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Social Inclusion

We are moving towards an era of social inclusion, and equal rights for all people

• ‘The Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill’ is now law.
• Key principles in this legislation include rights, independence, choice, and inclusion.
• The emphasis is on what people can do, and not what they are unable to do.
• For educational institutions it will become unlawful to discriminate against people with learning disabilities. Not only in providing education, but also in wider services such as admissions, welfare and careers advice.
• There is a legal obligation upon many businesses to make their services accessible to everyone.

Information needs to be accessible to all

• A key to social inclusion is the ability to have access to, and have understanding of as much information as possible.
• Information may be of many forms, including signage, written information, legal documents (many learning disabled people are the legal employers of their carers).

Much information is now available electronically, via the World Wide Web, and email.