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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- Notes on contributors
- Foreword
- Foreword
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Disability and education in historical perspective
- 2 Continuity and tensions between the SEND framework and disability rights legislation in recent legislative reforms
- 3 Multi-agency working and children and young people with disabilities: from ‘what works’ to ‘active becoming’
- 4 Disabled students in higher education: what progress has been made over the last 30 years?
- 5 Meeting the standard but failing the test: the case of children and young people with sensory impairments and access to assessments and qualifications
- 6 Exploring the intersection of race and disability in English schools
- 7 The hidden world of within-school exclusion
- 8 Social, emotional and mental health needs in educational settings: putting wellbeing into socio-relational context
- Conclusion
- Index
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 September 2025
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- Notes on contributors
- Foreword
- Foreword
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Disability and education in historical perspective
- 2 Continuity and tensions between the SEND framework and disability rights legislation in recent legislative reforms
- 3 Multi-agency working and children and young people with disabilities: from ‘what works’ to ‘active becoming’
- 4 Disabled students in higher education: what progress has been made over the last 30 years?
- 5 Meeting the standard but failing the test: the case of children and young people with sensory impairments and access to assessments and qualifications
- 6 Exploring the intersection of race and disability in English schools
- 7 The hidden world of within-school exclusion
- 8 Social, emotional and mental health needs in educational settings: putting wellbeing into socio-relational context
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
As we thought about, debated, drafted and finalised the second edition of Education, Disability and Social Policy we found ourselves at the start of another significant political transition, with potentially major policy consequences.
The change of government to a Labour administration has brought with it a new manifesto commitment:
Labour will take a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We will make sure admissions decisions account for the needs of communities and require all schools to co-operate with their local authority on school admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning.
This commitment is made against a backdrop of severe financial strain and ‘utter disarray’ in the system in England to support children with special educational needs (SEN), as reported by the Local Government Ombudsman. A report for the Local Government Association revealed that resourcing the requirements of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans has led to cumulative deficits in local authorities in England which at the time of writing stand at £3.2 billion and are projected to rise to £5 billion by 2026.2 Meanwhile, the same report finds that in 2022/23, only 8 per cent of children and young people with EHC plans achieved the expected level in reading, writing and mathematics, a figure that has remained unchanged from 2016/17. If nothing else, this stagnation indicates a pressing need for a renewed focus on educational outcomes for students with SEN.
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- Education, Disability and Social Policy , pp. 154 - 156Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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