Disabled students still face barriers, research finds, just as ministers prepare to publish SEND white paper

Disabled young people in the UK still face barriers that stop them taking part in school, college and university on an equal basis with non-disabled people, despite ongoing international calls for inclusive education, according to new government-funded research.

The research, commissioned under the last government, concluded that education staff had “inadequate” training in disability, inclusion and reasonable adjustments, which led to students experiencing “inconsistent support and highly variable experience”.

The research paper – Disabled People’s Lived Experience of Education in the UK – was published as the government prepares to publish its long-awaited special educational needs and disability white paper this month.

It also found that disabled students often experience social exclusion and loneliness, partly due to the attitudes of their peers, and partly due to policies that limit their chances of friendship and social integration.

The report was one of four published by the government last Thursday, all of which were based on research into the lived experience of disabled people in the UK that was carried out by The Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds and Disability Rights UK.

The research was commissioned by the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit under the last Conservative government, and it examined evidence published by academics between 2010 and 2021.

A second report – on public perceptions and attitudes towards disabled people in the UK – found that society’s attitudes towards disability were “mainly negative”, and often focused on “impairments and limitations”.

This can lead to “infantilisation, pity [and] ridicule”, while some labels – such as “psychosis” and “schizophrenia” – are associated with even higher levels of stigma, said the report.

The influence of intersectionality – how disability combines with characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, and religion – often worsens negative perceptions, the report found.

The report suggested strategies such as disability awareness training; positive media representation; building trust between professionals and disabled people; and empowering disabled people to express their identities.

A third report – by academics at the London School of Economics – examined research on disabled people’s experience of housing in the UK.

It stressed the importance of suitable housing that meets disabled people’s needs but found that many professionals who are supposed to assist disabled people in finding a home “do not actually prioritise their needs and wishes”, often because they fail to explore in detail what those needs are.

And it found a lack of disabled people represented on many of the bodies responsible for their housing provision.

The fourth report – by academics at London South Bank University – examined disabled people’s experience of social care and support.

It stressed the importance of disabled people’s relationships with their personal assistants and care staff, and of a “sense of power and agency” when using and accessing social care and support.

And it concluded that moving to a residential care home was “the last resort “when all other options had failed, while research had found disabled people reporting “very positive experiences” of schemes that enable their “socialisation in society”.

But it found that disabled people often felt “isolated, alienated, and excluded even when they are effectively living alongside non-disabled people”.

Two earlier reports based on the research carried out by The Centre for Disability Studies and Disability Rights UK – on disabled people’s experiences of employment and of relationships and loneliness – were published on 17 July 2025.