Inclusion Now 61 | Spring 2022

Spring 2022 Issue 61 £2

A VOICE FOR THE INCLUSION MOVEMENT IN THE UK

Levelling Up: What the White Paper means for Disabled children and Young people p 16

UN CRPD News : The latest on the Shadow Report p 19

Quiet Riot : Young people's work and campaigns p13

In Profile: Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank

Law : Dignity, discrimination and accommodation in education p9

Developing Inclusive Education in Mozambique p22

Editorial Contents 3

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Interview: Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank Dignity, discrimination and accommodation in education.

Thiandi Groof, LL.M On Letting Everyone Belong: Why Inclusive Education Matters To Me Maresa McKeith, Quiet Riot

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Co-production: Disabled Young people and greater equality Blake Williamson, Quiet Riot

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What will happen to Disabled children and Young people under proposed ‘Levelling Up’ measures?

Richard Rieser Scrutinising Government performance: UN Treaty Shadow Report Simone Aspis Developing Inclusive Education in Mozambique Kennedy Nhengu Legal Question : Higher Education

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Review: CODA breaks new ground for disability equality on screen.

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Welcome to this Spring edition of Inclusion Now. Here's a pointer to a few of the topics covered in this issue.

We begin with an article that profiles the life and work of Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo, Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank. It's an inspirational piece in which Charlotte explains how her "early exposure to racism and inequality influenced [her] life's work for social justice and equality for all".

On page 9, Thiandi Groof describes her legal training in the Netherlands and how this has informed her views on "Dignity, Discrimination and Accommodation in Education". She concludes that: "Fulfilling the rights of Disabled persons is the litmus test for civilisation".

On page 19, Simone Aspis looks ahead to the United Nations next Assessment of our Government's progress toward implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She explains how ALLFIE has been gathering evidence in preparation for this event and describes what's in the report that we'll be presenting to the UN Monitoring Committee.

This February saw the publication of our Government's flagship white paper on Levelling Up. In his article (page 16), Richard Rieser provides some detailed analysis on how these measures – with their emphasis on increased academisation and rigid testing regimes – are likely to impact disabled children and students.

Finally, on page 22, Kennedy Nhengu describes the many challenges facing those trying to develop Inclusive Education in Mozambique.

By Mike Lambert

(ALLFIE Trustee and Editorial Board member)

Interview

Charlotte Vuyiswa McClain-Nhlapo Global Disability Advisor at the World Bank

“ Ensuring that every child

has access to an inclusive and equitable education contributes to breaking the cycle of poverty and leaving no one behind. ”

Questions by Michelle Daley, ALLFIE Director 1. Tell us about yourself and what led into your field of interest?

I am a Black Woman with a disability; I identify as African-American. I use a wheelchair due to having been involved in a car crash that left me paralyzed from the waist down. I am also an omnivert. I relish my introverted self and similarly love people. I was born in the tiny African Kingdom of Eswatini; I grew up in Zambia, Lesotho, and went to High School in Eswatini- very much third culture.

My father is a white American from Indiana, my mother is Black, and Xhosa from South Africa. This factoid is relevant because my parents were active anti-apartheid activists, and I grew up understanding the hideousness of apartheid as an unjust and vicious system of oppression. I felt the consequences of segregation and racism brought on by the apartheid state.

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For example, my parents could not travel together in South Africa because of the colour of their skin; there was a law called the Immorality Act that made it a crime for interracial couples to be together. And then, of course, my mixed siblings and I would be classified as coloured- so no, we never went to South Africa as a family. I only really went there just before the democratic elections.

Growing up I spent most summers, visiting my family in Indiana, Montana, and Germany.

I would have to concede and say the experience of growing up in a highly politicized environment, with a father who was a law professor, shaped my interest in studying law. I knew that I wanted to fight against the discrimination and inequality the majority of South Africans experienced every day because they were Black. I saw the law as a tool for social change. So I went on to study public international law, and focused on the law of the sea and then human rights law.

Having a background in human rights law provided me with a solid intellectual basis for the work I went on to do.

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I started as a senior legal researcher working on the South African constitution, focused on children's rights. I then went on to work in the Mandela Administration, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the South African Human Rights Commission as a Commissioner, and the World Bank.

I also served in the Obama Administration at U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as the Senior Coordinator for Disability Inclusive Development. After that assignment, I returned to the World Bank to the position I currently hold as Global Disability Advisor. It is clear to me that my early exposure to racism and inequality, influenced my life’s work for social justice and equality for all. Over the years, my choice of study and jobs/positions fundamentally sought to ensure equal access to services, amplify voice and participation of marginalized groups and change social norms that impede equality for all.

What are your views about how segregated education shapes societal behaviours?

I depart from the premise that education is not exclusively about your educational achievement, but also very much about building cohesive societies and communities.

It's where we learn to be social and how diverse we are as a people. Segregated education, by definition, separates people. It calcifies this notion of them and us, and usually has an underlying dominance built into it as a system.

Similarly, segregated education was also in place in the United States until the seminal Supreme Court Case of Brown vs. the Board of Education. These segregated systems used education as a tool to subjugate populations and dictate what they learn and how they learn.

They were by design unequal; the Young people of SOWETO recognised this ploy, and fought gallantly to bring down Bantu Education, which was segregated, inferior, and premised on racial For example, South Africa's Apartheid system superiority. created racial inequalities by introducing race classification for schools. Policies and I mention this because I see remarkable funding disparities underpinned the four similarities with segregated education for racial classifications of the education system. children with disabilities.

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Interview: Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo During the Apartheid years, Black children with disabilities were in separate schools based on their race and disability. These schools were typically underfunded, did not use the same curriculum as the ‘regular’ schools, and were often very far away from their communities, which meant children were separated from their families for long stretches of time. In my opinion, the system buttresses the misperception that persons with disabilities are different, incapable, and not part of the mainstream of society. These systems and the beliefs espoused in segregated settings influence how we interact with each other, establish bonds, networks, social capital, and educational achievement. They create a parallel system that is often inferior and more costly. But ultimately, for me, I believe that segregated education systems feed inequality and foster exclusion. By way of example, let me say that children with disabilities during the Apartheid years were typically excluded from regular education services.

This was bolstered by the Special Schools Act, that essentially codified exclusionary practices in the education of children with disabilities. As a result, Black children with disabilities were more likely not to be in school. If in school, the schools were underfunded and students had to pay fees.

Black children were also less likely to access health care services, and this was so much worse for children who did not live in the townships set up to service the whiteness of urban South African cities. Many of the schools specifically for children who were blind or deaf were established by religious groups and charities.

