Local Schools Serve All in Their Community

Henry Stewart's picture
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Friday's Evening Standard told the shocking story of an 11 year old girl who was rejected from Harris City Academy in Crysal Palace because she presented a "health and safety risk". This was despite the school claiming to beĀ an "inclusive school with disabled access ramps and wheelchair facilities".

Academies can be excellent local schools and some fully cater for those with disabilities or special educational needs. We have to hope that a story like this is not an indication of the new spirit in education, with schools starting to select some and exclude others.

I remember when I first visited my local primary school for my children, what really won me over in the class we watched was the way a disabled boy was fully integratedĀ and a central part of the class. It was such a world away from the segregated education system I experienced in the sixties and seventies, where my school didn't have a single visibily disabled young person among its 1,800 students.

Good local schools are inclusive schools that fully support disabled students, to the benefit of both those students and of their able-bodied peers.
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