CYPE(6)-21-23 – Papur i’w nodi 2
Thank you for the opportunity to give evidence about education for disabled children and young people.
I just wanted to follow up and explain a bit about the project I have been leading. The “Rights here, Rights now” Curriculum project has sought to assist education providers with the obligations the Welsh Government has put on the Education sector in promoting the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. This is done with a practitioner pack which gives information about the convention, how it applies to the Curriculum for Wales, lesson ideas and material and activities that can be used in lessons.
The aim of the project is to promote the UNCRDP, disability rights and the social model of disability from someone with lived experience to education providers. They are then able to use this knowledge in their lessons to provide learners. The education setting then decides if they want me to go in and do some activities with the learners, this is usually around barriers and solutions after they have had some information in an assembly. I have found that the children and young people respond well to this activity, and it gets them thinking about different impairments not just focusing on one. They are then given the opportunity to ask any questions they may have, this interaction breaks down barriers as often outside the family they have never met a disabled person and two of the disabled children I met with had never met a disabled adult they could identify with (both wheelchair users).
The work I have undertaken in education settings is as follows:
Training has been delivered to three settings successfully, this was delivered to eight practitioners in the following settings:
Newtown HS (across two campuses) – Powys
Six participants
Crossgates PS – Powys
One participant
Tre Uchaf Primary School – Swansea
One participant
The visit to Tre Uchaf took place before the end of March, it included an assembly with KS2 and two activities. There were two disabled children in this session that commented on never having met a disabled adult that they could identify with. Approximately 100 children were involved.
Eirias High School – Conwy
Training will be delivered to practitioner’s face to face at the end of June.
Ysgol Llannon – Ceredigion
A whole day was spent a day at Ysgol Llannon and had 2 sessions with KS1 and KS2. This was a setting with 2 classes. The morning was for KS1 and the youngest in this class was 4. This session was giving the learners information about disability and rights, some information about technology and then inviting the learners to ask questions. The project officer also showed the learners their car. The second session was with KS2 and followed a similar pattern to the morning session, however it was also followed by an activity on Impairments, barriers and solutions. This activity really gets the learners thinking about multiple impairments.
The following settings were not on the Rights here, Rights now project; however, the project officer visited these establishments and delivered two assemblies, three lessons, one information session and one career fayre:
Ysgol Bro Gymraeg Morganwyg – Vale of Glamorgan
The project officer delivered two assemblies with approximately 500 young people in each. The topic of these was about bullying and the effects it has on disabled children and young people.
Libanus PS – Caerphilly
Three lessons on how mechanics and technology has helped disabled people, each class had 30 children within. After a talk of approximately 25 minutes the children were given the opportunity to ask questions to the project officer. After the lessons had been delivered the children were invited by the project officer to look at their adapted vehicle and continue to ask questions.
Working with Libanus PS has been extremely successful, since the visit the children have:
· Audited their local town of Blackwood,
· Written to Caerphilly Council on access issues,
· Created a petition for the Senedd requesting that private businesses follow the same access laws as public businesses,
· They are viewing of the Principality Stadium with access in mind – the project officer was invited but cannot go and sent a list of questions to ask.
· The petition was debated at the petitions committee on the 5th of June.
The project officer went back to the setting and attended a career fayre with the learners.
Cradoc County Primary School – Powys
A joint assembly with years 4 to 6 on technology, disability and disability rights. This was followed by an activity with year 4 to look at the barriers different impairments could face and to come up with technology solutions. The children were invited to invent something that could be useful for someone with the impairment they were working on. The second session was with years 5&6 who were given the same activity however, they asked the project officer more questions.
Since sitting on the panel, the project officer has been invited to attend the following settings:
The Bishop of Llandaff CiW High School – Cardiff
This is a protected characteristics day and the project officer has been invited to attend to give information on disability. There is a strong possibility of being invited back to give more information and facilitate activities with the learners.
Ysgol Gymraeg Sant Baruc – Vale of Glamorgan
To provide workshops, lived experience and activities to primary school aged learners.
Feedback from practitioners has been extremely positive with the headteacher of Ysgol Llannon feeding back with – “Your presentations and interaction with all the pupils (from four to eleven year olds) were excellent” and that “the staff and I thought that the whole experience was superb as you were very honest and had the kind of personality that made the work very engaging for the pupils”.
The work that has been undertaken within education settings has been rewarding and insightful. Rewarding – by seeing how information is processed and used by the children and young people and insightful – in the realisation that a lot needs to be learnt.
There is a need to carry on this project as the benefits to the educators, children and young people are significant. However, unless funding can be secured this project is at risk of being abandoned. The first year was a pilot to assess need, test and refine materials and build networks. The need and desire for this project has been established and overwhelming.
Thank you once again and for taking the time to read this follow up email. Please do get in touch with me if I can be of any further assistance.
Cofion cynnes
Kat Watkins
Swyddog Datblygu CCUHPA/UNCRDP Development Officer