What is also important to note is that the disability movement in South Africa pre-1994 was also divided along racial lines, with the white disability organisations mainly focused on access to services, while the Black organizations like Disabled People South Africa (DPSA) were more geared to fighting for voice, representation and advocated for equality before the law for all However, white children with disabilities had a lot Disabled South Africans. moreaccesstospecialschools.Theireducationwas Today, White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education free, they benefitted from specialised rehabilitative seeks to build an inclusive education system services and had more access to resources However, discriminatory practices remain a reality that were determined based on being white. for children with disabilities, white and Black, and progress towards inclusion is timid at best.

Charlotte Vuyiswa McClainNhlapo at work.

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3. Why is inclusive education important for human rights?

First, I think inclusive systems that address the particular needs of children with disabilities provide a better quality education for all children, and are instrumental in changing discriminatory attitudes. They also enable siblings to go to school together, in their communities, and be part of the broader community.

Second, we know that human rights are interlinked and interdependent. The right to education is linked to a host of other rights, like access to health care services in school, in many places, nutrition, and opens the way for every child to reach their best potential. Without inclusive and equitable education for all, we risk not achieving the world's goals of gender equality, and would likely mean that we perpetuate exclusion and discrimination.

Ensuring every child has access to an inclusive and equitable education contributes to breaking the cycle of poverty and leaving no one behind.

Third, inclusive education is boldly written into Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD states

that States parties must ensure the realization of the right of persons with disabilities to education through an inclusive education system at all levels, including preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary education, vocational training and lifelong learning, extracurricular and social activities, and for all students, including persons with disabilities, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. 184 State Parties have ratified the CRPD. In addition, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 affirms the value of inclusive, quality, and equitable education. Both the CRPD and SDG 4 recognize that inclusive education is central to achieving high-quality education for all learners, including those with disabilities, and developing inclusive, peaceful, and fair societies. However, for inclusive education to be equitable, it does mean ensuring that teaching and the curriculum, school buildings, classrooms, playgrounds, schools transport, and toilets are accessible and appropriate for all children. The delivery of the curriculum also must be inclusive. I conclude with a point that there is an educational, social, and economic case to support inclusive education.

4. What is the best part of your job?

4. What is the best part of your job?

That's a difficult question because I enjoy so many different aspects of my job. For example, I relish the opportunities of meeting new people and thought leaders working on some of the most challenging aspects of ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. In addition, due to the global nature of my work, and I should note before COVID-19, I travelled a lot for work and was constantly learning about different cultures and stakeholders.

But ultimately, what I treasure most and what motivates me to keep doing what I do- is that the

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World Bank work can and does influence change.

For example, it might be that the technical assistance provides expert support to a country that then goes on to ratify the CRPD, influencing policy direction or providing support to governments to advance disability inclusion.

Given my remit, I work across most sectors, and that is both energising and comes with a steep learning curve. Knowing that I can contribute to addressing exclusion and non-discrimination is the best part of what I do.

Interview: Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo 5. What currently is the World Bank doing to advance the inclusive education of Disabled children and Young people in mainstream settings (also what work is being done in the UK)?

There is quite a bit going on at the Bank around inclusive education. For example, the Bank made ten ambitious commitments at the first Global Disability Summit in London in 2018.

The Education commitment was to ensure that all our education investment lending projects are disability-inclusive by 2025. To support this work, I manage the Inclusive Education Initiative, a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (supported by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office [FCDO] and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation [Norad]), which aims to improve the educational participation and learning outcomes of children with disabilities.

To achieve this, the Inclusive Education Initiative focuses on enhancing stakeholder capacity and service delivery at the country level, improving coordination, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, and investing in innovative and catalytic interventions via three pillars: • Pillar 1: In-Country Interventions invests in resources towards interventions in Nepal, Rwanda, and Ethiopia for systems change and strengthening to realize inclusive education and support the educational achievement of students with disabilities. The country-based financing ensures attention to both supply and demand side of the ecosystem.

• Pillar 2: Global Public Goods collates, disseminates, and coordinates evidence and resources to provide a quality assured global knowledge bank on inclusive education. Under this pillar, IEI supports: 1. Global and regional communities of practice on the multifaceted elements of an inclusive education system.

2. Identifies knowledge gaps and commissions research.

3. Has built a dedicated knowledge hub that serves as a knowledge repository, blogging platform, networking tool, and source of new partnerships. Some high-impact global public goods from IEI includes Issues Paper Pivoting to Inclusion-Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 Crisis for Learners with Disabilities, Learners with Disability, COVID-19 School Closures Survey Report, upcoming Landscape review of ICT for disability-inclusive education and the Study on Disability, Gender, and Education.

• Pillar 3: Innovation Funding has offered grants to World Bank country teams and external recipients to test and scale innovative interventions that address complex challenges, underserved populations such as children with intellectual or learning disabilities, or in high risk contexts through innovations with potential for catalytic impact and scale. And currently, we have 11 grants awards, supporting projects across six regions in 11 countries – for example in Indonesia, we are supporting an online pilot on disability identification and continuous learning support for children with disabilities. Please check out our website for more information. No, we do not support the UK

6. What are the challenges of advancing inclusive education globally?

There are quite a few. One of the main challenges is operationalising inclusive education as enshrined in the CRPD and SDG4. There remains much discussion around how we define Inclusive Education.

In my view the parameters have been set out in Article 24 of the CRPD. And we should be focused on operationalising this article. To do that, we need more trained teachers, more inclusive school curricula, and learning materials that support inclusive education. We also need to work with parents, and other stakeholders to see the value of inclusive education and, most importantly, ensure the child's best interest.

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Interview: Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo Another challenge is that the current systems are often not working for children with disabilities, leading to the proliferation of segregated schools in many countries. Inclusive education settings that do not address the needs of learners with disabilities make it difficult to advance inclusive education. A huge challenge is ensuring that funds are in place to support education systems to be more inclusive. To effect impact, we will require transformational changes to the education system to make it truly inclusive, equitable, and of good quality. We also need to work together - to share information, analysis and collect more robust disaggregated data.

While there has been some progress, we must keep making the case for inclusive education. This cannot be done by one group or by an organization alone; it requires that we continue to build a global coalition to operationalize inclusive education and ensure that no child is left behind.

