us know
what this really means: i.e. some pupils can be included but we make sure
we cream off the "worst".
This White Paper seeks to set the tone for the English education system for
the next generation. So it is vitally important that everyone concerned with
inclusion responds to this consultation, to get inclusion on the agenda.
The document's summarises its aims as follows:
Children and young people are fully engaged with their education until at
least the age of 18, reach world-class standards and acquire skills, understanding
and qualifications that will serve them well in the future;
All children and young people are supported to progress, with excellent teaching;
stretched to develop their talents; given the opportunities to pursue an engaging
curriculum and qualifications, and to learn in a way which excites them and
meets their needs;
All children and young people learn in an environment of good behaviour, are
not bullied or discriminated against, and develop the wider personal skills,
characteristics and attitudes they need to succeed and make a positive contribution
to society, while enjoying a fulfilling and healthy childhood;
Through collaborative working with other services, children and young people's
additional needs (including SEN) are met as early as possible - an end in
itself; and because doing so supports learning by removing barriers and ensures
that children and young people do not become distracted or disengaged from
learning; and
High levels of parental engagement and satisfaction with schools.
Readers of this journal need to focus on Question 2 of the e-consultation:
"Is there anything missing from the vision for a 21st century school
system?" The five bullet points above provide the starting-point for
a response.
Points 1 and 3 are about preparation for adulthood. They are fine words, but
give no inkling of the discrimination and poor outcomes that face many children
leaving school. If the government's aim is to achieve "world-class schools",
it cannot continue to run an education system where 2% of children are outside
mainstream in segregated schools, units and PRUs, and thus are completely
unprepared for a life in society alongside the rest of their peers.
Policies for adults, in other Government departments such as the Office of
Disability Issues, Department of Work and Pensions and Department of Health,
all have inclusion as their goal: Improving Life-Chances for Disabled People,
Independent Living Strategy, I Want a Job, and Valuing People. One would have
thought that joined-up government would involve doing the same for our future
adults. Yet inclusion and discrimination are scarcely mentioned, and it seems
that the school lives of disabled children and those otherwise liable to social
isolation will not be touched by this paper. Special schools do not prepare
them for independent lives in the community. Virtually no one leaving an SLD
school is in a job. Children labelled with behavioural or mental health issues,
looked-after children and those with physical or sensory impairment likewise
lag behind others in terms of life-chances on leaving special schools. Nothing
in the document tackles this total contradiction between the very existence
of such schools and the policies being adopted elsewhere for adults. The White
Paper should, but does not, address the question:
How does a life of segregation in school prepare pupils for community life
in adulthood?
Point 4 seems to be trying to depart from the "special educational needs"
label by putting them under a wider category called "additional needs".
It manipulates the inclusionist language of "barriers to participation"
by making it mean something within the child: paragraph 2.4 of the full document,
for example, talks about the child who has "barriers like special educational
needs or disabilities". In fact the barriers arise precisely because
of so-called "collaborative" working, since mainstream staff take
too seriously the advice given them by segregated schools which have no real
incentive to give up their pupils, and by other services (social, health etc.)
whose whole premise is that such children are problems. "Additional needs"
will therefore continue to mean doing things for children outside the mainstream
system, away from the normal social life that other children enjoy. The reference
to early intervention is all very well, but the groups identified earliest
as having additional needs have the poorest outcomes later in life.
Finally, Question 8a of the e-consultation asks: "What are the main challenges
to the children and young people's workforce in delivering the vision of the
21st century school?" We need to convince the Government that it must
provide a strategy and leadership to address the above questions. Nothing
could be more indicative of the need to tackle the issue of disability discrimination
in any vision of the 21st century school than the fact that it is mentioned
here.
The e-consultation deadline is 3 March, at: www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations
A suggested format for responses is available at: www.csie.org
Chris Goodey
The Children, Skills and Learning Bill
In February the Government is expected to publish a Children,
Skills and Learning Bill. Central to the Bill will be major changes to how
education will be provided and funded for all students over the age of 14
years old underpinning the Government's commitment to develop a 'world class'
nation of highly skilled workers.
