Memorandum submitted by the Trade Union
Disability Alliance (TUDA)
The Trade Union Disability Alliance (TUDA) brings
together disabled trade unionists with affiliated branches and
trade unions from across the trade union movement to move forward
on issues affecting all disabled trade unionists. Trade unionists
may also be parents or teachers of disabled children, or former
pupils with Special Educational Needs.
TUDA's work is defined by the social model of
disability. We define disabled people as people who have a mobility
and/or sensory impairment, and/or a chronic illness or condition,
and/or learning difficulties, and/or are users/survivors of the
mental health system.
MAINSTREAM AND
"SPECIAL" SCHOOL
PROVISION, AVAILABILITY
OF RESOURCES
AND EXPERTISE,
DIFFERENT MODELS
OF PROVISION,
RAISING STANDARDS
OF ACHIEVEMENT
FOR SEN PUPILS
TUDA does not wish to make a detailed submission
to the inquiry. We do, though, wish to make it clear that we believe
all children are best able to fulfil their educational and social
potential when provision is made within a mainstream setting.
However, this provision needs to be appropriate and adequate,
and a variety of types of provision needs to be available. All
too often inclusion is now seen as an excuse for cost-cutting,
with specialist teachers being replaced by learning support assistants:
this is NOT inclusive education. It is also vital to retain the
expertise and excellence that does exist within the segregated
system when moving to inclusive education.
We are particularly concerned that bullying
is now being used as a reason to halt the move towards inclusive
education when inclusion is regarded as being more expensive than
segregation. The current debate around bullying seems to betray
a number of erroneous and offensive beliefs:
— Disabled children are `natural victims'.
— Unlike non-disabled children, disabled
children are incapable of dealing with bullying and overcoming
it.
— School anti-bullying strategies do
not work, and bullying will always exist.
— There is no bullying in segregated
schools.
We are particularly concerned because, when
disabled children are segregated from their peers, they are inevitably
much more vulnerable to bullying outside of school hours because
they are socially isolated. This is particularly acute when the
school is boarding or outside of their local area. Social isolation
impacts on educational as well as social development. Segregation
during school years also makes it much harder for disabled children
to integrate into the community once they become adults, and can
have a life-long detrimental effect.
We believe that it is much better for disabled
children, as with all children, to learn how to deal with bullying
and abuse within the framework of a school-wide anti-bullying
strategy. This makes it much more likely that disabled children
will be able to deal with the abuse and bullying they encounter
once they become adults, as well as maximising their educational
and social potential.
THE ROLE
OF PARENTS
IN DECISIONS
ABOUT THEIR
CHILDREN'S
EDUCATION
Parents are best placed to make informed decisions
about their children's education, but they require adequate and
appropriate information in order to do this. We do not believe
that they receive this at present. In addition, many parents of
disabled children receive very inaccurate information about their
child's life chances from medical professionals from birth onwards,
and make educational decisions based on this. It is also entirely
inappropriate to expect parents to support inclusive education
if their child is being offered mainstream education that is not
really inclusive at all.
However, many more parents report being unable
to get a place for their child within the mainstream when they
are clear that this is what they want for their child and best
suits their needs. Teachers are understandably reluctant to accept
disabled pupils unless and until they are given adequate resources
to meet their educational and other needs. It is clear that these
resources are very often not being provided at present, and that
children are being segregated against their parents' wishes.
HOW SPECIAL
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
ARE DEFINED
We believe that both language and definitions
need to be radically rethought in the context of the 21st century,
and in particular the new public sector duty to promote disability
equality. The choice of the term `special' may or may not have
been appropriate in its historical context, but many disabled
people now find it deeply offensive. Equally, what is `special'
about disabled children's need to be educated? The reality is
that all children's educational needs differ. Perpetuating the
myth that disabled children have one set of needs and non-disabled
children another continues the current lack of flexibility within
the education system. Only when it is recognised that all children
may have very different educational needs however they are defined
can we start providing education that really does meet the needs
of every pupil.
October 2005
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