Study: Disabled pupils face abuse in UK schools

Bullying of children with disabilities is not being taken seriously enough, says mental health charity

From the BBC:

A survey by UK mental health charity Mencap reports that eight out of ten children with learning disabilities had faced bullying at school, and six of ten had faced physical attacks.

The report also showed that these children faced abuse and mockery on a regular basis in school, parks and in public transportation.

It includes an account of a boy with Down syndrome who “would return from the park with bruises and torn clothes” after local youths attacked him as an “entertainment”.

The charity’s chief executive said there had been a lack of “clear leadership” to stop the bullying of pupils with disabilities. National Children’s Commissioner Sir Al Aynsley-Green, said people have been “slow to recognize” the problem.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Down syndrome, abuse, disabilities, violence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post