Disabled Children
Our goal:
The legal rights of all disabled children and young people will be upheld so that from an early age they will be heard in decisions that affect their lives
Our research:
One of our current research topics in this area relates to advocacy provision for disabled children. Last year we published When will we be heard? the findings of a survey of advocacy provision in England. We are currently developing a new piece of research which will gather disabled young people’s experiences of being placed away from home and advocacy. This will be one of our key research priorities during 2008.
We are also currently completing a research project into disability equality within the national curriculum. This research includes perspectives from children and young people as part of a national survey of over 10,000 young people, a survey of teaching staff in primary and secondary schools and a literature and good practice review. A report on this research will be published later this year.
When will we be heard? advocacy provisions for disabled children and young people in England
When will we be heard? research, commissioned for our Stand By Me campaign,highlights the lack of accessible advocacy services for disabled children. Two key findings from the research show that a quarter of advocacy services couldn't accept referrals of disabled children and over a third couldn't provide a service for autistic children and young people.
The Ask Us about Direct Payment Project
The Children's Society Ask Us about Direct Payment Project research is a review of its development, learning and outcomes.