Haines and Ruebain’s second edition of Education, Disability and Social Policy provides a comprehensive overview of the progress, current challenges and future directions for inclusive education and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The book comes at a crucial time for policy reform of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, which the UK Government is aiming for in 2026. The public debate has primarily centred on increasing costs and barriers to accessing assessment and support – pressures placed on individuals, families and the education system that the first edition had largely foreseen back in 2011. These pressures also reflect broader social policy debates on austerity and constrained public finances, resulting in a SEND system that increasingly operates through selective allocation and privileges those who can navigate assessment and legal processes.
The second edition revisits previous topics and introduces new aspects. In eight chapters, contributing authors focus on the evolution of education for children with disabilities from a historical perspective, the tensions between needs-based and rights-based approaches to education in the context of policy and legislation, the effectiveness of multi-agency approaches to disability support and access to higher education for disabled students. Main themes also include persisting barriers in educational attainment due to exclusionary assessment practices, the impact of intersecting racism and ableism in schools, disproportionate exclusions of SEND students and the increasing prevalence of social, emotional and mental health needs. The editors conclude the book by highlighting the mismatch between the growing appreciation of inclusive education and the fragmented approach by the UK government, thus calling for a change in thinking about SEND as a problem to solve towards pursuing the values of educational equity and the right to inclusion of every child. This fragmentation exemplifies the wider issues of policy implementation gaps, where formal commitments to rights and inclusion fail to materialise into practice.
The book employs a multidisciplinary approach. In the first chapter, Anne Borsay reflects on the framing of education and disability throughout history from the late 18th century to the early 1980s. Subsequently, Brian Lamb discusses more recent developments from the late 1980s towards the current SEND framework. Further chapters focus on theoretical discussions and practical implications of disability rights and advances in (higher) education. The methodology remains largely qualitative yet creates a detailed picture of the complex issues surrounding disabilities and inclusive education, such as the failure of standardised tests to measure and document learning of children and young people with sensory impairments (Caireen Sutherland and Martin McLean) and the rise of ‘unofficial exclusions’ as a signifier of systemic marginalisation of pupils with SEND (Rob Webster). Quantitative research using survey or linked administrative data, such as the National Pupil Database in England or similar linkage projects, would have further enriched the line of argumentation and strengthened the argument for a financially sustainable SEND reform. Though SEND reform should not solely be driven by financial implications, the ineffectiveness of (some) spending and the monetary burdens currently placed on families and households must be recognised and alleviated. A stronger focus on resource allocation could have addressed the political economy of welfare provision and the fundamental question of who benefits from public spending in the UK. However, the underlying relationship between socio-economic status and marginalisation of pupils with disabilities is recognised throughout the chapters, resonating with extant research on the social determinants of educational outcomes.
The book draws consistently on the social model of disability, emphasising the societal barriers in creating and perpetuating inequalities for children with disabilities. The social model provides a human rights-based foundation for critiquing the current SEND framework and advocating for systemic change towards inclusion instead of segregation. Some parts of the book could have further highlighted the tensions between the social and medical models of disability, particularly in the context of practical implementation in education systems, though this is briefly outlined in Liz Todd and Jo Rose’s chapter on multi-agency work. While an established framing within Social Policy, new readers may benefit from being introduced to this wider debate. A reflection on the interactionist model may have added a further dimension to understanding the dynamics between lived experiences of and with disability, SEND practices in schools and local authorities, and the socio-economic structures that influence inclusion and exclusion in the classroom. Valentina Migliarini and Chelsea Stinson’s chapter introduces Disability Critical Race Theory to explore the intersection of race and disability, acknowledging and critically reflecting on ‘evasion of race’ in England’s SEND policies despite the empirical evidence of marginalisation of students of colour in terms of disproportionate exclusions. This intersectional framing of ableism in education is less explicit in other chapters, though Sheila Riddell and Elisabet Weedon dissect the influence of the type of need, sex and social class on educational and employment outcomes. The final chapter discusses the increasing number of pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties in England and the persisting stigmatisation thereof as part of the barriers to providing universal and targeted support (Robin Banerjee).
Just like the first edition, the book’s strength lies in its multidisciplinary perspectives on inclusive education, and this second edition aims for a more substantiated intersectional understanding of disability and education. The book’s contributors are academic experts on SEND and inclusion, many of whom have a long-standing engagement with policymakers and practitioners. The chapters draw on a wide range of evidence, from historical records, policy documents, literature reviews and references to statistical data. Haines and Ruebain’s second edition of Education, Disability and Social Policy provides a strong and timely critique of the SEND system, primarily looking at the English context, and argues for reforms rooted in equity, inclusion and human flourishing. The book is a must-read for researchers and students of Social Policy, and Disability Studies in specific, and equally recommended for practitioners, educators and advocates of SEND reform and inclusive education. It lays the groundwork for policy recommendations for the upcoming SEND Review 2026 and further research across the UK to contribute towards social policies that better serve children and young people and create an inclusive and effective educational system.