A proposed National Apprenticeship Scheme and 'Vocational' Diplomas will become
available alongside the traditional academic qualifications for students to
choose from. And students (mainly those with learning difficulties) will be
able to complete segregated 'Independent Living' and 'Entry to Employment'
courses as part of the Learning Foundation Tier.
Funding of these four options will be a major provision of the Bill. Two agencies
will be created, the first, the Young Peoples Learning Agency will be responsible
for the funding of all provision for young people between 14 and 19 years
of age, with an upper limit of 25 for Disabled students with learning difficulties.
Regional groupings of Local Education Authorities will be expected to jointly
commission education provision (academic, diploma, learning foundation tier
courses and apprenticeships) across member boroughs. The second, the Skills
Funding Agency replaces the Learning and Skills Council Funding and will be
responsible for funding 19 plus education provision. The funding formulae
is currently being reviewed but we are expecting that the one used for LSC
will continue which includes paying education service providers by student
retention and successfully passing their examinations.
We are expecting that whilst in theory disabled students will have more choice,
actually in practise this is unlikely to be the case. How real is the choice
for disabled young people to take up a mainstream apprenticeship where disablism
is still rife in the work place, coupled with a requirement of successful
completion of a level 2 qualification (equal to 5 GCSE Grade A*-C)? And if
payment by results continues, or targeting funding for specific groups of
students to complete discrete courses then it's unlikely that many disabled
students will be able to enrol on academic and vocational diploma courses.
So what will be left are the segregated 'Independent Living' and 'Entry to
Employment' courses which will become more available for young people at 14
rather than 16 years of age. And for students who have probably fought to
get onto a mainstream course or an apprenticeship place, how will their support
and equipment be provided where there are three funding streams through the
statementing, LSC section 140 assessment and Access to Work?
Alongside the 14-19 provisions, the Bill will include initiatives to replace
the Pupil Referral Units, create a new Parent Mediation Service, increase
the duty upon Local Authorities to use school failing notices and give additional
powers for School staff to stop and search children without their consent.
ALLFIE welcomes a wider range of educational options for all young people.
We will be lobbying and campaigning to ensure that Disabled students have
access to all mainstream education provision. We do not see any need to offer
special 'Independent Living' or 'Entry to Employment' courses for disabled
students, as these skills can be learnt whilst undertaking mainstream education
courses, through extra-curricular and home based activities. We need to campaign
hard to make sure that increased segregation and disablism does not creep
into this Education bill.
We are going to be publishing regular Campaigns briefings which will provide
updates on what is happening and how to get stuck into our campaign work.
Our briefings will be on the ALLFIE website: www.allfie.org.uk
Please do contact us if you need the briefings in a different format.
Simone Aspis
ALLFIE Policy and Campaigns Worker
Diana Simpson - Inclusion Warrior
Diana Simpson, longtime supporter and ally to the inclusion movement, lost her battle against Leukaemia in November 2008.
Diana: Friend, colleague, innovator, debater, fundraiser, development worker, Co-director of Parents for Inclusion, founder member and Treasurer of the Alliance for Inclusive Education, Co-councillor, who was deeply committed to her family and friends.
Diana was a unique leader, through whose work and friendship many lives have been changed. She was a brilliant star.
In the eighties, she like many of us parents of disabled children had a profound and challenging journey to tread: that of finding solutions towards inclusion. For her it was to ensure that her beloved daughter Clare was given the respect, value and positive future that her other children could expect, and to be included in her mainstream primary school.
She soon became acquainted with other people who had set out on a similar journey, in particular Margaret Gault, and she soon realised that the challenge and fight for her daughter's and other disabled children's human rights within the education system, could be lost unless solidarity with others became the name of the game. She became an active member of the Parents Campaign for Integrated Education, which eventually after many name changes is now known as Parents for Inclusion (Pi).
