Inclusion Now 69

ALLFIE Research: Experiences of Black/Global Majority Disabled Pupils & Families in Education

By ALLFIE’s Michelle Daley (Director) and Navin Kikabhai (Chairperson)

Illustrated image of the report ‘Lived Experience of Black/Global Majority Disabled Pupils and their Families in Mainstream Education by ALLFIE, April 2024. The image is designed in the style of Kente cloth, which originated in West Africa. It features a square design divided into six equal sections, three at the top and three at the bottom. The top middle section reads “The Intersection of Race and Disability” is surrounded by a series of step-like symbols. Top left section reads “Address Trauma from Separation” and shows four small illustrations of Black/Global Majority People experiencing trauma through being separated. In the top right section, reads “Choice and Control – Fund DPOs – Advocacy for EHCPs” and small illustrations of two people creating a plan, a bag of money, a person thinking “my support” and a task list. Bottom left reads “Diversify Workforce, Diversify Curriculum” and shows small illustrations of a person reading against a rainbow map of the world, and three Black/Global majority Disabled people. The bottom middle section reads “Cross Movement Campaigns, Educational Justice and Data” and shows illustrations of different people doing different activities, i.e. reading a screen, speaking, childcare with love, hugging, playing the guitar. The bottom right section reads “collaborations between movements, disability justice – racial justice” and shows an illustration of a hand holding a protest banner with a wheelchair symbol on it, next to this is two hands doing sign language and a head showing a brain.

In April 2024, ALLFIE published a report focusing on the educational experiences of Black/Global Majority Disabled pupils and their parents within London. This research, in partnership with the Runnymede Trust, a racial justice organisation, supports our campaign for inclusive education as a social justice issue for all.

While there is plenty of research on inclusive education, ALLFIE’s Disabled Black Lives Matter (DBLM) was concerned about the lack of studies conducted by Black/Global Majority Disabled people that utilised a disability justice and rights framework. Most research views experiences as one-dimensional, but as Audrey Lorde said, people “do not live single-issue lives”. Recognising this, it was important for this research to address failures, not only in research approaches, but also in areas like school placements, staff support, and participation, ensuring intersectionality in the education system for Black/Global Majority Children. In our press release, ALLFIE’s Chairperson, Dr Navin Kikabhai, stressed the importance of this adopted research approach, stating:

“We envision this research as a powerful tool to drive the campaign for inclusive education forward, ensuring that no one is left behind. Our collective social justice efforts must confront intersectional erasure head-on.”

Central to the research were the voices of the children and parents who were reflective, honest and insightful about their experiences. For the research this was an example of participants advocating for change and seeking a safe place to speak truth to power. For this article, we will focus on the findings section of the report, which directly includes the voices of the children and parents. The findings covered the following themes: school placement, experiences with EHCPs, teacher attitudes, disciplinary procedures and surveillance, and social participation.

Children described how segregation affected them, reinforcing social division and discriminatory practices within schools. Noeline, one of the Young participants, shared a worrying observation about this social division, saying:

“[There’s] a place where wheelchair and Disabled pupils go there, and nobody’s allowed there, it’s locked… Like only there’s, there’s not a buzzer. The teacher has to get the card [for the door].”

As was noted in the research report, parents often choose mainstream schools based solely on SEND services and support, sometimes “overlooking the complex intersections of disability, race, gender, and other experiences.”

Another key finding emphasised the children’s lack of autonomy in their support at school, revealing “limited agency and lack of centring the student’s voices in their support”.

With reference to disciplinary procedures and surveillance, experiences varied by impairment, gender, and race. Parents expressed concerns about racial and disability injustices in school policies, evident in disproportionately high rates of exclusion among Disabled pupils and Black boys. Furthermore, “none of the pupils were able to share school experiences when they received a lesson that had examples of Black/Global Majority Disabled people.”

It was concerning that none of the pupils had role models from their community or knew of any Black/Global Majority Disabled people who could be sources of positive support for their values and identities. This absence of representation affects their perception and self-identity. The report stressed the importance of diverse curriculum content to help establish friendships and meaningful social participation. It is crucial for children to identify with individuals in the curriculum as well as to gain a sense of belonging.

The report concluded with six recommendations to support campaigns, advocacy services, and policy decisions. These are:

  1. Improve understanding and recognition of intersectional experiences.
  2. Tackle the trauma experienced through grouping and separation.
  3. Promote independence, choice and control in EHCPs.
  4. Challenge negative attitudes and promote positive representation.
  5. Expose harmful disciplinary procedures and surveillance.
  6. Challenge segregation, promote participation.

It is important that these recommendations are accounted for in future work. It is also important to recognise, as was reaffirmed in the report, that:

“Inclusive education is a human rights issue; it requires the removal of barriers and the recognition of intersectionality and cross-movement working.”

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