Children are more than mere pupils

Some good comment on inclusion from Ric Law, of the excellent Disability Challengers, in today’s Children Now:

The point is that society will only be inclusive if everyone is offered a choice in their education. We argue, not against a disabled child choosing to be educated in a mainstream school, but against the relentless pursuit of the idea that school is the ideal place for all children to be together.

The natural and most powerful environment for young people to become friends, develop an acceptance and understanding of diversity, and to dissolve prejudice is a leisure setting. Leisure is not just a place where young people can be together – it is the best, the most natural, and most effective context for fostering friendship, awareness of diversity and acceptance.