Labour's inclusive education reforms benefit all children, not just disabled students
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/frances-ryan. "Labour’s Send reforms get this right: disabled children in mainstream schools is transformative for everyone | Frances Ryan | The Guardian." February 26, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that putting disabled kids in regular schools helps everyone - disabled kids get better education, and other kids learn empathy and acceptance. She says critics who complain about costs are missing the point and trying to avoid responsibility for disabled children.
Conclusion
Labour's Send reforms promoting inclusion of disabled children in mainstream schools is valuable for both disabled and non-disabled students, and should be supported rather than viewed merely as a financial burden
Premises
- Inclusion provides educational enrichment for disabled children by allowing them to learn alongside their peers
- Non-disabled children benefit from growing up and learning alongside disabled peers, developing empathy and broader perspectives
- The current system has failed, with disabled children increasingly segregated from mainstream education between 2012-2019
- Private sector profiteering from Send education (£2bn annually to private schools) is the real financial problem, not the children themselves
- Critics who focus on 'overdiagnosis' and costs are attempting to offload financial responsibility rather than improve outcomes
- Historical progress in disability rights and inclusion required laws, activism, and public funding - and this progress is fragile
- How a society treats disabled children is a key indicator of its moral direction and values
Assumptions
- Inclusion is inherently better than segregation for educational and social outcomes
- Non-disabled children's development is enhanced by diversity and exposure to disability
- Public funding for inclusive education is a worthwhile societal investment
- Private sector involvement in Send education is primarily profit-driven rather than outcome-focused
- Political opposition to Send spending is ideologically rather than practically motivated