Profoundly important for her and for other parents was her meeting with Micheline Mason, a Disabled Disability Equality Trainer and parent of Lucy a very young disabled child. Micheline had a strong and important message about parents as allies to their disabled children and introduced the Social Model of Disability, and the Disability Movement to the organisation. Through this extraordinary partnership with Micheline, and her connection with other activists, Diana grew into a fierce ally and a passionate advocate, not only to disabled people but also to other parents. This relationship was key when the Alliance for Inclusive Education was set up in 1990.
What was so special about Diana? She was an inspiration. She believed deeply in relationships, and was very generous with her time and selflessness in creating a family of diverse people who became her colleagues and friends. She always found time to talk. She was highly intelligent, perceptive, and always found solutions to any challenge or new development in a determined way. She initiated policies, which enabled parents to work part time, and recognised that the parents involved in the organisation also needed space and time to share and to be supported within their own lives and challenges. She created the blue print for the Pi Helpline, and worked with Micheline to create the Planning Positive Futures Training, which has changed so many parents, and their children's lives. The Pi training, which is soon to be accredited by the Open College Network, was begun through this partnership. Fully supported by Nick, her partner, she introduced information technology to Parents for Inclusion and the Alliance for Inclusive Education enabling them to operate more efficiently. She was fun, creative and innovative, and a real collaborator. She lived inclusion, and through her own family life others found the courage and the commitment to ensure that their own children were give the opportunity to live a full and as inclusive a life as possible.
We worked closely together for about 20 years, and during that time, Parents for Inclusion became unique as a parent organisation committed to the leadership of disabled people. It recognised the role of parents as allies to their disabled children, and believes deeply in the fact that change will only happen if many strands of society pull together to create an inclusive diverse world. She had a formidable role in ensuring that this understanding continues to be the organisation's ethos and drive. She was a great advocate for ensuring that people understood the role that parents of disabled children committed to the social model of disability, have had in changing the course of history, a real change from the past, and had a leading role in ensuring that Parents for Inclusion remains committed to working as allies with disabled people as leaders of this critical campaign. We were early members of the Alliance for Inclusive Education, and Pi fully supported the development of this important campaigning organisation.
Before she was so cruelly taken from her family, her friends
and colleagues, she shared her excitement that at last there were real signs
that the organisations she most believed in would be joining together to work
towards a more inclusive world where everyone belongs. I believe her legacy
will ensure that this happens. When she left Pi we all recognised that a formidable
force was missing, but I now believe that her unique contribution will be
the force which will ensure that the dream of equality and justice for our
children will continue. She was loved, respected and valued by many and she
will be greatly missed.
Jo Cameron
I first met Diana at a meeting for special school survivors, organised by ALLFIE, back in 2003. It was also my first connection with ALLFIE - what a first connection and first meeting with Diana.
I will always remember the strength and passion with which she spoke about her role as a parent and ally to her daughter Clare. I don't think I had ever heard a parent of a disabled person speak with such conviction, love and aspiration for their future - it was a revelation!
And from that point on my respect and belief in Diana as a warrior, ally and friend has grown and strengthened.
Her support for me in my new role as ALLFIE's Director was unswerving and her commitment to ALLFIE and it's vision of a right to inclusive education for EVERYONE was constant, clear and real. This was equalled by her belief in disabled people leading the struggle.
Diana's legacy to the inclusion movement and to ALLFIE is
that we build on her vision of a more united voice whose strength comes from
its diversity of voices and a shared belief that inclusive education is a
right for ALL.
Tara Flood
One School to Another
Many mothers feel concerned about putting their children with
autism into Mainstream Schools but I, for one am grateful for my mother's
final choice
As I was born with autism and have always felt awkward. I felt singled out
every time I walked into school, but at the same time I felt just like any
another student.
