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On this day CSIE celebrates 38 years of remarkable achievements! Founded on 28 June 1982 as the Centre for Studies on Integration in Education, CSIE took on its current name in the 1990s. The Centre has continued to evolve, has expanded its remit to cover all aspects of equality in education, and has remained at the forefront of developments in inclusive education. Within the past year alone, CSIE has:

  • developed an online “Knowledge Box” for Learning and Support Assistants working with disabled children in primary and secondary schools, as part of the IMAS II project (IMproving ASsistance in inclusive educational settings);
  • heard that the first IMAS project has been selected as a “success story” by the European Commission (“Success stories” are finalised projects that have distinguished themselves by their impact, contribution to policy-making, innovative results and/or creative approach, and can be a source of inspiration for others);
  • published and disseminated an information leaflet summarising key findings from latest research, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Exeter, on school placement trends of all local authorities in England;
  • been invited to speak at numerous national and international events, including at the panel on inclusive education at the Zero Project Conference 2020 in Vienna; CSIE has recently heard that this presentation will be transcribed, published and circulated throughout the world;
  • continued to work in collaboration with primary and secondary schools to create an online equality hub, which will be hosted on www.tes.com and will be made freely available to all schools;
  • continued to deliver disability awareness workshops for pupils in schools, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from staff (e.g. “Excellent delivery that made it relevant to the pupils” and “It was fun, interactive and the children certainly enjoyed it and were engaged”) as well as pupils (e.g. “It taught everyone not to make fun of anyone” and “My parents are deaf and it made me understand a lot more”);
  • continued to support primary and secondary schools to undertake an equality audit, engaging the whole school community, to help celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement; and
  • been invited to support the development of inclusive education in a number of schools in the UK, and in other countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Spain.

CSIE has recently averted the sudden danger of having to fold, largely thanks to the fundraising efforts of its director who ran more than 70 km as part of a “2.6 challenge”. The donations page is still open, for anyone who wants to make a gift, large or small.

Last but not least, a PATH event (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope) has been planned for Tuesday 30 June, which many of CSIE’s friends and allies are expected to attend from as far afield as Europe, Brazil, India and Canada. This is offered as a gift to CSIE by Inclusive Solutions, who offer a wide range of online training on a range of topics, including on person-centred planning, and to whom we remain grateful for this gift.

Happy Birthday CSIE, we all wish that you keep going from strength to strength and continue to be valued for achievements at the cutting edge of educational change!