Beyond the assembly: marking Disability History Month in school

Why it matters in schools

Every school has disabled pupils and staff. Many have far more than they realise, because not every impairment is visible and not everyone chooses to share. Yet disabled people are often missing from what children learn, and when they do appear, it's usually as a story of tragedy or of "overcoming".

Disability History Month is a chance to change that. It isn't about awareness for its own sake. It's about recognising that disabled people have a history, a culture and a long record of campaigning for their rights, and that pupils with SEND are part of that story.

This year also marks 20 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted, and the month includes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December. There's plenty to build on.

Start with the social model

The most useful idea any school can take from Disability History Month is the social model of disability. It says that people are disabled not by their impairment alone, but by the barriers around them: steps without a ramp, information only in small print, noisy rooms, rigid routines, and attitudes that assume someone can't.

For schools, that's a powerful shift. Instead of asking "what's wrong with this pupil?", it asks "what's getting in the way here, and what can we change?" That's a question every teacher, TA and leader can act on, and it's the same thinking behind good reasonable adjustments and good SEND provision.

Making the theme real: politics and democracy

"Disability, Politics and Democracy" might sound like a theme for secondary history lessons. In fact, it fits every setting, because democracy in school starts with a simple question: whose voice counts?

In the curriculum. Disabled people have been changing the law through campaigning for over a century, and it's a powerful story for pupils. In 1920, Ben Purse, a blind piano tuner from Salford, helped lead around 250 blind marchers from Newport, Manchester and Leeds to London under the banner "Justice not Charity". Their march helped bring about the Blind Persons Act 1920, thought to be the world's first disability-specific law. In the 1990s, campaigners in the Direct Action Network chained themselves to buses to demand equal access, helping to win the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. And today, disabled people such as Baroness Jane Campbell, a disability rights campaigner who sits in the House of Lords, shape the laws themselves. Pupils can explore how ordinary people changed the law, and what rights disabled people have today under the Equality Act 2010.

In your school council. Look honestly at who takes part. Are elections run in formats every pupil can access, with symbols, photos or easy-read information? Can pupils who use alternative communication stand, vote and be heard? If your school council is made up of the most confident speakers, it isn't fully democratic yet.

In everyday choices. For pupils with complex needs, democracy might look like choosing between two activities, voting with a symbol card, or showing a preference through eye gaze or a switch. These are real decisions, and treating them seriously teaches pupils that their views matter.

In their own plans. The most important decisions about a disabled pupil's life are often made in their EHCP and annual reviews. Make sure their views are genuinely gathered and recorded in their own words or communication, not summarised by adults. Pupil voice shouldn't stop at the classroom door.

Disabled people in the curriculum, all year round

A single assembly in November won't change much on its own. What lasts is seeing disabled people across the curriculum, in every subject, throughout the year.

That might mean disabled artists such as Sarah Biffin, a Georgian painter born without arms who became a celebrated miniaturist, in art; Paralympians and disabled athletes in PE; disabled scientists and inventors in science; or books with disabled characters who are simply part of the story, not defined by it.

As you plan, a useful check is to ask whether disabled people are shown as active, capable and part of everyday life, or only as objects of pity or inspiration.

Challenge bullying and low expectations

Disabled pupils and pupils with SEND are more likely than their peers to experience bullying and exclusion. Disability History Month is a good moment to talk openly about it: what disablist language and behaviour look like, why they cause harm, and what pupils should do if they see it. Make sure your anti-bullying policy names disability explicitly, and that pupils who communicate in different ways have a clear route to tell someone.

A note on language

Language around disability matters, and preferences differ. Many people and organisations in the UK use "disabled people", in line with the social model, while some prefer person-first language, and many autistic people prefer identity-first language such as "autistic pupil". The best approach is simple: ask, listen, and use the words a person chooses for themselves.

Try this tomorrow

1. Ask pupils where the barriers are. Take a small group of pupils with SEND on a walk around school and ask what makes it harder to join in, get around or be heard. Fix one thing they find, and tell them you did.
2. Check your school council. Look at how elections and meetings work, and change one thing so more pupils can take part.
3. Plan beyond the month. Ask each subject leader to add one disabled person, story or perspective to their curriculum for the rest of the year.

A final thought

Disability History Month isn't only for disabled pupils. It helps every child understand that disability is part of the human experience, that rights were won by people who refused to be left out, and that the barriers we remove make school better for everyone.

Useful resources: UK Disability History Month's guidance for schools and colleges and this year's theme materials at ukdhm.org; UK Parliament Education's illustrated book of disability campaigners; and the assembly resources available on Tes and Twinkl. Check any resource against the social model before you use it.

Graphic adapted from UK Disability History Month.

"Democracy in school starts with a simple question: whose voice counts?"

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Sources

• UK Disability History Month: in education
• UK Disability History Month
• UK Parliament: Disability History Month illustrated book

General guidance for school staff, last reviewed 10 November 2026. Statutory guidance changes, so always check the latest version on GOV.UK.