SPECIAL SCHOOL
I have always insisted that these were the best years of my life. But now
I look back and I think it was because the school was so relaxed. For instance
my art lessons had group projects, and we weren't separately graded, maybe
the school was focusing on people skills. Apparently when my mum asked about
my GCS's they just laughed. The school was good fun though, you could call
the teachers by their first names and if you got into trouble you were sent
to the kindly head teacher's office for a quiet chat. They organised the most
amazing school trips, like for instance a trip to the Albert Hall to see Miss
Rowlings interview on The Order Of the Phoenix. However the lessens were very
relaxed I didn't feel challenged at all. Most of the science lessens involved
watching a video or scribbling answers down on a work sheet. When my mum realised
I was never going to have a future with special school education she decided
to move me into mainstream school.
MAINSTREAM SCHOOL
At first I was terrified of my new school environment. I found the children
too streetwise and smart beyond my idea of year five students. But as I came
in two days of the week to start off (I went to special school every other
day) I found it easier to adjust and less of a change. When I was first told
of being moved I was devastated and panicky, so at first I refused to fit
in. When my name was called in registration I remained silent, I clung to
my support teacher, I was intimidated by the other students because I couldn't
write properly. I didn't talk to the other students at first but as soon as
I made my first friend Eli, things started looking up. Every playtime in year
six I was surrounded by nice friendly girls trying to help me fit in and succeeding!
When it was time for my first SATs I just saw it as a test and didn't panic.
When news came in for secondary school I wasn't too worried. The thing that
did concern me was most of my friends were going to an all girls school. The
hardest part was saying goodbye.
SECONDARY SCHOOL
At secondary school I found It particularly hard to settle in, I was worried
about the new work, Teachers expectations of me and of other students. I used
to wander around school looking like I was on my way to somewhere. I had a
few female friends but I always felt more comfortable around boys, because
at special school I had been friends with lots of boys. The thing was all
the boys didn't like me so much and as for the girls I didn't know what they
were talking about most of the time. When I met my first secondary school
male friend, I tagged along with him, met his friends and became friends with
them all. They were different than the other boys, instead of discussing stupid
immature things they just talked about "nerdy" things- I liked that.
After that my confidence rose and I made new friends, also my school work
looked up. I did pretty good on my mock SATs and I am waiting for my SATs
results back anytime now. I feel pretty confident about the results.
I don't believe in singling out any child because of the difficulty's they
might have. I don't see myself as disabled but different from the rest. My
heart may still ache and a tear may drop from my eye sometimes whenever I
think of the things I missed out on, but I feel glad my mother got me out
of special school before my education and potential was lost.
By Madeleine Bell
year 9
Madeleine attended a speech and language unit within a mainstream school until
year 2. She then moved on to a school that specialised in educating children
on the Autistic Spectrum. Madeleine finally returned to full time mainstream
education in year 6. An overwhelming number of teachers and other professionals
advised us that Madeleine would not be able to cope in a mainstream setting.
Madeleine has just entered year 10 and is studying for her GCSE's
bUilLiNg
I came in late today simply because I couldn't sleep, for demons were waiting
in my dreams,
Leering and jeering, pushing and shoving.
Faces from school giving me hell though rid temporarily of them.
I come into class, sit down and write.
Behind me I sense cruel eyes staring, glaring, tearing into me.
I keep myself calm but by lessen five I feel as though I want to die.
Everyday people are judging me; I never know why, they seem to have respect
that I sadly will never possess.
They group together like a pack of smug lions.
And look down on me as though they are giants.
I hate that, why should I let them ruin my life and let them get away with
such rotten strife?
But listen now and listen good
I am a person I'm from flesh not wood.
I'll study hard and do my best and in a few years
I'll let you guess who ends up the best!
Maddy Bell
DCSF - Secretary of State's Report on Progress to Disability
Equality: How Much Has Been Achieved?
