Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework (2017)

According to the United Nations, around 10 per cent of the world’s population live with either a medical impairment or a disability. An impairment is defined as a medically identified condition or a long-term limitation of a person’s physical, mental, cognitive, communicative and/or sensory functions. Impairments become disabilities, when the person experiences attitudinal, social and/or environmental barriers that prevent full and effective participation within a community. Therefore, a disability is the result of an individual’s interaction with society, if barriers to participation for that person are not removed. It is not an attribute of the person.
In the context of education, those who remain excluded from schools and other education provisions are most often those children who experience a special educational need and disability (SEND). This inclusive education policy framework reflects on how education providers and other stakeholders respond to the needs of children and young people who experience SEND.