Making rights a reality for children with additional support needs

New legislation guarantees that children with ASN have almost identical rights to their parents and young people. These include the right: to request an assessment of ASN and a statutory plan; to receive advice and information; to use dispute resolution services including the Tribunal. However, our research suggests that children with ASN are only marginally involved in educational decision-making. The danger is that these rights exist on paper but not in reality. This project will produce a range of resources to increase awareness of children’s rights so that these become a reality, rather than an aspiration.

This project will work with children with ASN, their parents and professionals to identify what needs to change in order to boost children’s rights as intended by recent legislation. Work with parents/carers and professionals to identify what they can do to support children’s rights in practice. In addition, we will produce materials in different formats (on-line and hard copy) to be used by different groups to promote children’s rights and evaluate the impact of these materials.

This project will work with children with Additional Support Needs (ASN), their parents and professionals to identify what needs to change in order to boost children’s rights as intended by recent legislation.