Inclusive education benefits all students, with or without disabilities

There are few areas which cause more heartbreak and distress for children with intellectual disabilities and their parents than education does. The statistics are clear - children with intellectual disabilities are increasingly excluded from mainstream schooling, and either isolated in special schools, or denied access to education completely.

Inclusive education benefits all students, with or without disabilities
etr There is a problem with education in many European countries.

More and more children with disabilities are not sent to regular schools.
Instead, they are often placed in special schools,
where they don’t receive the same education as children without disabilities.

This goes against the rules.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says that everyone has the right to regular education.
The Convention was signed by the European Union in 2010,
so all member states should do what the Convention says.

The European Disability Forum (in short, EDF) has published a report.
EDF is an organization that represents Europeans with disabilities.
In the report, EDF says that the European Union should create a more inclusive education system.

This could be done by telling teachers more about intellectual disabilities.
It could also be done by making study material easy to read for everyone.

Inclusion Europe went to Geneva to defend the right to regular education for people with intellectual disabilities.
Inclusion Europe also wrote a paper saying that the European Union

should make sure that children with intellectual disabilities
are not forced to leave school too early and that they are able to attend regular schools.

For this to be possible, the school system needs to change.
These changes are good not only for children with disabilities,
but also for children without disabilities.
Because we can all learn from each other.

There are few areas which cause more heartbreak and distress for children with intellectual disabilities and their parents than education does. The statistics are clear – children with intellectual disabilities are increasingly excluded from mainstream schooling, and either isolated in special schools, or denied access to education completely.

In many European Union (EU) member states, such as Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Greece, United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Romania, the majority of students with intellectual disabilities and complex needs are referred to segregated schools. This is a clear breach of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was ratified by the European Union in 2010.

Therefore, the need for inclusive education for all children with disabilities is one of the points highlighted in the Alternative Report on the Implementation of the UN CRPD, a document developed by the European disability movement to aid the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in their review of EU’s progress since it ratified the human rights treaty. Published by the European Disability Forum, the Alternative Report calls on the European Commission to support EU countries in developing inclusive education systems by promoting the use of European funding instruments to ensure both appropriate training for staff members and the development of accessible educational material, paying particular attention to children with complex needs. Moreover, the Commission should include disability-specific indicators in the Europe 2020 Strategy when pursuing the target on education, particularly as in 2011 only 27% of persons with disabilities aged 30-34 had completed tertiary education in the EU.

Inclusion Europe will be in Geneva to voice its main concerns on the implementation of the Convention, and advocate for equal opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in the area of education. In a Briefing Document disseminated to the CRPD Committee members, Inclusion Europe is prompting them to ensure that European institutions develop concrete methods of making certain that children with intellectual disabilities are not forced to become early school leavers, and that they receive reasonable accommodation to be able to participate in the mainstream school system.

Inclusion is not just about supporting individual students with disabilities – an inclusive education is a good indicator of quality education for all students, as it leads to wider-ranging curricula and instructional strategies, adapted tests and assessment instruments, differentiated teaching methods and universally designed environments. All of this contributes to the overall development of the capabilities and skills of all students, with or without disabilities.

For more information, please contact Silvana Enculescu, Inclusion Europe Communications Manager, at s.enculescu@inclusion-europe.org

Our work brings the voice of people with intellectual disabilities and their families where decisions about their future are made.

This has always been incredibly important. It is even more so with the Covid pandemic drastic impact on their rights and lives.

Being visible and vocal on issues directly affecting millions of people requires your support. 

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