An article examined how services provided by child development teams had helped to improve the lives of children with disability and their families. There had been 'patchy' adoption of national initiatives designed to improve provision.
Source: Jeremy Parr, Nicola Jolleff, Laura Gray, John Gibbs, Jane Williams, and Helen McConachie, 'Twenty years of research shows UK child development team provision still varies widely for children with disability', Child: Care, Health and Development, Volume 39 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the prevalence and classification of disability among children, and the links between disability and socio-economic disadvantage. It discussed three definitions of disability: developmental delay; long-standing limiting health conditions or illnesses; and special education needs. It said that more disabled children were born into socio-economically disadvantaged circumstances that continued through their early years.
Source: Sam Parsons and Lucinda Platt, Disability Among Young Children: Prevalence, heterogeneity and socio-economic disadvantage, Centre for Longitudinal Studies (University of London)
Links: Report | Summary I | Summary II | CLS press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A paper reviewed the evidence on adoption of children with disabilities.
Source: The Adoption of Disabled Children, British Association for Adoption and Fostering
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Oct
A report provided a framework upon which to develop local plans and implement personal budgets for children and young people.
Source: Support and Aspiration: Introducing personal budgets, In Control
Links: Report | In Control press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A study for the children's rights watchdog in England examined disabled children s experiences of living with low income. The work utilized a rights-based approach and found that, while poverty was not always a barrier, it was a key explanatory factor in why some disabled children's basic rights are not met.
Source: Cath Larkins, Nigel Thomas, Dawn Judd, Jane Lloyd, Bernie Carter, and Nicola Farrelly, with Ross Hendry, Lisa Davis, Zac Carr, David Corr, William James Finch, Azraa Onia, Ellie Reed, Daniel Sheehan, Reece Titterington, Rosie Winstanley, Lisa Carroll, Naomi Burgess, and Hans Mundry, We Want to Help People See Things Our Way : A rights-based analysis of disabled children s experience living with low income, Office of the Children s Commissioner
Links: Report | Briefing | Appendix 1 | Appendix 2 | Matrix
Date: 2013-Oct
A study examined the circumstances and outcomes of young children living with a disability in Scotland, drawing on data from the Growing Up in Scotland study. Children with a disability were significantly more likely than non-disabled children to be in lower-income households, live in areas with higher deprivation, and have parents who were not working. The authors concluded that many of the differences observed between disabled and non-disabled children were therefore driven by these key socio-economic distinctions rather than the presence of a disability.
Source: Paul Bradshaw and Julia Hall, The Impact of Disability on the Lives of Young Children: Analysis of data from the Growing up in Scotland study, Scottish Government
Date: 2013-Sep
A study examined how outcome models and approaches were being developed for disabled children and young people in Scotland.
Source: Developing an Outcomes Model for Disabled Children and Young People in Scotland, Scottish Government
Date: 2013-Sep
The report of a parliamentary commission said that the law on abortion for disabled babies needed to be reviewed, as it was outdated given the changes to social attitudes on disability over recent years, and could be discriminatory.
Source: Parliamentary Inquiry into Abortion on the Grounds of Disability, Parliamentary Inquiry into Abortion on the Grounds of Disability
Links: Report | Christian Institute press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Jul
The inspectorate for education and children's services said that the youth work offered to disabled young people was inconsistent across local authorities in England. Too much of the provision was largely historical, often including a portfolio of inherited clubs, centres, and programmes originally founded by parents, support groups, or youth workers. Insufficient attention was given to the needs of individuals and groups who did not access opportunities. There were only a few instances where sufficient consideration was being given to accommodating the cultural needs of minority ethnic families.
Source: Critical Issues in the Provision of Youth Work for Young Disabled People: Survey findings, HMI 130018, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release
Date: 2013-Feb
A paper presented the views of 12 disabled young people regarding their interactions with the education system, the Department for Work and Pensions, support services, and third party organizations as they came to the end of their education and started the process of seeking and gaining work.
Source: Anne-Marie Hamer, Journey from Education to Work, Working Paper 111, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2013-Feb
A survey found that disabled children in England and Wales were being routinely illegally excluded from school. More than half of the families surveyed had been asked to collect their child during the school day because there were not enough staff available to support them more, or had been told by the school that their child could not take part in a class activity or trip because it was unsuitable for them.
Source: Falling Through the Net: Illegal exclusions, the experiences of families with disabled children in England and Wales (2013), Contact a Family
Links: Report | CAF press release | Guardian report | Nursery World report
Date: 2013-Feb
A report said that disabled young people were being denied the right to have a say in how local services, such as education, health, and leisure were being developed and delivered.
Source: Catherine Shaw, Natasha Willmott, Chloe Gill, Joanna Lea, and Anita Franklin, The VIPER Project: What We Found, Children s Society/Alliance for Inclusive Education/Council for Disabled Children/NCB Research Centre
Links: Report | Summary | Childrens Society press release
Date: 2013-Feb