7. How do you see the future?

Globally, there is a lot more knowledge and a suite of good practices about inclusive education even if the debate on how to define it persists in some quarters. We now have frameworks like the CRPD, we have the Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals [SDGs] and increasing domestic laws that require all children access an education, often with supporting policies on inclusive education. But we need to do better, we must collect better data to make more informed decision and that’s why including disability in the Education Management Information Systems is so important. It is clear to me that going forward we need to invest more in country implementation, including support for teachers, empowering parents and ensuring that there is financing in place to make this happen. In my opinion, this requires taking a multisectoral approach to inclusive education. It necessitates that we all stay engaged, develop strong and evidence based policies, continue to advocate for inclusion and listen to the voices of children with disabilities themselves.

MORE FROM CHARLOTTE ■ TEDx presentation ■ An inclusive response to COVID-19: Education for children with disabilities | Blog | Global Partnership for Education ■ https://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/every-learnermatters-unpacking-learning-crisis-children-disabilities ■ Let’s get counting: the Disability Measurement in Household Surveys Guidebook is out! (worldbank.org) ■ An inclusive response to COVID-19: Education for children with disabilities - The Education and Development Forum (UKFIET) ■ https://www.un.org/development/desa/un-desa-voice/sdgblog/2021/06/1670.html

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International Law

Dignity, discrimination and accommodation in education.

By Thiandi Groof, International and Human Rights Master of Laws (LL.M)

"I am 31 years old. I just finished my advanced Masters in International and European Human Rights law in Leiden University. In this curriculum they didn’t pay attention to the Convention on Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD), but general discrimination law was very interesting and helpful for my thesis. I live in my own apartment in Amsterdam with 24/7 personal assistance. Communication for me is difficult, because I need a facilitator for it and facilitators are difficult to find.

I hope to be able to contribute more to ALLFIE and for the inclusive education movement in the Netherlands. Alas, the Dutch movement is small, and I miss a group like Quiet Riot here.

Without inclusive education, emancipation will never emerge.

In order to finish the masters programme of European and International human rights law, I wrote the thesis ‘Dutch legal protection of the right to education for children with disabilities’.

My conclusion was that there is no legal protection of this right for children with disabilities.

This thesis challenged me to think about the relation between dignity, discrimination and accommodation in education. The pain that I always had felt, when again and again I was excluded from mainstream schools, I now saw described by scholars like Degener (Degener, T. Disability in a human rights context 19. Laws 2016, 5, 35); and in court cases like Brown versus the Board of education (347 U.S. 483 §494 (1954)). In this last case the US Court concluded that ‘separate is not equal’, because of the violation of dignity when a person is excluded on whatever ground.

This made my hurt feelings touchable and hopefully these written words make it easier to convince people that exclusion is a violence for the dignity of all people who are excluded, even when the medical model declares that segregation in special institutes will deliver them better services.

The human rights model requests that these services must be delivered in mainstream settings.

What is dignity?

Dignity is the right to be valued, respected and welcomed in the community. Every form of discrimination is an infliction of this dignity and a devaluation of the person because the discriminating institute, people or community, judges you not to be valuable enough to be a member of their community.

The right to dignity, without discrimination, is the central principle in the human rights treaties. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the CRPD, signed and ratified by the UK, elaborates on this principle of dignity and other principles in Article 3, which are:

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International Law (a) Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons. Inherent dignity means that every human has the right to dignity because he/she is human. From not giving this dignity follows that the provider or community declares you not to be human (enough). (b) Non-discrimination; (c) Full and effective participation and inclusion in society; And providing the support or accommodation to achieve this, like roads to a faraway house, wheelchair ramps, free entrance for the necessary assistant. (d) Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity; (e) Equality of opportunity; (f) Accessibility; (g) Equality between men and women; (h) Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.

Is all selection discrimination?

This is a good question. If I prefer one person to be my partner over another one, is that discrimination?

No matter yes or no, the other person will feel rejected. Have you ever applied for a job and not been selected? You will feel rejected. It is normal to feel rejected and less valuable to the person selected.

Therefore, each society and community must try to avoid selection where it is possible. In education it is possible to avoid selection.

If selection is not necessary, then selection is discrimination.

Telling parents that their child in a wheelchair cannot come because there is no elevator, is selecting the non-wheelchair users over the wheelchair users and is discrimination. The school must find a solution, preferably an elevator.

Does racial discrimination intersect with selection in education?

An important argument to abandon selection in education is the, often hidden, indirect discrimination.

Statistics in the US and in the Netherlands show that non-whites are overrepresented in special education.

What is reasonable accommodation?

The CRPD treaty points out sharply that in order to show this respect and dignity for every community member and to avoid discrimination, the institution, community and the persons belonging to it, must accommodate the needs of their fellows, to the amount that they can participate on an equal foot with everyone. It is natural for a parent or friend to console a crying baby or a crying friend. This is accommodation. It is accepted that the government build dykes to provide safety against high waters.

This is accommodation. For wheelchair users it means, for example, building ramps and wide enough doors. Schools must apply universal design for accessibility (see article 2 CRPD) and universal design for teaching. Read, for example, Reading Rockets Universal Design for Learning (2018), online. This means that schools must be built in such a way that they are accessible also for deaf/blind/wheelchair using persons. The teaching methods must be such that they easily can adapt to various levels and learning methods for each child.

Cooperative learning is such a method, as is creating opportunities to learn from and imitate peers.

The P.E teacher knows how this works because often she/he will ask a student to demonstrate the required action, instead of the teacher demonstrating the action.

The better the universal design, the less need for accommodation, but of course specific accommodation like braille computers will remain necessary.

When you don’t get this accommodation, the government gives the message to the community and to you, that you are not valuable enough to belong. Not providing this accommodation is discrimination, according to the definition of the CRPD in Article 2.

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International Law This is the difference with discrimination on the grounds of race; abolishing discrimination on the ground of race requires a change in attitude, abolishing discrimination on the grounds of disability requires more. It requires not only a change in attitude, but also requires spending money and energy on accommodating the diverse needs of persons with disabilities in order to function on an equal foot with everyone. Often it requires a change in the structure, like transforming the provider centered educational system into a student-centered system, accompanied with merging the special schools into the mainstream schools. It can be done as the Newham story has shown (Jordan & Goodey, 2002, Human Rights and School change: The Newham Story. ISBN1-872001-25-4)

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Without inclusive education, emancipation will never emerge.”

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there are laws to protect you against discrimination. Disability, however, is not only about being different; it is also about needing specific accommodation. Not providing accommodation amounts to discrimination and to an infliction on dignity.

This obligation to provide accommodation is less understood in the Netherlands. All kinds of reasons are put forward for not providing accommodation. When a school decides that the trouble of accommodating the child with a disability surpasses the benefit for the school and subsequently refuses to admit the child, the board is protected by Dutch laws. If accommodating public transport cost too much money, Dutch law accepts this argument for denial of accommodation.

