Briefing

Inclusive Education Election Guide 2024

ALLFIE sets out key findings from the four main political party manifestos, alongside our six manifesto demands for inclusive education.

Inclusive Education for All

With the General Election 2024 fast approaching, the leading political parties are campaigning for every vote they can secure, and many people are thinking about the changes they would like to see from the next government. For supporters of inclusive education, we have analysed the main party manifestos and put together an election guide, with side-by-side comparison table of the four main political parties’ position in relation to our manifesto, ‘Inclusive Education for All‘.

The guide sets out the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green Party education policies and approaches to securing human rights to inclusive education, alongside ALLFIE’s six Manifesto demands.

Summary

Demand 1:  Adopt an Inclusive Education Legislation in the UK

  • None of the political parties mention of any plans to adopt legislation on inclusive education or amend existing legislation. However, the Liberal Democrats promise to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) into UK law to make it easier for Disabled people to access public life. ALLFIE assumes that this will include implementing Article 24 of the UNCRPD.

Demand 2: End all forms of Segregated Education

  • Government will continue to invest in and create an environment that is conducive for segregated education, regardless which political party wins the election. However, Labour promises to take a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools. This can go a long way towards ending segregated education. Regrettably, Labour also promises to ensure that special schools cater to Disabled children and young people labelled with “complex needs”. This works against ending all forms of segregated education. 

Demand 3: Redirect government SEND funding towards supporting and improving mainstream services

  • Overall, none of the political parties promises to redirect SEND funding towards supporting and improving mainstream services. However, the Green Party and Liberal Democrats promise to increase funding for SEND provision. This can go a long way towards improving mainstream services. Labour and Liberal Democrats promise to decentralise decision-making for SEND provisions. This can improve efficiency but may also lead to quality and resource disparities between local authorities. The ‘Tutoring Guarantee’ that the Liberal Democrats promises to introduce may benefit disadvantaged children, however they party does not provide any details on whether this will be used to meet Disabled children’s specific needs.  

Demand 4: End all forms of Curriculum and Assessment systematic injustice

  • The changes the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats promise to make to the curriculum and assessment system emphasise enhancing pupils’ productivity and competitiveness on the international stage. The push towards this is one of the factors that have contributed towards the marginalisation of and injustice against Disabled people in education. The Green Party promises to end testing at primary and secondary schools and abolish OFSTED. This may help end some forms of curriculum and assessment systemic injustice. However, nothing is mentioned about addressing the specific systematic injustices that affect Disabled people. 

Demand 5: Make Inclusive Education Training mandatory nationwide

  • None of the political parties mention any plans to make inclusive education training mandatory nationwide. 

Demand 6: Combat Social Injustice in Education

  • Most of the political parties promise to support the education sector in ways that addresses some of the underlying issues behind ALLFIE’s sixth demand but lack details on whether and how Disabled people’s specific needs will be met. Promises by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to create or set up a register of children who are not in school will make schools less welcoming and more hostile towards enrolling Disabled children and young people. On the other hand, work to understand and remove underlying barriers to attendance, as the Liberal Democrats have promised, can help combat systematic injustice in education. 

By Iyiola Olafimihan (Campaigns and Justice Officer), Edmore Masendeke (Policy and Research Officer), and Maresa MacKeith (Youth Parliamentary Officer)

Other posts