Blog

Every child has a right to quality education. But for millions of children with disabilities, this right is still out of reach. Across many countries, children with disabilities face systemic exclusion from school — not because they can’t learn, but because the systems aren’t built to include them.

That’s why the Inclusive Futures consortium — including Sightsavers, Humanity & Inclusion UK, International Disability Alliance, Light for the World, Sense International, and ADD International — and grassroots disability leaders from Africa and Asia are demanding real change.

They have released a joint statement and an open letter calling on world leaders, donors, and education stakeholders to act now to deliver inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all. Sign the letter. Raise your voice. Be part of the solution.

Read more details and take action now.

The theme for this year’s Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) conference was ‘Envisioning Education in a Digital Society’. Although many examples of positive and innovative uses of digital technology were presented, strategies for reaching the most marginalised learners, including children with disabilities, were rarely discussed.

This blog shares highlights from five presentations that Sightsavers was involved in, focusing on disability inclusion and digital education covering everything from early years learning to data to gender-based violence.

Read the blog.

In celebration of Global Action Week for Education (28 April – 5 May 2025), a coalition of leading international NGOs and organisations of persons with disabilities released a powerful joint statement calling for urgent action to end the exclusion of children with disabilities from education systems worldwide and are collectively calling on others to sign this open letter.

n this blog, Johannes Trimmel, Inclusive Futures disability inclusive development programme director, sets out a clear, achievable path to change, rooted in six years of proven practice from the Inclusive Futures initiative.

Read the blog.

The British Council has updated its professional development website for English language teachers. It has published an updated CPD framework:

The framework recognises the need for teachers to be lifelong learners, and can be used at any point in your teaching career as a tool to enable you to understand and plan your own development. If you’re a teacher educator, the framework can also support you in the creation of training and learning resources for teachers.”

The website has further resources, for example, “Using inclusive practices”.

Access the website.

The Human Rights Council is preparing for the first session of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

If you want to make sure inclusive education is part of the conversation, you can take part by sending a contribution by 18 May 2025. There is also an opportunity for children to participate – the deadline for submissions from children is 8 June 2025.

Read more information about taking part. 

At the GDS 2025, a session titled “From Gradual Actions to Systems Change: Transforming Education Systems to be Inclusive and Accessible to All,” gathered key global actors to identify concrete steps for accelerating inclusive education systems. A major outcome of the session was the launch of a new coalition led by the UK, Norway, UNESCO, UNICEF, IDA, and IDDC, joined by other global partners such as the Government of South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Global Partnership for Education. This coalition aims to drive the development of inclusive education systems worldwide.

Read more details.

A defining moment of the Summit was the adoption of the Amman-Berlin Declaration on Global Disability Inclusion, advancing the rights of persons with disabilities globally. It reinforces strong commitments to disability-inclusive international development cooperation and humanitarian action, and emphasizes the central role of meaningful engagement with OPDs.

Read the declaration.

Inclusion International is testing a tool designed to help humanitarian organizations build their capacity on the inclusion of children with disabilities in education during emergency situations. The learning tool is currently in its pilot phase. During the pilot phase, users will be invited to fill out a form to share their thoughts about the tool without sharing their names. The project team want to know if the tool is easy to use and helpful for learning. This feedback will help the project team improve the tool so it works better for everyone, both now and in the future.

Read more and take part in the pilot phase. 

At the Global Disability Summit 2025, education partners reemphasized their commitment to ensuring quality education for girls and boys with disabilities. In this blog from the Global Partnership for Education, the authors reflect on how agencies can take action to accelerate progress towards inclusive education. They give four recommendations: embed inclusion from the start, support the collection and uptake of data and evidence, support equitable financial allocations, and engage diverse voices.

Read the blog.