The key to inclusive education is engaging organisations of people with disabilities | Blogs

Community Outreach

Community outreach activities are vital to identifying children with disabilities and encouraging families and caregivers to enroll them in regular schools. In our Inclusive Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) Program in Kenya, our OPD partners in Homa Bay and Turkana County led community outreach activities to change the attitudes of parents, teachers and communities, who previously believed that children with disabilities had no place in mainstream education and should stay at home. This resulted in 600 children with disabilities (living in diverse settings, from rural homes to a refugee camp) being able to access inclusive early education.

Peer Support for Parents

In our Support the transversal integration program so that everyone learns equally (SMILE) In northern Nigeria, our OPD partners produced a support guide for parents Provide parents of children with disabilities with information on how to support their children’s education and where they can go to access available medical and social support services. As a result of this, and thanks to efforts to raise awareness about the importance of inclusive education within communities, 280 children with disabilities were enrolled in eight primary schools in Kaduna State, significantly exceeding the number planned at the beginning of the project.

Accessibility guide

In all our educational programs, OPD partners have guided teachers, school management committees and parent-teacher associations on how they can make learning accessible for children with different disabilities. In our Education for all In Bangladesh, our OPD partners are conducting accessibility audits and helping to complete school improvement plans in 45 project schools in Narshingdi and Sirajganj districts, to make them more inclusive and accessible for children with disabilities.

Strengthening local systems

A key objective of our educational programs is to improve national systems to be more inclusive of children with disabilities. This involves working with our OPD partners to identify and strengthen any knowledge, resource or skills gaps, and supporting them to work alongside education officials on government committees to influence how policies on inclusive education are made and implemented across the country. local and national level. In Kenya, our local partner OPD has been able to successfully advocate for inclusive education provision to be included in county development plans and budgets.

Even when our projects have come to an end, our OPD partners will continue to work with local government authorities to ensure that children with disabilities get the support they need to access good quality education.