the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues
The most senior civil servant in the Department for Education (DfE) has told MPs that educating disabled pupils in mainstream schools is usually much cheaper and produces “similar or better outcomes” than using special schools. Susan Acland-Hood, DfE’s permanent secretary, told […]
The children’s commissioner has said she has become “increasingly dismayed” by the number of disabled and other children with “complex needs” who are being deprived of their liberty by the state. In a report commissioned by the Department for Education and […]
A major investigation by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has called for tougher inspection and oversight of residential special schools, after hearing how some teachers exploited their positions to groom and abuse disabled pupils. A report on the […]
Police forces and local authorities must do more to protect disabled children from the risk of child sexual exploitation, according to a major investigation by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The inquiry’s report, published this week, says that children […]
A high court ruling has raised new concerns about how disabled people will be affected by the combination of three major government reforms of social care, and the funding crisis facing local authorities. Two disabled children, known as L and P, […]
The government has again refused to consider calls for a national inquiry into the abuse of disabled pupils, despite allegations emerging from yet another school. In the last month, Disability News Service (DNS) has reported on alleged abuse in schools in […]
Separate reports by the children’s commissioners for Wales and England have highlighted the inequalities still faced by disabled children. A report by the children’s commissioner [for England] on the rights of disabled children and young people says they feel society still […]
The government has refused to comment on calls for a national inquiry into abuse within the special education system after a school in a third local authority faced allegations that staff had abused disabled pupils. In the last two weeks, Disability […]
Furious parents have accused a council of ignoring repeated allegations of neglect and abuse of disabled children in two of its schools. Disability News Service (DNS) has spoken to six families, all of whom have complained about the way their children […]