The important question is of course: Is it ethical to present dilemmas to service providers?

Is it ethical to present dilemmas to service providers like schools, to decide which option should prevail: the right to education with the cost of accommodation on one side or the avoidance of the cost of accommodation by denying the accommodation, and thus excluding the person who needs the accommodation from their community?

My answer is no.

Where dignity and discrimination are involved, there should be no choice. Human rights should be paramount and established in laws. Fulfilling the rights of Disabled persons is the litmus test for civilization, because it requires not only respect but also efforts, transformation of the structure and sometimes money to let them function on equal foot with others. Countries have signed and ratified the CRPD, now they must act on it and provide this accommodation in order to give persons with disabilities the enjoyment of the right to dignity in education.

Good experience

This past week I visited my old school in Porretta Terme, Italy. Only two bidelle, janitors, were the same as twenty years earlier. All the other staff and teachers work elsewhere or are retired. Nevertheless, I was welcomed as an old friend, although I couldn't express myself, overwhelmed as I was by emotions.

I felt dignified by them and this emotion means a lot to me. It makes me feel human and valuable. This is the message I want to bring the world. Giving dignity to a person does not cost money and brings love for you and everyone.

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International Law What can we do?

For each of us: It is in our power to give dignity to each person by welcoming her or him, independent of how she looks, behaves, her abilities or opinions. Giving this dignity to each other creates love and the solidarity, needed to change laws and society. Emphasizing the value of dignity may change the perspective of policy makers and legislators because everyone knows the hurt of being rejected as a partner, solicitor or sports(wo)man.

Let’s start our dignity giving future.

The lassie and her load The lassie in these lines strides, Undisturbed by her load Mirthful, radiating like gold, Bravely through life In spite of barriers Which sometimes act like knives.

I feel like that lass I carry the load, but not alone I see the people near my home.

Willing to share my load And, as a team on this capricious road to learn how to modify the weight into a valuable and precious freight.

My team, the neighbours from around included those, with whom it rubs on other grounds. commit their better half and clutch to give a helping hand without a grudge because everyone can use a nudge to thrive in dignity ah, such a beautiful symphony.

As such the lassie with her load Forges the neighbours on her road into a community with a joined grand potency Which helps me to progress as a strong, proud-hearted lass. ©Thiandi Grooff Dec 2021, translated from Dutch Jan 2022.

Original title: De deerne en haar dracht

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Sculptor: Angele Noort

Young Person's Voice: Quiet Riot

On Letting Everyone Belong: Why Inclusive Education Matters To Me

By Maresa McKeith, a Nottingham-based writer, educator, activist and observer of the world, who has led numerous workshops and given talks in a wide range of educational and community settings.

I express myself non-verbally, through alternative communication.

I hope that my work challenges, comforts, and gives hope. As a Disabled Woman, I know what it is like to feel completely alone in spaces where others appear to be excelling. I have not merely witnessed that sense of isolation, I have felt it. In schools, many Disabled children need help, but there is never enough quality help around, and so it becomes more about survival, than thriving. My school journey was challenging and complicated.

I needed friends to help me get through it, along with other key staff, personal assistants, and my mum. In segregated settings, it is often impossible for children who can’t talk or move to form relationships with each other, as there is nobody to assist those relationships.

Friendship is not even on the agenda.

What fuels my work as a writer, poet, and educator, centres around the potential isolation that begins when a Disabled child is not seen as an active part of a school, and the long-lasting impact that this can have. Not just on their own sense of worth, but as to how they are seen by other children. Or worse: not seen at all.

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Young Person's Voice We need to make more space in school life for something as simple, yet invaluable, as time to listen and fully ‘be’ with one another.

It is through this time, we can transform fear around disability, into curiosity. To help build a world where inclusive education becomes a given, rather than a battle, I am going to continue to share my story and facilitate spaces in which every young person, no matter what, feels I feel most connected to the world when I hear Young people (Disabled and non- safe, brave and like they belong.

All Young people deserve to be in spaces in which people like myself are not only present, but actively welcomed in - are given the opportunity to make, build and maintain diverse, loving friendships.

These friendships, it is important to note, should not be restricted to Disabled people being with other Disabled people only. We are not sheep to be herded into one space with the belief that, due to our collective ‘differences’, we will surely find common ground.

Disabled), share their hopes and dreams with me, as part of the workshops I deliver in schools.

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What are you going to do?

Young Person's Voice

Co-production: Disabled Young people and greater equality

By Blake Williamson, Quiet Riot "As a non-verbal communicator I encounter a different experience of connection and often have to demonstrate my capacity before being heard.

Being a member of Quiet Riot gives me the space to lose all of these issues and encourages me to continue to expect a level playing field elsewhere.

I often share my lived experience of what it’s like to live with an impairment in a disabling world. I do this through lots of different organisations via consultation, discussion, and training."

As co-production is my passion, and I believe the way the world should work, it is my preferred method. Where we are all seen as equal, coming together with a shared passion to exchange our knowledge and experiences, in an open and nourishing environment. The necessity to explore something has to begin with an open gathering to see what can be found out, with no preconceptions from anyone who presumes more power than others.

I feel this is important because many people do not understand how we live. My hope is that it helps others in similar situations when they feel that no one is listening or understanding the reality of their positions. The philosophy of ‘nothing about us without us’, underpins the real idea of co-production, where nothing is decided without everyone's involvement.

Very often systems are reworked on a regular basis, for example, assessment processes, with very little real understanding of the impact those decisions have on the very people they are supposed to assist. Even if this is done through co-production, often the delivery is a postcode lottery for recipients. When guidance is woolly and caveats allow diverse delivery options, the bias that exists for that ‘organisation’ allows the embedded culture to dominate.

It is important these narratives are heard, to assist with the changes necessary for a more equitable rationale to exist.

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Policy What will happen to Disabled children and Young people under proposed ‘Levelling Up’ measures?

By Richard Rieser, World of Inclusion Published at the beginning of February 2022, at the height of the ongoing saga of whether Boris Johnson should go or stay, some might cynically argue that the Levelling Up White Paper was released to take the pressure off the Prime Minister.

However, the approach taken is likely to give up clues about what will be in the forthcoming (Easter) and much delayed Department for Education SEND Review.

