In England over the last twenty years, there has been a strong move toward inclusion in education with subsequent closure of special facilities (91 special schools closed by 2005). While in theory this was laudable, the reality has been very different. Full inclusion requires robust resourcing and strong leaderships at national, regional and institutional levels. Consequently, the lack of adequate space, facilities, equipment and staff training led to the policy failing the young people for whom it was created.

Baroness Warnock, the original advocate for inclusion in the UK, said that her policy had failed and left a disastrous legacy (2005). She further stated that the policy had gone too far and that vulnerable children had become isolated in mainstream schools. The crucial themes of participation, entitlement, funding, quality and provision are still challenges 16 years after the government report by Tomlinson (1996) on Inclusive Learning. Confirming this sense of failure of the original goal of inclusive education, the memorial lecture for Professor John Tomlinson in 2006 was entitled “Something happened to it along the way….”. At Dame Hannah Roger’s Trust in the UK, we have looked at inclusion in an entirely different way; thinking carefully where it is appropriate and where it is detrimental for young people.

The European Human Rights Act states that everyone has a right to Education and a Right to Life. Society’s dilemma is ‘what are we educating for and what is a quality of life?’. We work on a simple philosophy of asking ourselves ‘what do we want for our own children and families?’ The answer that is given should be no different for those who have a disability! We also challenge the concept of “Special Need”, so easily linked with neediness when we should be thinking about entitlement and individual rights! We all need adjustments made for us and hope that people see our strengths and talents, and support our aspirations; experiences of people with disabilities should be no different. Our social model of disability is aptly captured by Len Barton (2002)… ”we were concerned with developing an approach to special education in which social interest rather than individual differences and deficits were to be a fundamental focus of analysis.” In developing a model, we have challenged the reductionist model of deficit philosophy. We work toward a social model of inclusion where exclusion and inequality are not tolerated and the collective engagement of people with disabilities is fundamental in all aspects of our services and ventures. Through this model “the non-disabled world can be provided with an alternative and positive view of disability” (Barton 2002).

Read more by going our website (http://www.iase.org/) under UK National Chair.