Parents


“When you get your child diagnosed you don’t get a ‘welcome to the disabled world’ pack.” (Rosalind, parent)

Daughter with Down Syndrome and motherParents of Disabled children and young people have to navigate complex information and make decisions about what is best for their child, usually without any previous experience of disability.

Their child starting a new nursery, school or college can pose challenges suddenly, as the legal framework for making decisions and securing support is not parent friendly.

Parents want to make the choices that will most help their child reach their potential, and government policy stresses parental choice. And yet this is meaningless when the real choices available to parents of Disabled children are poor: often a choice between special school, sometimes far away, and the battle to secure a welcoming, well-supported place in a mainstream school.

We want the system to stop putting parents in an impossible situation. Inclusion in mainstream society shouldn’t be a choice; it’s a human right.

We’re not an advice service – we tackle the problem at its root. For all children and young people to be included in mainstream education, the whole system has to be on board – not just parents but schools, education, health and social care professionals as well as politicians. We provide resources for those working towards inclusive education, put pressure on government to commit to it in their policies, and work to create a climate for inclusion.

We aim to get the voice of parents supporting inclusion heard at national level and to change the system for good – join us.