We are delighted to announce that the four webinars which frame CSIE’s Knowledge Box on Disabled Children’s Rights in Education are now also freely available on YouTube.  We are working on adding subtitles, to make these materials even more accessible.

Part I(with link to https://youtu.be/dj1IlwYpkGs) clarifies what national and international laws state about the education of disabled children and young people.  Part II(with link to https://youtu.be/1b2o6TVm6wU) presents a clear rationale for inclusive education, from a children’s rights perspective.  Part III(with link to https://youtu.be/kXAIYs-cP6c) describes specific approaches and strategies which support inclusion for all, and Part IV(with link to https://youtu.be/g6wrCiZvJ4g) focuses on roles and responsibilities of Learning and Support Assistants in ordinary schools.

The complete Knowledge Box, with all its supplementary resources, continues to be available free of charge, upon free registration on the D-LoT platform(please link to https://dlot.eu/course/index.php?categoryid=22) (Disability Leaders of Tomorrow).  

These materials have been created as part of the IMAS II project (IMproving ASsistance in inclusive educational settings II) in which CSIE was a partner.  The project saw the creation of five online Knowledge Boxes for use by Learning and Support Assistants and anyone else interested in better supporting the learning and development of disabled children in ordinary schools.  All Knowledge Boxes are available in five languages (Bulgarian, English, German, Portuguese and Slovakian) and cover the following topics: 

Disabled Children’s Rights in Education

Interaction & Communication

Cognition & Learning

Physical & Sensory Impairment

Emotions & Behaviour

Educators from all project countries took part in a far-reaching evaluation of the Knowledge Boxes.  The results confirm that Assistants who have engaged with these materials not only enhanced their knowledge and practical skills but, as a result, this also increased their confidence as they reported feeling better prepared and better equipped to do their job.

The IMAS II project was a two-year project funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union (2018-1-AT01-KA202-039302). It was launched in October 2018 at the University of Graz, Austria, home of the lead partner, and concluded on 31 March 2021, following an extension necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.  The project set out to support and strengthen the development of learning and support assistants’ competencies for inclusive practice, in ways which are consistent with the requirements of Article 24 (Education) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. CSIE was one of nine project partners from six European countries.  For more information please visit the project website. (please link to https://www.easpd.eu/en/content/imas-ii-improving-assistance-inclusive-educational-settings)