Levelling Up does not offer new money but instead consists of proposed solutions, based on a historical, geographical and multi variable statistical analysis of the social, economic, educational and health disparities across the UK, and in particular England. Solutions that are largely leading to repackaging and redistribution of funds, in already announced Government initiatives. It proposes 12 new initiatives including several measures for education. These include setting up 55 Educational Investment Areas (EIA) where in normative KS 2 test results of 65% of pupils meeting standards in reading, writing and maths with a pledge that 90% will be achieving these levels by 2030 with similar improvements in KS 4 Standard 8 measures.

Schools in these areas that repeatedly require improvement by Ofsted, will be handed over to ‘strong’ Multi Academy Trusts (MATs). The Oak online platform developed during the COVID-19 pandemic will be nationalised to provide ‘high quality curriculum and learning support.'

The existing Supported Internships for young people with Education Health and Care Plans will be doubled, providing learning placements in workplaces with job coaches for 6 months to 1 year, to prevent them just revolving on schemes and make real progress towards economic independence. Parents will welcome extra funding for respite and £45million to get the SEND system working more effectively.

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To achieve this, Science and Maths teachers will be paid a retention bonus of £3000 per annum and schools that have repeatedly been shown by OFSTED to require improvement will be forced to join successful Academy School chains. They will also be given support to tackle attendance issues.

The National Education Unions, who represent the largest group of teachers and those who work in schools, commented “Whilst the National Education Union welcomes any new investment in schools it is vital to note, as the National Audit Office (NAO) has pointed out, "there has been a relative re-distribution of funding from the most deprived schools to the least deprived schools.” (1) “We can see that many of the areas now targeted for support have been among the hardest hit by education cuts over the last decade - on the Government's own watch, and entirely of its own making”.

None of these measures will make a great impact on the growing disparity on attainment of Disabled and non-Disabled students in mainstream schools, which remains a gap of around 50%, or improve social and creative outcomes.

Twelve years of this Government austerity has led to school cuts, which have largely destroyed the support structures in schools provided by teaching assistants and seen centrally employed specialist teams of teachers greatly diminished.

Policy Government ideology against inclusion, of creating a market place in education, using normative test results as the currency, together with mantras of choice, effectively removing Local Authority powers to plan rationally for need and replacing it with undemocratic, expensive and failure prone academies, has created a toxic situation for children and young people with disability or special educational needs.

becomes very clear that any blanket strategy could be disastrous for the inclusion and life chances of Disabled children and Young people with SEN labels. The figures are from the DFE 2021 School Census.

If we divide the 55 up by whether they are above or below average on these 2 variables, we find the following.

The low segregating authorities: 8 have lower than average numbers on EHCP plans and 12 have above average numbers on EHC Plans.

The largest Group of 33 Authorities are above average segregators and also have above average numbers on EHC Plans. These 33 Authorities will need to reduce reliance on use of special schools and improve their inclusive teaching at school support levels to bring down reliance on EHC Plans and segregated provision. Apart from being very expensive in terms of Higher Needs Budgets it also leads to poorer outcomes for the cohort and children less able to transition to useful adult lives.

Behind all this is a failure to understand what needs to happen to create an equal and inclusive school system in England. Several of these failures of understanding were masterminded

by Mr Gove when he was Education Secretary, and now seem to be being replicated as he leads Levelling Up. A narrow curriculum which emphasises retaining knowledge, rather than skills and understanding which should be taught in a flexible, child-centred manner and flexibly assessed is the biggest barrier to inclusion. The normative testing regime, which has been likened to an ‘exam factory approach’ leads to the internal, external and informal exclusions currently The low segregating authorities include: rife in our schools, especially in academies. Bedford, Bradford, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Disabled students, including those from black Doncaster, Kirklees, Leeds, Luton, Norfolk, and racially minoritized groups as well as North Somerset, North Yorkshire, Nottingham, students from deprived and under resourced Nottinghamshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, backgrounds are more likely to experience Sandwell, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, institutional prejudice leading to very unequal Suffolk, Swindon, Wakefield, and those outcomes. Equality is about understanding just above average such as East Sussex, the barriers that lead to differential outcomes Bury, Walsall; all in the past have either had and putting in place effective solutions and a conscious policy of developing inclusion resources to resolve these barriers. The or by virtue of their geography have funded Government continues to fail to understand inclusion in their mainstream schools such as that their ideological stance on education Cornwall, Norfolk, Suffolk or North Yorkshire. is the root cause of the systems failure. What has been achieved here needs to be preserved and built upon.

If we examine the 55 Education Investment Areas on 2 variables 1) percentage of 2-18 The Government is putting their faith in population in special schools [average for academies to bring about improvement. The Local Authorities in England 1.33percent] Education Data Lab have questioned the idea and 2) percentage of children with Education that moving weak schools to strong MATs as Health and Care Plans [average for Local an answer, showing that in the EIA many of Authorities in England 3.25 percent], then it the existing academies are performing below

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Policy par. Brahm Norwich and his colleagues at Exeter, analysing the National Pupil data base that in the last 10 years, those schools that have become academies have reduced the numbers of students identified with SEN at a faster rate than the community schools and has partly led to the big acceleration of numbers in special schools. This does not bode well for those schools and Local Authorities that are more inclusive.

Is inclusion to be sacrificed for meaningless league table results?

What is needed is a new approach from the forthcoming Green Paper that values inclusive practice and rewards schools for each individual student’s achievements. This would require a social model of disability/ human rights approach to education.

TABLE: The 55 education investment areas SEN2 2021

1: % in special school of 2-18 popln

2 % of 2-18 population with EHC plans

England 1.33% 3.25%

Bedford 0.99% 3.28% Nottingham 0.93% 1.83% Blackpool 2.23% 4.35% Nottinghamshire 0.88% 1.86% Bolton 1.57% 4.01% Oldham 1.77% 4.29% Bradford 1.16% 3.44% Peterborough 0.61% 4.09% Bury 1.36% 4.67% Plymouth 1.34% 4.59% Cambridgeshire 1.18% 4.00% Portsmouth 1.45% 3.94% Ctrl Bedfordshire 1.20% 3.44% Rochdale 1.52% 4.10% Cornwall 0.58% 3.12% Rotherham 1.66% 4.31% County Durham 1.64% 3.69% Salford 1.87% 4.42% Coventry 1.53% 3.00% Sandwell 0.95% 3.18% Darlington 1.49% 3.72% Sefton 1.54% 3.87% Derby 1.69% 4.56% Somerset 0.96% 3.19% Derbyshire 0.86% 2.69% S. Gloucestershire 1.13% 3.86% Doncaster 1.11% 3.50% South Tyneside 2.12% 5.08% Dorset 1.35% 4.45% St Helens 1.40% 3.39% Dudley 1.67% 4.07% Stoke-on-Trent 2.04% 4.43% East Sussex 1.39% 3.53% Suffolk 1.06% 3.99% Halton 1.79% 3.76% Sunderland 1.70% 3.62% Hartlepool 1.42% 3.70% Swindon 1.33% 4.23% Isle of Wight 1.45% 5.08% Tameside 1.59% 3.63% Kirklees 0.95% 3.61% Wakefield 0.89% 3.28% Knowsley 2.14% 5.31% Walsall 1.34% 3.91% Leeds 1.07% 2.89% Wirral 1.93% 4.72% Lincolnshire 1.50% 4.43% Liverpool 1.79% 3.57% Luton 1.34% 3.51% Manchester 1.68% 4.33% Middlesbrough 2.01% 4.12%

