What the 2025 Party Conferences Tell Us About the Future of Inclusive Education

The 2025 Party Conferences were held at a critical juncture for Inclusive Education. Against a backdrop of mounting concern about the government’s commitment to inclusive practice, the Education Select Committee’s report on “Solving the SEND Crisis”, and the interim findings of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, alongside the introduction of the new Ofsted framework, offered only limited progress and left key systemic inequalities unaddressed. At the same time, the Schools White Paper was expected in the Autumn. Although its contents have not been announced, based on media reports there were concerns about a reduction in provisions for Disabled students, including the scrapping of EHCPs and the expansion of segregated provisions. These changes would pose serious risks to the future of Inclusive Education and the rights of Disabled students in England. 

In her speech, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that the Labour government would support Disabled children “to succeed, with fresh investment and new facilities.” She framed this as part of the party’s agenda to spread opportunity and reduce inequality through the education system. However, it is unclear what “fresh investment” means, as according to media reports, the government plans to reduce provisions for Disabled students, including through the limiting or scrapping of EHCPs. Meanwhile, references to “new facilities” seem to point to the government’s continued investment in segregated provisions such as special schools and SEN units. In short, the Education Secretary’s speech offered no reassurance of the Labour government’s commitment to Inclusive Education but exposed its continued efforts to scale back the rights of Disabled students.     

During its conference, the Liberal Democrats passed a motion titled “Ending the Crisis: A Fair Deal for Children with SEND”. While it identifies the systemic barriers to Inclusive Education and calls for key reforms, including extra funding for local authorities to resource school to support Disabled pupils and mandating teacher training, the motion falls short by calling for more special schools to be built faster. Expanding special school provision entrenches segregation rather than promoting inclusion, diverting resources away from mainstream schools that should be equipped to support all learners.  

The situation of Disabled students was not a major focus at the Conservative conference. However, Tes reported that shadow education secretary Laura Trott pledged more specialist alternative provision places for disruptive pupils and stressed that pupils who commit serious acts (e.g. assault) should be excluded. This emphasis is on maintaining order risks entrenching a punitive, exclusionary system that punishes Disabled students instead of supporting them, ignoring their needs, pathologizing their behaviour, and deepening the injustice faced by individuals already marginalised by the education system. Beyond this, no clear, detailed plan for addressing the systemic barriers to Inclusive Education was shared during the Conservative conference. 

Finally, the Greens did not address the situation of Disabled people in education as a distinct or substantive theme in their 2025 conference motions or speeches. 

Taken together, the 2025 party conferences reveal a troubling consensus across the political spectrum: none of the major parties articulated a coherent vision for Inclusive Education grounded in human rights and social justice frameworks. Instead, the prevailing rhetoric points towards segregation, restriction, and control — a rollback of decades of progress won by Disabled activists, educators, and families. To defend Inclusive Education, it will take renewed collective action to hold all parties accountable and to insist that Disabled students are not treated as problems to be managed, but as equal members of our school communities whose rights must be upheld.