This Report was anticipated with high expectations. For the
first time the DCSF would have to draw up a balance sheet of how well the
education sector was implementing the Duty to Promote Disability Equality.
The Duty was introduced for all public bodies in the Disability Discrimination
Act 2005 and came into force from December 2006. The law also required 11
Secretary of States to report progress in December 2008.
All state schools in England and Wales had to apply the duties and develop
a Disability Equality Scheme, based on ongoing engagement with disabled pupils,
staff, parents and members of the local community. The legislation is underpinned
by the 'social model' of disability and requires the DCSF and all schools
and colleges to identify barriers to disabled people and come up with solutions.
The Report overemphasises the changes that have taken place, often pointing
to existing policy developments as if they are a consequence of the Duty.
In fact their antecedents were the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign and
the initiatives for Aiming High for Disabled Children: the majority of new
funding being for short family break, rather than direct payments. Overall
there is little evidence of a real shift to disability equality.
There are no large scale studies and data on how schools are carrying out
this duty. The research that had been commissioned of Disability Equality
in Education and an independent report by MENCAP (Just not a priority: schools
and disability equality. 2008www.mencap.org.uk/desresearch) suggest a very
patchy response from schools. Mencap found that only 8 out of 40 schools contacted
had any evidence of having any Disability Equality Scheme. The government
does not allow surveys of schools, as an anti-bureaucracy measure, so they
have no way of knowing what is happening in the schools for which they are
responsible.
DEE could only find 76 Disability Equality Schemes in English schools (50
primary and 26 secondary published on the internet out of a possible 21,000).
These were analysed against a 50 point check list in order to meet the statutory
requirements. None met all requirements and only a handful scored on half
or more of the indicators developed. Key points from two of these schools
-Davigdor in Brighton and Hove and Grasmere in Hackney are included in the
report.
The weak response in the Secretary of State's Report is to write to all schools
reminding them of the Duty and the need to have a scheme and encouraging them
to share it with parents, local authority and OFSTED.
The DEE research included the views of 140 disabled pupils in 11 locations
around England. Most of these views are not in the Report, though they showed
there was much more to be done than had so far been achieved. However, the
Report does highlight the following conclusions from the young people's views
and encourages schools to:-
" Place an emphasis on developing peer support, circles of friends and
buddies;
" Involve young disabled people in the selection and deployment of teaching
assistants;
" Be aware of the range and breadth of reasonable adjustments;
" Use resources in which disabled people are visible and make a positive
contribution to society;
" Use resources which are easy to read but have age appropriate story
lines;
" Challenge disabilist bullying ( the report identifies that over 70%
of disabled pupils have experienced bullying compared to 30% of non-disabled
pupils);
" Tackle the high levels of exclusion of disabled pupils with the development
of emotional intelligence through SEAL and positive behaviour policies;
" Explore with QCA the possibility of a Disabled Right's week each year.
Overall the Report identifies many changes to enhance disability equality,
but is short of actual implementation strategies. These should include the
insistence on all DCSF initiatives being fed through a Disability Equality
Impact Assessment and enforcing the statutory requirement that OFSTED check
the DES in all schools they visit. Unfortunately, on reading the full Report
one is left with the impression that it is business as usual at the attainment
dominated DCSF and only lip-service is being paid to Disability Equality.
Supporters of inclusion can challenge their local schools to have an effective
DES and report them to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for failing
in their statutory duty.
To read full report- http://wwww.dcsf.gov.uk/publications/des/SoSreport.shtml
Richard Rieser
ALLFIE Develops Young Disabled People's Campaign Forums
Dzifa Afonu and Lucy Mason were appointed as development workers
to work with young disabled people in 2008.
What are we doing?
Currently we are in the early stages of a new and exciting project. The project
aims to develop two youth led self sustaining inclusive youth forums which
will increase the engagement of young disabled people in their local areas.
