Launch of northern network will allow young disabled people’s voices to be heard on SEND reforms

A new regional movement focused on dismantling the structures that feed segregated education will launch next week at an event that will enable disabled people to have their voices heard on the government’s controversial SEND reforms.

The disabled campaigners behind the Northern Inclusive Education Network believe the government must do more to include disabled people – including young disabled people – grassroots groups, and others with lived experience, in shaping its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms.

They hope the network’s all-day hybrid launch event in Manchester on Thursday (30 April) will hear from some of the groups that have so far been under-represented in the government’s SEND consultation process.

Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP) and the Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE), which are organising the Educate, Don’t Segregate event, hope it will provide an opportunity to deliver a “strong, collective response” to Labour’s reform programme on what it “really means for disabled children and young people”.

The event will offer a clear overview of the proposals and discuss their potential implications for disabled children and young people, while those attending in person and online will be able to share their experiences and views on the proposed changes.

Among those facilitating sessions at event will be members of ALLFIE’s youth campaigning and activism project, Our Voice.

In February, ALLFIE described the government’s long-awaited reforms to the SEND system as a missed opportunity to dismantle the barriers that continue to drive disabled young people out of mainstream schools.

It raised “serious and urgent concerns” about the plans, which it said failed to meet the government’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

ALLFIE said the reforms would continue to “reinforce segregation” of disabled children and young people by rebranding SEN units in mainstream schools as inclusion bases and then suggesting this was “progress”.

It also warned that segregated education settings were being prioritised for funding, and that concerns from disabled people were not reflected in the government’s proposals.

The reforms were laid out in a schools and SEND white paper and a SEND consultation document, with the consultation due to end on 18 May.

Umar Aziz Khan, a young disabled person and Our Voice member, who will be acting as a facilitator at the launch event, said: “Our Voice is a campaign group where young disabled people make sure our voices are heard.

“We are fighting for an education system that is inclusive for everyone.

“These SEND reforms will have a big impact on young people, and the government needs to listen to our voices, especially those of us who have recently been through the system or are in it now.

“We want education to improve now and for future generations, rather than lead to further segregation.

“We do not want to be segregated. We want to be genuinely included.

“As a collective of young disabled people, we are concerned that the proposals in the white paper risk doing the opposite.”

Lani Parker, ALLFIE’s capacity-building development lead, said: “Young disabled people and grassroots disabled people-led organisations are often not adequately involved in decisions that directly affect them.

“We believe those with lived experience of the SEND system should be fully included in shaping reforms.

“The current proposals risk weakening the rights of disabled children and young people to learn alongside their peers.

“We are calling for a system that delivers inclusive education in practice for every disabled child and young person.”

Rick Burgess, from GMCDP, said: “Our late chair Joe Whittaker was a prominent activist for inclusive education and we remain committed to creating a future free of segregation.

“There may well be opportunities in the Greater Manchester city region and other Northern areas for innovation and pilots, but that requires us to join together and lobby for progress; this event begins that process.

“Particularly at this time of a new education white paper, we need our voices to be heard.”

Edmore Masendeke, ALLFIE’s policy and research lead, said the launch of the network was about “strengthening our movement for inclusive education and building collective voices for change.

“By working alongside disabled people’s organisations across the north and beyond, we are bringing together everyone who believes every disabled child and young person has the right to learn, participate and belong in mainstream education.

“At a time when SEND reforms risk driving greater segregation and exclusion, we need a united voice that will challenge discriminatory policies and demand laws that are rooted in human rights, equality and inclusion.

“ALLFIE is clear in our campaign for a national policy that secures a fully inclusive education system that works for all.”

Picture: (From left to right) Rick Burgess, Lani Parker and Edmore Masendeke