INEE Pocket Guide to Supporting Learners with Disabilities

INEE’s Task Team on Inclusive Education and Disability is pleased to announce the publication of the INEE Pocket Guide to Supporting Learners with Disabilities!

All children and young people have the right to good quality education. In all regions of the world, children and young people with disabilities are starting to be included in schools and other non-formal places of learning. They are participating actively and successfully in learning and they are achieving. However, many learners with disability are still denied their rights to quality education, and do not get the support they need to learn and develop. This includes the thousands of children and young people with disabilities who are affected by crisis.

In crisis contexts, teachers or facilitators working with children or young people may feel particularly worried about including those with disabilities in their classes – especially if they did not do this before the emergency. However, sometimes emergencies can provide a chance to change the physical environment and update the practice of teachers or other trained adults – allowing us to work towards inclusive education in a range of ways.

With the input of many INEE members, this latest INEE Pocket Guide was developed by Ingrid Lewis with Duncan Little and Helen Pinnock. The Pocket Guide outlines some of the common challenges that children and young people with disabilities might face with education in or after an emergency. It discusses some of the constraints of concerns that teachers may have and offers practical ideas for including children and young people with disabilities in education before, during or after an emergency. The Pocket Guide is intended for those working to support teachers, including teacher trainers, school inspectors or supervisors, education programme managers or teachers or facilitators who are able to do self-study.

The Pocket Guide complements the updated INEE Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, which articulate the right to education for all affected by crisis. Inclusion is a theme that has been strengthened in the updated Handbook, and the Standards state explicitly that no individual should be denied access to and full participation in education because of discrimination based on disability. The Pocket Guide also builds on the guidance within the INEE Pocket Guide to Inclusive Education which provides a quick reference for practitioners working to ensure that education in crisis contexts is accessible and inclusive for everyone.

Download the INEE Pocket Guide to Supporting Learners with Disabilities here. You can order hard copies of the Pocket Guide by emailing m.santos@ineesite.org – please include the number of copies you need and your full mailing address.