Tag Archives: disability

“We are the young people, we are the experts, and we really want to be heard”: Inclusion Ambassadors⤴

from @ Reach

“It feels very low to be left out”. “We need to be treated equally”. “I’d need to trust the people I’m asking for help”. Words of wisdom from a group of young people with diverse support needs campaigning for everyone to be included, no one left out.

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“I’m Jenny…. and this is MY autism”⤴

from @ Reach

“Having autism is unique – it’s not painful, or itchy, or sore – it’s just how I see the world”. Check out this Fixers film and hear a girl called Jenny on a campaign to end the stigma about having Aspergers and to show it’s no reason to stop believing in yourself….

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What helps young people feel included in school?⤴

from @ Reach

Hello, I’m Mark, I’m a 17-year-old pupil at school in Cumbernauld and I’m the Inclusion Ambassador for North Lanarkshire.

I went to Luxembourg to represent Scotland in a Europe-wide inclusive education conference. When we were there I got a good idea of what was important for pupils all over Europe – the key message is “Everything about us, with us”. We want to be heard and we want to have a say in anything that has to do with us. We are the experts in our own needs and we know what works and what doesn’t.

This is not just a message for politicians. It is the teachers that make the immediate difference to how inclusive a school is.

Take my school – before I moved up to high school my year head met with my parents and me. We worked out barriers for me in and around the school, spoke with teachers in private to make sure they understood my needs and made a clear plan for every type of situation at school. This might all seem quite a bit of work for one pupil, yet this only took three meetings and it was all made so much easier because of the talking and listening that went on between me and the teacher.

Sadly, some pupils do not have such a good experience as me, which is why I’m pleased to be one of the Inclusion Ambassadors for Education Scotland. We are a national group of young people who act as a ‘voice’ for pupils on inclusion. We share our views and experiences with Scottish Government Ministers, local authorities and schools. We are hoping to develop resources, a school pledge and a film in the coming months.

Here are three of our top priorities to make schools more inclusive:

  • Social Problems: being excluded at break times and not having enough chances to be included and make friends are big issues. My school found a way around this by setting up a club where pupils could play computer games and socialise. This helped pupils who were often quiet to come out of their shell.
  • Issues with Support staff: For some pupils (but not all), having support staff can sometimes feel like a barrier to their social life, and they might not need them as they get older.
  • Awareness: We feel that there isn’t enough done by schools to raise awareness of the issues that pupils face or the reasons they need support. The worst thing schools can do is to pick out a specific pupil – that’s just everyone’s worst nightmare – but what schools can do is to educate the year group that other people have different needs and promote the fact that you are a diverse and inclusive school so it’s great to have all types of pupils.

For me, talking and listening are the key to true inclusion because without this everything you might be doing could be entirely irrelevant to the pupil. After all, how can you include someone who isn’t involved in the conversation?

 

 

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Over 100 pupils with learning disabilities have a say about being included at school⤴

from @ Reach

Pupils with learning disabilities in Scotland have had their say about what school is like for them and whether they feel included. 116 young people with learning disabilities shared their experiences of school as a part of a campaign called Included in the Main?! run by Enable Scotland.

Here are some of the things they found out from the pupils that took part in the survey:

  • 60% of the pupils said they feel lonely at school
  • only half of those asked feel like they are achieving their full potential at school
  • 23% don’t get to go on school trips
  • more than half said they felt like they weren’t getting the right support at school.

Enable Scotland also asked teachers and families what they thought and, after looking at all the results, have come up with 22 steps they think will make things better at school for young people with learning disabilities. These steps include stuff like:

  • making sure teachers get the right training so they can get better at supporting pupils with disabilities and their families,
  • making sure schools teach all pupils about learning difficulties
  • helping schools get even better at identifying support needs early.

You can check out some of the stories young people have shared with Enable Scotland here.  enable-case-studies

If you feel lonely at school or don’t feel like you get the right support we’ve lots of advice to help you here or you can call our helpline on 0345 123 2303.

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