Educate, Don’t Segregate

 

“Mainstream schools have a lot of targets to achieve which affects their ability to focus on children with additional needs. The children who are not ticking the boxes are sidelined to special schools.” (Adele, parent)

ALLFIE’s “Educate Don’t Segregate” work campaigns against legislation and polices which undermine Disabled pupils’ and students’ right to inclusive education as outlined in Article 24 of the UN Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The UNCRPD committee have made it very clear that UK education and equality legislation do not comply with Article 24 because they allow segregated education. There is no evidence that segregated education benefits society as a whole. You can read about people’s experiences of it on our How Was School microsite.

Our current campaigning work  focuses on the government’s anti-inclusive education reforms, which are proving to be disastrous for Disabled pupils’ and students’ right to mainstream education.

We are actively campaigning against the disproportionately heavy impact of funding cuts on Disabled pupils and students in mainstream education by working with Disabled people’s organisations and family support groups. Austerity has had a huge impact on education, but it is not the only issue. Local authorities are now taking funds from mainstream schools to pay for expensive segregated education placements, reducing the capacity of mainstream schools to welcome a diversity of pupils and students.

Increasingly education league tables are focusing on academic attainment in public exams. As a result there is growing pressure on schools, colleges and universities to meet attainment targets. This has meant greater segregation and exclusion of Disabled pupils and students from mainstream education. And of course, the expansion of grammar schools will continue to reduce the choice of mainstream education. We continue to lobby against the government’s attacks on inclusive education.