The aim to promote inclusion and the social model of disability in the wider
community - one is in the London Borough of Lambeth and the other in Newham.
In Lambeth we held a two day "team building" music workshop designed
to introduce the young people to the ideas we would be thinking about, then
we held a photography workshop and exhibition at Brixton Road Youth Centre.
The project taught the participants practical skills as well as discussing
with them issues related to inclusion and participation.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, came to our final event and has been in
contact with us since, interested in discussing the issues we raised and to
look at the role of inclusion in the wider youth participation sector.
We have spent a significant amount of time building relationships
with children and young people's services in Lambeth and Newham including
staff working on the government initiative Aiming High for disabled children.
In order to make our project successful we need to secure the long term inclusion
of disabled young people within participation services as a priority.
In Newham we have had several meetings with the Primary Care Trust (PCT) development
manager and the manager of Aiming High for Disabled Young People.
We held two events in July 2008 which were mainly aimed at bringing together
young disabled people aged 13 and under to start to encourage interest in
a future ongoing youth forum. The events were also intended to provide an
opportunity to assess the current capacity of the potential members to participate
in a consultation and to start encouraging their confidence to speak about
their views and voice their opinions.
The events were a great success; over thirty young people took part in the
activities that occurred on the two days. The young people actively engaged
in the day, we had lots of positive feedback in relation to meeting people,
having fun and wanting to do more; the day was inclusive and accessible for
all those who attended. We were able to make an assessment of what support
and training the young people would need to be a part of a young disabled
people led youth forum.
In conjunction with the young peoples' consultation event in Newham, A parents'
forum was being held and facilitated by a local parent from the organisation
Parents for Inclusion, the director of the Alliance for Inclusive Education
and the Development Manager of Disabled Children and Young People from Newham
PCT. The parents' forum was a great success and many ideas were generated
in regards to how the services that parents, carers and their young disabled
children in Newham could be improved and become more meaningful to the individual.
The work has helped to ignite excitement and enthusiasm in the young people
and their parents who are keen for us to do more work as soon as possible.
We have directly and indirectly made an input into how Lambeth and Newham's
local authority plan will develop their services to further include young
disabled people.
We hope to attract further funding to enable this ground breaking work to
continue after this year supporting the development of many young disabled
people to be active participants in their own futures.
To get involved or for more information, contact us at the ALLFIE office (details
on back page)
Implementing Inclusive Education
A Commonwealth Guide to implementing Article 24 of the UN
Convention on the Rights of people with Disabilities.
Richard Rieser
The right to education for all children is enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and more recently in the Millennium Development Goals. However,
in developing countries, the proportion of disabled children attending school
is estimated at between less than one per cent and five per cent.
Inclusion in education is a process of enabling all children to learn and
participate effectively within mainstream school systems, without segregation.
It is about shifting the focus from altering disabled people to fit into society
to transforming society and the world by changing attitudes and removing barriers.
'Implementing Inclusive Education: a Commonwealth Guide' shows how Commonwealth
countries are attempting to undertake this transformative process, and will
encourage all those charged with ensuring education for all to make certain
that disabled children are fully included in all aspects of the education
system.
The book provides examples, both through illustrated case studies and on the
accompanying
DVDs of how inclusive education systems for all children have been established
in pockets throughout the Commonwealth.
The message is clear: it can be done. The task is now to implement inclusive
education worldwide.
Contents includes two DVDs:
DVD 1: Examples of inclusive education in Africa and India
DVD 2: Training material, examples of inclusive practice from the UK, Uganda
and Canada. Also contains Text only version.
Richard Rieser is Director of Disability Equality In Education, a UK NGO that
provides training, consultancy and resources to improve the position of disabled
people in the education system.
Publication date: Sept 2008
Price: GBP £15.00
ISBN: 978-0-85092-885-3
Publisher: Commonwealth Secretariat
Order from Disability Equality in Education (DEE):
020 7359 2855 or email info@diseed.org.uk
Creating a Movement
The long awaited launch of new DVD 'Creating a Movement' was
a great event. So long awaited in fact that when I rang around the people
who took part in the DVD to invite them along, they could barely remember
which DVD I was talking about!
