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Including children with disabilities at school

Guidance on ensuring education systems are inclusive for all children, even those with severe disabilities.

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Every child has the right to learn, play and thrive. Yet, despite global commitments, children with disabilities continue to be excluded from research and programmes designed to build more inclusive and equitable societies.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Through Inclusive Futures’ work on education, we’ve demonstrated that including children with even the most severe disabilities is achievable. When education systems are designed to be inclusive, children with disabilities can learn alongside their peers in the same classrooms.

Two young girls wearing school uniforms talk beneath a tree. One of the girls has a physical disability and is using a wheelchair. The other girl is crouching down so she's at the same level.
© Daniel Hombe/Light for the World
Isaya, who has an intellectual disability, sits in a chair at his home in Tanzania. He now attends an inclusive school.

Why is inclusive education important?

Isaya, who has an intellectual disability, sits in a chair at his home in Tanzania. He now attends an inclusive school.

According to UNICEF, there are 240 million children with disabilities worldwide. They often face significant barriers to education, including stigma, discrimination and inaccessible learning environments in schools. The statistics are stark: children with disabilities are almost 50% more likely to have never attended school compared to their peers without disabilities.

Practical steps to ensure children with disabilities are included at every stage of education

  • Find and enrol children with disabilities in schools: outreach and identification are two of the most vital building blocks of disability inclusive development programming. They lay the foundation for children with disabilities to be recognised and included in their communities, giving them access to education and providing their families with access to support services and community groups that help them thrive. We’ve developed six practical actions for finding and enrolling children with disabilities in schools. Read the report
  • Prepare schools to welcome children with disabilities: schools are central to children’s education, but too many lack children with disabilities in their classrooms. To provide inclusive education, mainstream schools need to accommodate local children with disabilities in the same classrooms as their peers. We’ve developed seven practical actions schools can take to prepare for welcoming children with disabilities into inclusive education. Read the report
  • Centre children with disabilities in teaching: teachers have a crucial role in children’s education but too few are trained in how to teach children with diverse learning needs in one classroom. Children with disabilities enrolled in schools often end up learning less, missing more classes, or dropping out. We’ve developed five practical steps to equip teachers with the attitudes, knowledge and skills to teach local children with disabilities in the same classroom as their peers. Read the report

Learn how we’ve put these steps into practice in our inclusive programmes below. 

Easy read reports

You can download easy read versions of our learning reports on inclusive education.

View our easy read reports

Finding and enrolling children with disabilities in schools

Three boys from Kakuma refugee camp pose for a photo. The boy in the middle is using an assistive scooter.

Back-to-school campaigns

In Kenya, we worked with refugee organisations and local government to include out-of-school children with disabilities in enrolment campaigns in Kakuma refugee camp. We worked with organisations of people with disabilities (OPDs), religious and camp leaders to publicise an event encouraging caregivers to enrol children at school.

A family, with a mother, father and two children, register for identification cards for their children.

Pop-up disability ID camps

In Bangladesh, we partnered with social services, OPDs and other organisations to hold pop-up disability identification camps in areas where government-run assessment centres weren’t available. Through the camps, we supported families to register for disability ID cards for their children, enabling them to access vital social welfare support.

A teacher helps a girl in a classroom full of young pupils.

Addressing stereotypes

In Nigeria, we used radio to address negative stereotypes about disability and build interest in inclusive education. Radio has a wide coverage in areas of Nigeria and is accessible to a wide audience including people with low literacy. OPDs also joined a call-in radio show to share personal stories and answer questions.

Preparing schools to welcome children with disabilities

A female teacher leads a group of young children in an activity. They are sitting in a circle on cushions.

Inclusive learning materials

In Nepal, we co-delivered training with OPDs for teachers in more than 150 schools. We based training on Universal Design for Learning principles, building teachers’ skills to present the curriculum in a more varied way and teaching them to develop visual and tactile learning materials to support literacy, numeracy and early development.

Helena with her young son Christopher who attends an inclusive school in Tanzania.

Assessment centres

In Tanzania, we supported communities to establish an education support resource and assessment centre (ESRAC) in a local primary school, where caregivers could have their children’s learning and medical needs assessed by doctors and social welfare officers. The government has since established more ESRACs at schools across the country.

A female teacher and a large class of young children smile and hold their thumbs up at the camera.

School inclusion teams

In Kenya, we established school-based inclusion teams with headteachers, local government officials, caregivers and OPDs. Teams were responsible for responding to the needs of children with disabilities in their school, through improvement plans and budgets. School leaders continued learning about inclusive practices through the teams.

Supporting teachers to deliver inclusive education

In a busy classroom, a girl and boy join hands using a thumb-up gesture.

National teacher training

In Nigeria, we worked with OPDs to deliver training with the Nigerian Teachers Institute to help teachers develop skills in inclusive teaching. Our training also covered gender-based prejudices that can impact girls with disabilities and the social and economic stigmas that affect marginalised children with disabilities.

Teachers in a classroom in Nepal receive training on inclusive education.

Volunteer mentors

In Nepal, we used volunteer mentors to follow up with teachers after in-service inclusion training. Due to its success, we’ve worked with the government to replicate the scheme nationally – helping to establish guidelines for selecting mentors and their roles in mentoring teachers and supporting schools to access further inclusion resources.

A female support assistant sits at a desk surrounded by young children.

Learning support assistants

In Kenya, we invested in learning support assistants (LSAs) to offer additional or tailored support to individual children, indirectly supporting teachers to keep classes learning together. LSAs also supported teachers in preparing learning materials and record-keeping. Full-time LSAs require funding, making this approach less feasible for some schools.

Teacher Habasha smiles while standing in a school corridor.

“I support learners with disabilities differently; I identify the issues that they have and then I know how to support them.”

Teacher Habasha smiles while standing in a school corridor.

Habasha, a teacher from Tanzania

Our experts

Manisha is wearing an orange jacket and smiling at the camera. Behind her is a banner saying 'Atlas Corps.'

Manisha Maharjan

“What I’m most proud of is how we’ve been able to reach children who were hidden from society.”

Manisha is project manager for Humanity & Inclusion and leads our education project in Nepal, funded by UK aid under Inclusive Futures.
Read Manisha’s interview

Mellen is sitting in a black office chair against a plain background. She is wearing glasses and a patterned dress. She is smiling at the camera.

Mellen Marucha

“Our starting point must be ensuring parents understand and embrace inclusive education.”

Mellen is a programme officer for Sense International and leads the consortium’s work with children with complex and multiple disabilities in Kenya.
Read Mellen’s interview

Useful resources

Preparing schools to welcome children with disabilities (pdf)

This learning report shares seven actions schools can take to welcome children with disabilities into inclusive education.

Getting schools ready to welcome children with disabilities – easy read (pdf)

An easy read version of our learning report with actions that schools can take to welcome children with disabilities.

Preparing schools to welcome children with disabilities – Bangla translation (pdf)

A Bangla translation of our learning report with actions schools can take to welcome children with disabilities.

Centring children with disabilities in teaching (pdf)

This learning report shares five practical steps for education providers to take to improve teachers’ skills and knowledge.

Centring children with disabilities in teaching – easy read (pdf)

An easy read version of our learning report with steps to improve teachers’ knowledge and skills in inclusive education.

Finding and enrolling children with disabilities in schools (pdf)

This learning report shares six practical actions for anyone involved in planning or delivering education projects.

Finding and enrolling children with disabilities in schools – easy read (pdf)

An easy read version of our learning report with actions for anyone involved in planning or delivering education projects.

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Inclusive Futures are specialists and global leaders in disability and development from more than 20 global organisations.

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