The UK government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. Nearly 17 years later, according to the Committee which monitors implementation of the Convention, the UK is still failing to uphold the right of all children “to a truly inclusive education which ensures the full enjoyment to children from all disadvantaged, marginalized and school-distant groups”.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child examined the UK’s record on 23 September, and published its conclusions on 3 October. This was the third time the UK has been examined, and the Committee expressed regret that its previous recommendations with regard to education had not been followed up.

The Committee highlighted the many groups of children which face barriers to enjoying their right to education, including disabled children, children of Travellers, Roma children, asylum-seeking children and teenage mothers. Among other concerns, the Committee noted the persistently high exclusion rates and, in Northern Ireland, the problem of segregation and of academic selection at the age of 11.

The Committee noted the lack of a comprehensive national strategy for the inclusion of disabled children into society and recommended legislative and other measures to address this, including training for teachers, awareness-raising campaigns aimed at encouraging inclusion and preventing discrimination and institutionalisation, and the development of a national strategy for the inclusion of disabled children in society. The UK has also been told to take account of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the Committee’s General Comment No. 9 on the rights of children with disabilities, and to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.