IT IS time to talk about the elephant in the room. Teachers, parents and children have said it privately for a long time but it’s time to lift the lid.

The presumption to mainstream policy, introduced in 2000 with the best of intentions of delivering inclusion in our schools, isn’t working. It has given all children the right to be educated in the same school. This was the first step to inclusion. But, 16 years on, it’s clear that, to deliver authentic inclusion, the framework and supporting structures must change.

ENABLE Scotland members have long discussed this. But all we had was anecdotal evidence: conversations where parents and teachers were saying privately that things weren’t working. We knew attainment rates were low and formal exclusions were higher than they should be. But we felt there was something deeper. We launched a seven-month national conversation about the reality of educational experiences for young people with learning disabilities.

This week we publish the results of that conversation and, importantly, a blueprint for change. Our comprehensive report #IncludED in the Main?! tells the story of a generation of young people and was informed by more than 800 responses from children, their parents and carers and the education workforce. It tells the stories of those who have been excluded by inclusion.

Lucy is one such pupil who bravely lent her voice to the report. Alone and without friends, she felt bullied and ignored. In some lessons she found it hard to keep up and when additional support wasn’t available she worried she would fall behind. Excluded by her peers, the curriculum and from opportunities that make up the whole spectrum of school life, she grew anxious about her future.

The turning point came when she told her headteacher she wanted to help educate her peers about what it was like to live with a learning disability. Her bravery changed attitudes and was instrumental in building a more inclusive school environment. Lucy is now a role model, has confidence, is making friends, and her peers understand a bit more about learning disability. This should give us all hope; hope that authentic inclusive education can become a reality. Through #Included in the Main?! we set out to listen, and amplify, the voices of those with lived experience. Pupils told us they feel bullied, isolated and excluded. Parents told us they feel frustrated with a system that’s not working. Teachers reported feeling untrained, unsupported, and stressed.

Our challenge to government at all levels is to listen, reflect and act. Inclusion isn’t about treating everyone the same. It is embedding specialist knowledge and support to remove barriers to equality. A critical barrier to inclusion is the decline in this specialism across the education system. As the Scottish Government prepares to take the next step by reviewing the guidance on mainstream education, it must include the 22 recommendations outlined in ENABLE Scotland’s #IncludED in the Main?! report.

It calls for systemic change in the education system, beginning with a proper framework to work within that includes pupils with learning disabilities. Conversations about learning disability should be embedded into the curriculum of all schools. Further steps are required to protect children’s rights through greater visibility and accountability of informal exclusions, whereby young people are being denied access to the same activities as their peers.

Parents find themselves fulfilling multiple roles as educators, carers and advocates, all of which require specialist support. We must ensure it is there. Teachers must receive comprehensive training on meeting the needs of pupils with learning disabilities, both as part of initial training and ongoing professional development. The decline of specialist support must be addressed and a commission to review the role of classroom assistants is long overdue.

Hundreds of children, parents, carers and teachers answered our call for a candid conversation about the reality of school life for young people with learning disabilities. They live in the classrooms of the inclusion agenda; for their sakes, we must listen. We cannot avoid the elephant in the room now that they’ve spoken. Let’s take the next steps on the journey to inclusion. We can get there.

Jan Savage is executive director, campaigns and external affairs, with ENABLE Scotland.