Disabled children feel discouraged

One-quarter of disabled children are discriminated against and
struggle to get the same opportunities as their non-disabled
counterparts in mainstream schools, according to research published
this week.

The NOP survey of 305 disabled 16 to 24-year-olds, funded by the
Disability Rights Commission, finds that more than one-third felt
they did not get the help and support they needed from teachers and
other staff, and one-fifth said they had been discouraged from
taking GCSEs.

Just over one-quarter of the young people surveyed did not go on to
further or higher education. Of these, 30 per cent said they would
have liked to but felt they had been prevented due to reasons
relating to their disability or health problem.

Chairperson of the DRC Bert Massie said that, despite the Special
Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, the DRC helpline had
taken more than 800 calls on education issues since the act came
into force in September.

– Education for All: Getting in, Getting on or Getting
Nowhere? from www.drc-gb.org/drc