It was worth the wait. 'Creating a Movement - the Struggle for Inclusive Education
in the UK 1990 -2006' is a powerful and evocative capturing of a vital piece
of history. It focuses mainly on two events - a demonstration in 1998, led
by young disabled people supported by ALLFIE and DAN (Direct Action Network)
which began with a march to Downing Street and ended in the occupation of
the DfES* building, and secondly, a so-called consultation with the DfES in
2003 when disabled people got to tell their own personal stories of segregation.
Micheline Mason, founder of ALLFIE, is also interviewed, giving her take on
the inclusion movement from its beginnings in the late 80's to present day.
The launch came at the end of a very long day. It followed an AGM, an afternoon
workshop, and a musical performance and yet it managed to re-energise and
inspire the committed group of people who stayed for the duration. Watching
the 1998 Demo were people who had been there and remembered the day with great
pride and emotion but also people who were seeing if for the first time and
felt empowered and excited by it. Andrew Lee from People First spoke about
that day and about how great it had felt to be stirring things up, baffling
police and officials alike, who hadn't yet dealt with disabled children as
activists! He told us that when his niece recently asked him what it was he
did at work, it was that day that came to mind. And he thought that perhaps
more recently we had all got a little too comfortable and safe. "Let's
take more risks, let's do more of that stuff" he encouraged, to cheers
around the room.
The Consultation section was equally powerful and it was deeply moving to
hear people's own experiences of segregation, of abuse and deep oppression.
Tara Flood spoke about that day, it was her first involvement with ALLFIE
and so for her a very key moment in her life, hearing not only others telling
their stories, but telling her own publicly for the first time. Many in the
audience talked of the profoundness of this section and others spoke for the
first time of their own painful experiences.
This DVD will prove to be invaluable, as an archive record of the history
of the inclusion movement, as a tool for training and education, as a focal
point for wider discussions on campaigning, political, empowerment and equality
issues.
Chloe Bowles
'Creating a Movement' is available from ALLfIE for £7 including postage.
Find out more at www.allfie.org.uk or contact us at the office, details on
back page.
Visit: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=
330219719407571226 to see a short trailer.
Key Issues for Teaching Assistants
Working in Diverse and Inclusive Classrooms
Edited by Gill Richards and Felicity Armstrong
Published by Routledge October 2007
ISBN: 978-0-415-43425-6
If you were to break down what Local Authorities spend on 'inclusive education'
- then the biggest budget heading by far would be teaching assistants' salaries.
It is also true that this group of education professionals is the least well
served by the available literature on inclusive education - so this book is
a welcome appreciation of the role and contribution of teaching assistants.
The editors - Gill Richards and Felicity Armstrong - teach within UK universities
and so are placed at what should be the wellspring of inclusive practice -
they are also inclusionists.
It is worth remembering that teaching assistants get a unique and ground level
view of what all the good intentions contained within IEPs and Statements
actually amount to in practice. They inevitably see the best and worst of
inclusive education on a daily basis as they work alongside the young person
these arrangements are supposed to serve. So it is high time TAs had access
to the thoughtful essays in this book to help make sense of their day-to-day
experience and also to strengthen their ability to speak out when provision
falls short of what should be.
The 14 chapters in this book neatly reflect the diversity of themes and issues
that play out in this arena. Ranging from Micheline Mason's radical re-write
of the TA role in her chapter on 'The Inclusion Assistant' to David Ruebain's
concise summary of the law and inclusive education - and covering traveller
children, gender influence and 'learner voice' and more along the way - this
is an ambitious and successful attempt to reflect the deep complexity of this
area - and all within 158 pages!
Derek Wilson
Inclusive Solutions Nottingham. January 2009