Press Release: Alliance for Inclusive Education Launches 30th Anniversary Campaign

To mark 30 years of of campaigning for ALL Disabled people’s education rights, ALLFIE is hosting an online campaign ’30 years, 30 messages of inclusion’. The campaign will run over the 30 days of November 2020, alongside global events including Disability History Month. The initiative will reconnect with those who have been part of the charity’s history, and amplify ALLFIE’s vision of
‘a world where inclusive education is a right not a struggle’.

Hosted via ALLFIE’s Twitter platform using the hashtag #ALLFIE30, the social campaign will link to mixed media content, including blogs, quotes, images and videos, which will be collated and accessible on ALLFIE website. ALLFIE’s Twitter feed will be populated with messages of inclusive education including: Lobbying for change; capacity building; knowledge and information, and current campaigns including Disabled Black Lives Matter and Covid-19 and Disabled People’s Education.

The aim of the #ALLFIE30 campaign is to celebrate and give power to inclusive education, and galvanise ALLFIE’s network of supporters, allies, parents, Disabled students and Young people to share their own experiences, ideas and ALLFIE memories.

For 30 years, ALLFIE has worked with Disabled learners, their parents and carers, across a very wide range of educational needs, backgrounds and experiences, gaining strength from this diversity. We hope this campaign will inspire many more to get involved with the charity’s work, and help secure our future for the next 30 years!

#ALLFIE30 will enable those who have helped or been involved with ALLFIE to share their experiences or ‘hand raise’ themselves in events and activities, as well as upload their own ALLFIE memories from the last 30 years. The social media campaign is designed to encourage followers to share their stories and encourage others to get involved with their inclusive education experiences, and messages of support and solidarity.

The project will highlight the important impact ALLFIE has had on people’s lives, and many successes and achievements, including:

• 30 years of providing support and capacity building networks for Disabled People’s Organisations working with Disabled Children and Young people and their families.
• In January we submitted over 108,000 signatures to Downing Street in support of our petition demanding the Government ‘Don’t Shut Disabled People out of Mainstream Education’
• Recently set up Disabled Black Lives Matter pressure group to address race and intersectional inequality within education experience by Disabled learners
• The Covid-19 pandemic and ‘Coronavirus Act 2020’ weakened Disabled people’s rights. ALLFIE continues to actively respond to Government policies and legislation, to ensure Disabled people’s rights to mainstream education remain on the agenda.
• Projects to reinforce the importance of Young people’s voices being included with DPO’s such as Making Things Happen or Being Seen Being Heard.

ALLFIE wishes to acknowledge the support of all the staff, volunteers, trustees, members, allies and funders, who empower us to end the educational segregation of Disabled people and help us achieve and remain committed to our principle: “educate, don’t segregate”.

Above all, we are committed to making inclusive education a right for all Disabled people and hope you will support us. We ask you to join our November celebrations and support us by sharing our Twitter messages with your followers, using hashtag #ALLFIE30

“Looking ahead, we have more work to do continue to campaign to remove disability discrimination in education at every level, whether this is schools, apprenticeship schemes, colleges or universities. Our determination is, and always has been, the creation of an inclusive education system, in which all learners are welcome, without question, period!” (Navin Kikabhai, ALLFIE Chairperson)

Power in solidarity.

About ALLFIE

Formed in 1990, we campaign for the right of all Disabled pupils and students to be fully included in mainstream education, training and apprenticeships with all necessary supports. We also create the resources that people and organisations need to advocate for inclusive education, training and apprenticeships and to develop good inclusive education practice.

As a Disabled people-led organisation, we build alliances with individuals and organisations who share our vision and goal: to end segregation of Disabled learners, including those with ‘special educational needs’ (SEN) labels, from the mainstream education system in the UK.

The main activity of the charity continues to be lobbying for changes to legislation, policy and practices that discriminate against Disabled learners, and that prevent inclusion. This involves campaigning work, capacity building with individuals and groups to create change at a grassroots level, training and information sharing work, fundraising for the core budget and engaging in new projects.