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Campaign news

Scrutinising Government performance

The UN Treaty Shadow Report

By Simone Aspis ALLFIE Campaigns and Policy Coordinator

This year, the UK Government is due to have their performance in the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) scrutinised by the UNCRPD Monitoring Committee.

The Monitoring Committee will consider the UK Government’s progress in implementing the recommendations set out in the UNCRPD’s concluding observations report (2017).

Overall, the United Nations concluded that there has been “systematic and grave violations” of Disabled people’s human rights by the UK Government.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People – England Civil Society Shadow report Inclusion London has taken the lead in preparing the UK’s UNCRPD England Civil Society Shadow Report on behalf of the Disabled People’s Organisation sector, which will inform the UNCRPD committee’s list of issues and areas of concern to raise with the UK Government. The Alliance for Inclusive Education is taking the lead for reporting on the Government’s implementation of UNCRPD’s Article 24 recommendations.

In doing so, we have held a number of consultation events with different stakeholders, Disabled people, parents, and education professionals, alongside conducting an online survey.

In relation to the UNCRPD Monitoring Committee’s observations and recommendations, and as many of you expected, ALLFIE failed to find any evidence of the Government’s progression in the implementation of UNCRPD’s Article 24 recommendations.

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Campaign news

On the contrary, ALLFIE concluded there has been further regression and violation of Disabled people’s rights to inclusive education.

What did ALLFIE say in its report to the UN? ALLFIE made it clear that there had been no evidence of the Government making any attempt to either remove the reservation or interpretative declaration from Article 24.

ALLFIE’s submission highlighted the unacceptable continuation of the Government’s major legislative and policy attacks on Disabled people’s rights and access to mainstream education. We have thus identified the issues that have had the biggest negative impact upon Disabled people in England: ■ The dual education system includes an ever- expanding segregated education provision.

■ Education law does not include an

unequitable human right to inclusive education.

■ No legal definition or guidance on what constitutes inclusion or inclusive education practices underpinned by the social model of disability ■ No commitment to develop an inclusive education system that includes the infrastructural support that Disabled people require to flourish in schools, colleges, and universities.

■ No co-production in developing an inclusive education system with Disabled people and organisations protecting the rights thereof.

ALLFIE emphasised the following issues that would be incompatible with promoting Disabled people's human rights to inclusive education, to be raised at the next scrutiny under Article 24:

1. Despite there being an obligation to engage with Disabled people and their organisations, the Government has decided to work with big charities not run by Disabled people and who are paid to maintain the status quo. Unlike ALLFIE, education and children’s charities lack a strong human rights approach to their SEND engagement work.

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2. The Government has increasingly moved from a social model to a medical model of disability approach in their misguided attempts to support Disabled people within educational settings over the past decade. Educational institutions are being increasingly encouraged to focus on Disabled people’s specific SEND interventions rather than the whole school approach to inclusive education practices. The Department for Education has strengthened their zero-tolerance policy towards so-called ‘bad’ behaviour and discipline that has ultimately created a child-blaming culture where school disciplinary sanctions, exclusions, and segregation have become normalised.

3. Furthermore, neither the Children and Families Act 2014 nor the Equality Act 2010 include an unqualified right to inclusive education. As a result, Disabled students still do not have an absolute right to a mainstream education placement, education course, or any form of assistance.

We have provided various case studies on how Disabled students lack the necessary access to inclusive education despite being within mainstream education settings. We have also highlighted how the Government has resisted their duty to provide a definition of what constitutes inclusive education practice, as set out in Article 24’s General Comment 4.

4. Similarly, the Government have done nothing to remove the infinitely harmful Children and Families Act clause that allows a Disabled child to be placed in a special school if their presence is not compatible with the efficient education of other children, despite the UNCRPD Monitoring Committee making a specific recommendation for its removal. As a result, the provision of segregated education continues to be permitted under UK legislation. Furthermore, the UK Government’s education policies, such as those concerning school exclusions, education funding arrangements,

Campaign news education inspections, and public examination regulations, have all had a further negative impact upon Disabled people’s right to inclusive education.

Education policy trends, under this Government in particular, have long been at odds with developing a comprehensive inclusive education system with a universal, streamlined, and integrated approach to supporting Disabled people’s learning throughout life in various mainstream education settings.

Disabled people’s entitlements to disability-related support criteria is institution, age, and course based.

Similarly, there are different criteria for inclusivity within public examinations, depending on the type and nature of the qualifications, and government Higher Education reforms are a current concern.

The UK Government’s education funding policy has been influenced, not by austerity, but by an ideological drive towards increasing the segregation and institutionalisation of Disabled people. The Government’s school capital funding schemes have been geared towards the establishment of the construction and expansion of existing special schools that will have the space to provide on-site education, health, and care provision, which is more difficult to accommodate for within mainstream schools. In recent years, new types of segregated education have been formulated, such as secure schools in which criminal courts can sentence young people; in practice, however, they are schools for children who are neuro-divergent.

We have also highlighted that the UK education system and education policy are not intersectional. For many Disabled people, gender, race, and sexual orientation issues are not sensitively reflected in UK education policies, which promote exclusive rather than integrated education practice. Amongst our case studies included Black Disabled people’s experiences of systematic discrimination around the implementation of behaviour and uniform policies.

WHAT’S NEXT? Inclusion London will be holding a launch of their shadow report in March. Further information can be found here.

Since going to press, the UNCRPD Monitoring Committee have now delayed the UK Government’s scrutiny until 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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International

Developing Inclusive Education in Mozambique

By Kennedy Nhengu Background Mozambique is a country located in Southeastern Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa to the southwest.

Since 2001, Mozambique's annual average GDP growth has been among the world's highest.

