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Do you feel your secondary school is inclusive?
Are there Accessibility Plans in place? Tell us about your experiences.
In October 2018, we will be holding focus groups in North East England for:
Disabled young people and children
Parents of Disabled learners
Educators and professionals
3rd September 2018
By law, schools should make Accessibility Plans to enable Disabled children and young people to access school facilities and make the most of their education.
However, there have been no studies to find out if Accessibility Plans help Disabled pupils to feel included and part of their school communities.
ALLFIE has received funding from the Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) grants programme to lead a project on the effectiveness of schools’ Accessibility Plans.
In October 2018, we will be holding focus groups in North East England for:
- Disabled young people and children
- Parents of Disabled learners
- Educators and professionals
We will use these discussion groups to find out about any gaps between what the law says and people’s real-life experiences in schools.
Dates and times:
- Parents – Monday 8th October, 11:00-13:00
- Disabled children & young people – Wednesday 10th October, 16:00-18:00
- Educators and professionals – Friday 12th October, 16:00-18:00
Location:
John Lewis Community Hub meeting room, Leeds City Centre
Victoria Gate, Harewood St, Leeds LS2 7AR
Further groups will be held in other regions throughout England in autumn.
Even if you don’t feel well-informed about Accessibility Plans, why not get involved and share your experiences with us? Help us help you to get Accessibility Plans which really work.
If you would like more information about the project, please contact the project researcher, Dr Armineh Soorenian, at: Armineh.Soorenian@allfie.org.uk.
Discussion
There are 4 responses
Comment by Kelly Lisle
Hi, my name is Kelly and I am mum of five children (one graduate, three at uni and one non attender). I am commenting today about our experience for our youngest child (a boy, just turned 11). He has not been to school since 6 March due to overwhelming anxiety linked to his autism. The primary school Head Teacher and Class Teacher were fantastic (the SENCO less so). Despite requests from various agencies involved and a visit by myself to the local mainstream high school, no transition plan has been implemented. The high school SENCO has visited us at home twice (before the summer holidays) and we have been invited to look at the school but my son is simply unable. Today we received notification that despite reams of evidence, NYCC are refusing to give him an EHCP. I think the local high school are willing to try and support my son, but they have no specialist autism trained teachers or TAs and would be unable to accommodate the sensory issues anyway. There is a specialist provision a 40 minute drive from our house which I have visited and feel would be able to meet my son’s needs but he would need an EHCP to access education there. We will investigate appealing the decision to refuse. So the uncertainty continues and is having a significant impact on my son and our family.
I hope things have changed at the local high school on a pastoral level as it used to be non existent which is why all four kids left after GCSEs and went to a sixth form college 45 minutes away where they all achieved good results.
Comment by Armineh Soorenian
Hello Kelly,
Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience here. It sounds like the process is really difficult for you and your family at the moment. If you would be willing to attend and contribute to one of our focus groups, I feel your insights would be very valuable to our project and potentially other families who might benefit from the research. It could also be an opportunity to discuss and share with other people who have dealt with similar situations. Please feel free to contact me on email ([email protected]) for details.
In solidarity,
Armineh
Comment by Jill
My son was not allowed to go to mainstream High school because they wouldn’t change anything.. They made excuses up for months.. This school should of been prosecuted under the disability act.. My son goes to a special school now..
Comment by Armineh Soorenian
Hello Jill,
I’m sorry to hear about your son’s experience of exclusion from mainstream school. I’m sure this hasn’t been easy for your family. If you would be interested, we will be running focus groups across the country where we will be sharing and discussing similar experiences to benefit parents who may encounter the same barriers. Your input would be very welcome. Please feel free to contact me on email ([email protected]) for details.
In solidarity,
Armineh