Parents and professionals in Scotland continue to work towards inclusive education for learners with additional support needs. However, a recent consultation on the presumption of mainstreaming has received some mixed reviews. 

The Scottish Government’s Excellence and Equity for All consultation hoped to obtain views on the draft guidance published for local authority education departments. It hoped to help their decision-making in applying a presumption of mainstreaming, as well as improve inclusive practice in schools. 

Since 1992, the 3rd of December has been celebrated around the world as the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). The theme for this year’s IDPD is 'Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality'. This theme focuses on the empowering persons with disabilities for the inclusive, equitable and sustainable development envisaged in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Agency has been approached by the European Commission in order to technically support two activities approved in the frame of the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP). Activities have been requested by the ministries of education in Cyprus and Poland. Both are fully funded by the European Commission and by the ministries of education of Poland and Cyprus, and they concern legislative educational changes regarding inclusive education.

Access the November 2018 eBulletin in html format here.

The French National Federation of the Deaf will host some 3,000 international participants at the XVIII World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) in Paris, from 23–27 July 2019. The congress theme, Sign Language Rights for All, highlights that full enjoyment of linguistic rights is vital in facilitating the full inclusion of the Deaf Community within society.

Colin Allen, WFD President, has stated that the congress’s theme is a three-fold call for sign language rights for all to be:

UNESCO together with the Agency have developed an online resource and knowledge-base presenting information from across the globe on inclusive approaches to policy and practice, benefiting both policy-makers and practitioners. 

The Agency has formalised its vision of becoming a role model of accessibility and inclusive practice by presenting its Accessibility policy to its member country representatives at the October bi-annual meeting in Vienna. The main goal of this policy is to provide a fully accessible experience of the Agency and all its activities.