Parent voice
Why It Is Harder Than Ever for Disabled Children to Attend Mainstream Schools. By Lucy Bartley You would be forgiven for thinking that, by now, it would be more possible than ever before for a Disabled child to attend mainstream school or college of their choice. Well you would be very wrong. Far from getting easier, it is actually harder than ever for a Disabled child to attend mainstream education.
It is my experience that mainstream schools are increasingly refusing admission to Disabled students or moving them on and out, because they feel under resourced and inadequate to meet needs in comparison with the well-funded segregated provision that is being created. In fact, the Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan, which replaced the Statement of SEND) is in You may ask how I know? danger of being viewed as an automatic passport Well, I am parent of a Disabled Young man who to special school. has just turned 18 and is now in college. I was also until recently an advocate supporting, on a case In addition, the increase in academies operating by case basis, the educational (and human) rights a one size fits all approach, resulting in inflexible of Disabled students. I am now managing all the policies such as admission, behaviour and SEND provision within a mainstream secondary exclusion, also make it so much harder for a school. So, I think it is fair to say that I have some Disabled student to attend mainstream education. insight into the challenges Disabled students and In my 6 years as an advocate, the majority of my their families face in regards to accessing inclusive cases were supporting Disabled students who were mainstream education. being excluded from their school because they had breached the school’s behaviour policy. In reality, And why is it getting harder? the school (more often than not an academy) Well it is far from simple, many factors contribute was imposing inflexible rules which discriminated to education exclusion and in this short article I against the student because they could not adhere will attempt to briefly address some of them; Our to them due to their impairment and the lack of any current Government, under the mantra of choice, reasonable adjustments. has actually systematically dismantled inclusive mainstream provision through underfunding, If you think about it, a Disabled child who is unable instead investing in more and more segregated, so to sit still for lessons of one hour due to the impact of their impairment was going to be labelled called, specialist provision. disruptive and fall foul of the behaviour policy. And On 19th July this year the Government announced this is happening more and more at a time when the creation of 35 new special free schools for there is little support or recourse for these students 3,000 Disabled students at a cost of more than a and their families to challenge the exclusion- the billion – not exactly value for money at a time when system is legally complex, legal aid has been mainstream school budgets have been slashed. decimated and academies employ barristers! Not Then, there are the consequences of this expensive to put too fine a point on it – mainstream schools expansion of free special schools for the few. The can be hostile environments for any child that does reality for many will be little or no educational choice, not fit in. forced into a segregated setting to fill quotas, with It is a massive irony when you compare what the their local mainstream school underfunded and so Secretary of state for Education said on July 5th feeling unable to meet their needs. 2018:
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