Government Language Clouds the Definition of Inclusive Education

This follows on from my article in the previous edition of Inclusion Now, ‘How the language of SEND has devalued education’, where I concluded that “we need a radical shift to end the oppressive systems and offensive language that disproportionately harms Disabled people and people from marginalised communities.” 

Since the Labour Government took office in 2024, their manifesto has stated that they want to “improve expertise and inclusivity in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs”. 

Once again, we have another Government intent on keeping segregated education going and not creating a fully Inclusive Education system. “Inclusivity in mainstream schools” is also a new term that looks to serve as a distraction from giving Disabled children and young people the Inclusive Education that they are entitled to and deserve.  

As an article written by Schools Week in October 2024 states, inclusion must be more than a policy or a box ticking exercise, it is a mindset. We know this to be true from our decades of campaigning at ALLFIE. Inclusive Education needs to be seen as a human rights and social justice issue.  

ALLFIE has always said that the foundation of an Inclusive Education system must be centred on the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Article 24 of the UNCRPD is very clear that Disabled people have a right to: “an inclusive, education system at all levels,” and that “Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary and secondary education on the basis of disability”. 

This won’t happen unless all Disabled children and Young people are in mainstream education. 

In another announcement, the Labour Government introduced a curriculum review. They want:
“A broader, richer, cutting-edge curriculum that drives high and rising schools standards and sets all young people up for life and work will be central to the government’s vision for education”. 

The Government has also said that they want to break down barriers to opportunities for every child. Barriers to accessing education for Disabled children and Young people can only be abolished if the education system stops relying on the medical model and upholding systems that support segregation. Schools and colleges are still looking at what Disabled children and Young people cannot do, instead of looking at how the education system creates barriers for them during their education. Teachers and schools should be trained in the Social Model of Disability.  

This strange language of “mainstream inclusivity” does not clarify how many children will end up in units within mainstream settings. The government defines SEN units as: 

“Special provisions within a mainstream school where the pupils with SEN are taught mainly within separate classes for at least half of the time.” 

As we at ALLFIE know, putting pupils in units is segregation in mainstream education, and not proper inclusion. Units in mainstream education result in Disabled pupils not getting the chance to fully experience the curriculum or to build relationships with their non-Disabled peers. In 2018, a teacher named Marion Stanton wrote in ALLFIE’s Inclusion Now magazine about her experiences as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) practitioner supporting an 11-year-old girl called Jane.  

Jane uses a communication book to talk. Jane experienced barriers to accessing the curriculum when she was in mainstream primary school in 2014. This happened because there were sudden changes to the National Curriculum at the time. Pupils were being asked to jump ahead 2 years with their classroom work. It is obvious that implementing such changes will seriously disadvantage pupils who are already marginalised within the education system. Additionally, it creates unnecessary strain and pressure on teachers, and an increase in resources. Therefore, it is not surprising that these changes had a significant impact on Jane’s access to the curriculum and overall school experience.  

This situation also highlights the impact of ranking and grouping pupils. As Marion explained,  “there was an assumption that she [Jane] had plateaued”, which further reinforced incorrect labels about Jane and their learning. As a result of this, Jane could have ended up in a separate unit within mainstream education, or could have been placed in a segregated school away from the community and her peers. How many more Disabled children and Young people will be subject to being given more labels, and not having their entitlement to an Inclusive Education under Labour’s new “mainstream inclusivity”?  

Given the systemic and structural injustice, the Curriculum and Assessment Review does not give me any confidence that it will bring about Inclusive Education for all children and young people. 

As ALLFIE has highlighted over the years, many mainstream schools are also being held back because they are punished for addressing issues of classism, ableism, sexism, racism. For example,  schools have been punished when enrolling a high number of Disabled children and young people, or children on free school meals, or adopting inclusive practices, because these can negatively impact their position in league tables. This further discourages schools from wanting to be inclusive.  

Something that has been put in place so that mainstream education can be inclusive, but has instead become a well-hidden secret, are School Accessibility Plans. Since 2002, all schools have been required by law to publish and implement Accessibility Plans. These plans are meant to outline “how they intend to make their settings more accessible over time.” in areas which include:  

• The supply of information to parents of Disabled children and Young people; 

• Physical access; 

• Teaching and assessments to meet individual needs. 

ALLFIE conducted research into Accessibility Plans in 2020 because we believe them to be a positive tool for Inclusive Education. However, so little is known about them. As it is a statutory duty, if a school does not publish their Accessibility Plans, they might be “breaching the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2001 and the Equality Act 2010”. 

As ALLFIE highlights in our Accessibility Plans report, the Equality Act 2010 states:  

“Schools must not discriminate against Disabled children and young people, whether directly or indirectly. There must be reasonable adjustments in teaching and learning, to make sure that Disabled pupils are not being disadvantaged compared to their non-Disabled peers”. 

ALLFIE’s research showed that nearly all of the parents who participated were not aware of Accessibility Plans before our research. Many of the professionals were aware of the plans, but this knowledge varied depending on their role. Professionals also mentioned that they wouldn’t know where to access the plans. The professionals in our research explained that having an effective Accessibility Plan would help with supporting students in the classroom, and to help meet their needs. A parent said in the report that she was happy with the way the curriculum was made accessible for her son in mainstream school because of the Accessibility Plan. 

However, many parents and professionals that we interviewed explained that the plans are not effective because they have not been implemented properly. As ALLFIE’s Capacity Building Lead, Lani Parker, discusses in an article for Inclusion Now magazine, there are many ways to segregate children which include “lowered expectations” and “reduced support”. I wonder if the Labour Government are going to look at how Accessibility Plans are put in place as part of their new plans for mainstream schooling, to see how many children and Young people are not receiving the support and entitlement to reasonable adjustments. 

The argument for Inclusive Education already exists and has existed for a long time, especially since the UK Government signed the UNCRPD in 2007. Our campaign work at ALLFIE for over 30 years shows this. In conclusion, the current Labour Government must concentrate on building one fully Inclusive Education system underpinned by the UNCRPD on Article 24. They need to recognise the education of Disabled children and Young people as a human rights priority, instead of creating new and unhelpful buzzwords around Inclusive Education.