However, the country is still one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world, ranking low in GDP per capita, human development, measures of inequality and average life expectancy. According to Worldometer data of 23 June 2021, Mozambique’s population is estimated at 32.102,539 people. The real number of Disabled persons is not known, but basing on World Bank’s conclusions, 15% of this number is of Disabled persons.

Disabled people face inequality in all national development spheres. They have no access to education, which is a fundamental human right and the basis to access all other rights. Many Disabled children and youth have never been to school (exclusion) and many of those who were enrolled do not finish the first circle of primary education. But the constitution of the Republic of Mozambique provides that:

“Education shall be a right and duty of all citizens and the duty of the state to promote the extension of education to professional and continuing vocational training as well as equal access to the enjoyment of this right by all citizens.”

Mozambique’s education system is still dominated by traditional education forms, namely segregation form and integration form:

• Segregation form is when Disabled children are in separate or special schools, units, homes and institutions mainly designed to respond to a particular impairment. This comes from the medical model of disability, where disability is viewed as problem that needs to be fixed. If it cannot be fixed, the children are separated from others. It focuses on what these children cannot do instead of what they are able to do.

• Integration in mainstream education is placement of Disabled children and students in mainstream classrooms, without promoting actual participation to reach full potential and success. It is all about “being there”. There are minor adjustments for the child to be there, but their particular disability needs to facilitate learning are not taken into account. This is a major cause of drop-out. Mozambique has made failed efforts to implement inclusive education.

Inclusive education is about looking at the ways our schools, classrooms, programs and lessons are designed so that Disabled children can participate and learn and have successful results in regular system. It is about finding different ways of teaching ensuring full and effective participation, accessibility, attendance and achievement of all students.

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International Inclusive education was introduced in 1998 and a number of initiatives have been realised since then, including adoption of national instruments that promote quality inclusive education, international partnerships, and ratification of regional and international human rights treaties and their protocols.

Inclusive Education Initiatives In 1998 the Ministry of Education launched the ‘Inclusive Schools’ project, with UNESCO’s support, to combat exclusion and promote schooling for all children. The strategy was to raise awareness of diversity throughout the education structures. Activities consisted of short capacity building courses for provincial coordinators and teachers in pilot inclusive schools.

Following this project, Mozambique started implementing the resolutions of the 2nd World Congress on Education for All (EFA) in Dakar, April 2000.

The government has also established international partnerships with the Finnish and Swedish governments to support inclusive education in the country.

The government has a National Education Policy that emphasizes promotion of the principle of inclusive education through awareness raising and mobilization of regular schools and communities for support, as well as training teachers, providing materials and equipment and conception of flexible plans for children with particular education needs. The government also introduced free and compulsory primary education for all children.

Mozambique's education policy is implemented through its 2020 – 2029 Strategic Plan.

The plan has as its mission, implementing a national education system that is inclusive, equitable, efficient, competent, innovative and ensuring long life quality learning. In its general principles (2.1.1 a. the strategic plan ensures education, culture, training and a balanced and inclusive education as a right for all. 2.3.1. Ensures inclusion and equity in access, participation and retention. These initiatives were to ensure that children and young people with different disabilities learn together with non-Disabled children in regular education system. Unfortunately the education system is not yet inclusive, after more than two decades of trial.

What I did on making schools accessible We implemented a project on inclusive education with financial and technical support from Power International between 2011 and 2013 in the provinces of Maputo, Sofala and Zambezia. I worked in Maputo, identifying Disabled children and youth at school going age that were not enrolled, realising accessibility audits in schools, and other public and private built places open for public use and thereafter presenting a report on each audit with recommendations for change. Changes had to be seen within an agreed period of time. As a DPO, we are advocating for accessible schools.

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[Title goes here] The wider barriers and what needs to change: The initiatives that were taken in Mozambique totally failed because of the following reasons, among others:

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⊲ There is a serious misunderstanding of the concept of “inclusive education.”

Many people confuse integration for inclusion, the difference between “being there” and “taking part.” This is clear in government documents on inclusive education; ⊲ Lack of trained teachers to administer inclusive education. Teachers lack competence and will to modify methodology as per specific disability needs of the individual child; ⊲ School authorities and staff do not show a willingness to cater to the needs of Disabled children, especially those with severe and profound disabilities, and there are no teaching aids; ⊲ Lack of awareness and positive attitudes and sensibility on the part of teachers, parents, classmates and community to make inclusive education happen; ⊲ The general belief that Disabled children cannot learn following the old idea that they could not function in the general education system and so they were excluded or that their needs were defined by what they could not do and special schools and classes were set up to address this; ⊲ Lack of support for Disabled children from parents, teachers and community to reach their full potential; ⊲ Some Disabled children are hidden by their parents thus they cannot take part in inclusive education building. There is no inclusive education without Disabled children; ⊲ Schools are not physically accessible, and in most cases they are too far for Disabled children’s reach; ⊲ School materials are not in accessible formats for all, especially blind students and there is no sign language for Deaf students; ⊲ During the COVID-19 pandemic, all schools were closed as part of the government’s response to the pandemic and lessons were delivered online.

This was a very good idea, but Mozambique was a wrong context. Very few people are prepared for e-learning (both teachers and students), lack of devices with internet, rural zones without electricity and connectivity, lack of adapted devices, etc.; ⊲ Lack of accountability of teachers poses challenges in inclusive education; ⊲ Individualized attention is difficult for teachers because of the large numbers of students in a class, between 60 and 70 students per class; ⊲ Classmates generally bully and reject peers with disabilities leading them to dropout; ⊲ Unavailability and/or unaffordability of assistive technologies; ⊲ Absence of political will. There is no specific legislation or policy on inclusive education; ⊲ Lack of implementation of the UNCRPD (Article 24) and SDGs (Article 4) on inclusive education, including the national physical accessibility legislation; ⊲ Underfunding of inclusive education initiatives; ⊲ Lack of CBR, which is important as part of getting Disabled children ready for the general education system.

Legal Question This Legal Question was posed by ALLFIE’s Simone Aspis. It was answered by Lydia Neill, Paralegal in the Public Law Team, and Sarah Woosey, Partner, Education & Community Care Solicitor, at Simpson Millar Solicitors.

“

I am a Disabled student and have Dyslexia. My educational qualifications include a Bachelor’s Degree in History and GCSE Grades G in English and B in Maths. I failed to pass my level 2 functional skills in English on several occasions. I want to become a History secondary school teacher with Qualified Teacher status (QTS), so I have the opportunity to teach in both maintained and academy schools. The Initial Teaching Training (ITT) Provider rejected my application because I have not fulfilled the Literacy and Numeracy requirements. What are my options for legal challenge?"

