What’s in the King’s Speech on Inclusive Education? 

King Charles III delivered the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, in London on 17 July 2024.  Through the speech, the King set out the legislative priorities and intentions for the newly elected Labour government. This includes plans “to raise educational standards and break down barriers to opportunity.”  

Enrolment of Disabled children and Young people in mainstream schools 

The King said, “A bill will be introduced to raise standards in education and promote children’s wellbeing [Children’s Wellbeing Bill].”

According to the briefing notes, among other things, this bill will:

“require all schools to cooperate with the local authority on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning, by giving local authorities greater powers to help them deliver their functions on school admissions and ensure admissions decisions account for the needs for communities.”

The briefing notes also state that:

“the Bill will remove barriers to opportunity for children and their families by keeping children safe, happy and rooted in their communities and schools by strengthening multi-agency child protection and safeguarding arrangements.”

In the context of Disabled people and Young people and their families, this implies avoiding all forms of institutionalisation, including segregated education for Disabled children and Young people. This sounds like the government wants local authorities to ensure that Disabled children and Young people are enrolled in the mainstream schools in their communities. The new government has made clear that it intends to improve Disabled children and Young people’s enrolment in mainstream schools in a previous press release and a news report.   

This would be positive development towards the progressive realisation of inclusive education in line with Article 24 of the UNCRPD. Inclusive education benefits everyone; it is only through Disabled and non-disabled people playing, learning, working, growing up together, and establishing relationships that we will achieve an inclusive society that welcomes all.  

However, the government still wants to maintain special educational settings. ALLFIE believes that the government should phase out special educational settings and reallocate the proposed budget from the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan into supporting inclusive education for every child and Young person. Furthermore, the goal should not be just to improve Disabled children and Young people’s enrolment in mainstream schools without ensuring that they have the right support and resources. Every Disabled child and Young person that is enrolled in a mainstream school should be given the right support and resources to facilitate their learning, social inclusion and full participation in that setting. Anything otherwise fails to realise inclusive education.  As the government has not yet provided a detailed plan of how it intends to implement this measure, we can only wait and see whether it will be done right.  

Raising education standards 

As indicated above, the King also said that the bill will raise standards in education. It seems like this will involve “requiring all schools to teach the national curriculum” and ranking schools based on pupils’ performance in national exams. ALLFIE is concerned that this will make schools less welcoming to Disabled children and Young people as they try to maintain league standards. ALLFIE believes that the government should develop and implement a more dynamic curriculum and assessment system that addresses the systemic injustices of the existing curriculum and assessment system. 

On 19 July 2024, two days after the King’s speech, the Department for Education launched a   Curriculum and Assessment Review. The press release states that:

“The review will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for Young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve – in particular those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).”

ALLFIE is unclear what this means but hopes that the government will take this opportunity to review and address all the systemic injustices of the existing curriculum and assessment system. 

Removal of the exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) for private school fees 

The King also announced that “Measures will be brought forward to remove the exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) for private school fees, which will enable the funding of six and a half thousand new teachers.”

ALLFIE believes that this should extend to removing the exemption from VAT for independent special schools and redirecting resources towards ensuring adequate support and resources for Disabled pupils and students in mainstream settings.  Also, as the government will ensure that “any new teacher entering the classroom has, or is working towards, Qualified Teacher Status,” ALLFIE calls on the government to also ensure that training on inclusive education is mandatory in all teacher training programmes.  

Skills England 

The government also plans to “establish Skills England which will have a new partnership with employers at its heart [Skills England Bill].” 

According to the briefing notes, the Bill will “pave the way for the establishment of Skills England by transferring functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.”

The Bill seeks to address the skills gaps in the labour market. The briefing notes are silent on the situation of Disabled people and whether there will be any changes to the operation of alternative apprenticeship programmes such as supported internship. ALLFIE recommends that the government should make all apprenticeships inclusive and end all alternative apprenticeship programmes as they are segregated and based on medical model of disability. These alternative apprenticeship programmes are also a form of social injustice and oppressive to Disabled people. 

High-quality infrastructure and housing 

The King also announced that the government also “seeks to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing.”

Accessible infrastructure and housing enable Disabled people to live in their communities, including attending the mainstream schools in their communities. There is no mention of accessibility standards in the briefing notes. ALLFIE therefore recommends that the government should enforce good accessibility standards in infrastructure and housing construction.  

Measures to halve violence against women and girls 

The government will “bring forward plans to halve violence against women and girls,” the King said.

The details of these plans seem not to be available yet as this announcement was not linked to any bill. ALLFIE urges the government to increase measures to address the violence and abuse experienced by Disabled women and girls in all educational settings, residential institutions and other settings, in these plans. 

Addressing the cost-of-living crisis 

Finally, the King said that the government will seek to help “the country move on from the recent cost of living challenges by prioritising wealth creation for all communities.” 

The cost-of-living crisis has disproportionately affected Disabled children and Young people and their families. The briefing notes indicate that the Children’s Wellbeing Bill will remove barriers to opportunity for children and their families by “requiring free breakfast clubs in every primary school” and “introducing legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kits that a school can require.”

While these are positive measures that will benefit many children and Young people from under-resourced backgrounds, ALLFIE is concerned that these measures do not go far enough in addressing the situation of Disabled children and Young people. The briefing notes are silent on whether there will be any support for Disabled children and Young people who are prevented from accessing breakfast previsions due to accessibility issues and the lack of appropriate support staff at schools. Additionally, there is no mention of support for Disabled children and Young people who require tailor-made uniforms. The government also fails to address the additional disability-related costs that impact the educational experiences of Disabled people.  

ALLFIE is disappointed that the new government did not take this opportunity to outline a clear plan for the progressive realisation of the UNCRPD and to make inclusive education a reality. This plan would legislate inclusive education as a legal right for every Disabled person.  

By Edmore Masendeke, ALLFIE’s Policy and Research Officer