The Initial Teaching Training (ITT) provider can legally refuse applications if the applicant does not fulfil the entry requirements for the given course. This is because they are entitled to require specific qualifications to ensure applicants meet the minimum standard of subject knowledge and educational attainment. On the limited information provided, it does not appear that ITT has acted unlawfully in refusing your application because you do not fulfil the Literacy and Numeracy requirements.

It is, however, important to highlight that as a Disabled pupil, you could, and possibly should, have been granted access arrangements or reasonable adjustments when completing your GCSE and Functional Skills qualifications.

Schools and colleges must comply with the Equality Act 2010 which includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments for Disabled pupils. If adjustments were appropriate in your circumstances, then your school or college could have made a request to the relevant examination board to grant specific access arrangements for your exams. This support would aim to ensure that you did not face an unfair disadvantage compared to your non-Disabled peers. For example providing you with additional time to sit the exam, or allowing you use of a laptop to write your answers.

The reasonable adjustments required as a Disabled student should have been implemented previously to support you to achieve your current qualifications. If your school or college refused to make an application, or you faced a detriment because of your disability compared to your nonDisabled peers, then it may have been possible to bring a disability discrimination claim. It is not possible to advise whether this would have been successful without knowing your specific circumstance, but unfortunately any claim should have been brought within 6 months of the incident in question.

Whilst it may be disappointing, if you do intend to re-take your English qualifications again, then you should make sure you are adequately supported in line with your impairments. If you do take this route, and are refused reasonable adjustments then you can seek legal advice on your individual circumstances. It is important to remember that up to date advice on your specific circumstances will always be beneficial.

www.simpsonmillar.co.uk

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Review

CODA breaks new ground for disability equality on screen.

By Richard Rieser CODA is a mainstream film in which the Deaf characters are played by Deaf actors, and it is funny, emotional, excellent, informative and entertaining.

With a good portion of the dialogue in American Sign Language (with subtitles), it strikes a blow for Deaf and Disability equality.

CODA, an acronym of ‘child of deaf adults’, is written and directed by Sian Heder, and stars Emilia Jones as Ruby Rossi, a young girl who is the only hearing member of a Deaf family. Her parents—Frank, played by Troy Kotsur, and Jackie, played by Marlee Matlin—and older brother, Leo, played by Daniel Durant, are all culturally Deaf. The parents lean on Ruby, their only hearing family member, as they navigate the hearing world; she interprets everything from doctors’ appointments to business deals. Over the course of the movie, Ruby must decide between staying to help her parents and the dream of attending college on a music scholarship. Discrimination is shown as part of their lives. The story is quite staid, but the interactions of the four leads and the many sub plots are beautiful. Emilia Jones had to learn American Sign Language and to sing to play the part so convincingly. Apart from the three Deaf actors, there were two Deaf ASL experts working on the film to develop the sign language used.

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Review It is a remake of a French film from 2014, La Famille Belier, which featured a dairy farm with a deaf family and a hearing daughter who wanted to be a singer. The key difference is that all the main actors in the French film were hearing actors playing Deaf people. The producers of the original French film wanted an English version that was also different. Sian Heder (writer of smash TV series ‘Orange is the New Black’ set in a women’s prison), as writer/director, fought for casting Deaf actors to play the Deaf parts. Early on enlisting Marlee Matlin to play Jackie, Heder along with the veteran Deaf actor resisted all pressures to cast well known hearing actors and to alter the script. 40% of the film is in American Sign Language.

Marlee, at age 21, won an Oscar for ‘Children of a Lesser God’ (1986). She has had a long career including many movie and TV credits, from guest appearances on shows like Seinfeld, ER, and Desperate Housewives, to beloved recurring roles like The West Wing’s Joey Lucas, The L Word’s Jodi Lerner, and even a stint as Marlee the Librarian on Blue’s Clues. She has long wanted to share with audiences the beauty of an ensemble piece of Deaf actors using their sign language. In several interviews about casting the film, Matlin has said “being Deaf isn’t like a costume you can take on and off. Enough of that.”

Disabled characters are vastly underrepresented in film and television Though about 25% of Americans are Disabled in 2019, only 3.1% of series regular characters were Disabled, and that was a record high. When Disabled characters do show up, they’re frequently created by non-Disabled writers and played by non-Disabled actors. Known in the Disabled community as “cripping up”, it’s a frustrating phenomenon not only because it takes work from Disabled actors, but also because it upholds inauthentic portrayals that perpetuate stereotypes.

There are not many Disabled actors with name recognition who can generate interest in a project. The nomination of Crip Camp (2021) for best documentary was a welcome change and featured in our last issue. Now, CODA was picked up at Sundance for a record-breaking $25 million deal, proof that audiences and studios are hungry for inclusive and authentically made content.

CODA Trailer (Apple TV Plus, 2021)

Inclusivereading

If you like Inclusion Now, you may be interested in subscribing to ezines and blogs from Inclusive Solutions.

https://inclusive-solutions.com/termly-inclusive-ezines/ https://inclusive-solutions.com/ category/blog/

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This magazine is published by: The Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) A national campaigning organisation led by disabled people. ALLFIE works to change laws, practices and procedures which discriminate against Disabled Young people and prevent inclusion. ALLFIE works together with allies to build a social climate in which everyone has a valued place.

336 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AA Tel: 020 7737 6030 Email: info@allfie.org.uk Website: www.allfie.org.uk

In collaboration with: Inclusive Solutions

A team of psychologists and associates who specialise in cutting edge practical strategies and ideas for developing effective inclusion in local mainstream schools and communities. We work with anyone who wants to bring about the real systems changes that are necessary to move towards a truly inclusive society.

Tel: 0115 9556045 or 01473 437590 Email: inclusive.solutions@me.com Website: inclusive-solutions.com

World of Inclusion A consultancy that provides advice, resources and training in the UK and around the world to develop equality for disabled people especially in education. Richard Rieser is an expert disabled international equality trainer, consultant, film maker and writer and teacher.

Basement, 78 Mildmay Grove South, London N1 4PJ Tel: 020 7359 2855 or 07715 420727 Email: rlrieser@gmail.com Website: worldofinclusion.com

DISABLED PEOPLE, PARENTS AND ALLIES, WORKING TOGETHER to educate, facilitate and empower everyone who wants to be part of the growing inclusion movement. Together we want to bring down the barriers so all young people can learn, make friends and have a voice in ordinary school and throughout life. For each and every young person, this is an essential human right.

ALL MEANS ALL