How to make schools more inclusive for children and young people with special education needs/disabilities: A deliberative democratic approach

Abstract This article starts by reviewing the position that inclusion is a contested and difficult term to define and that there have been no attempts to link the policy challenges of inclusive education with the issues of democratic policymaking. The article then summarises contemporary ideas and practices about deliberative approaches to policymaking and politics (deliberative democratic approaches). This provides the context for an overview of a citizens' panel project that aimed to (i) obtain information about modifying a citizens' panel process to enhance the participation of young people with special educational needs and disabilities and (ii) generate more nuanced, grounded and integrated policy ideas about inclusion than can be found in recent English education policy. The organisation of the citizens' panel is then presented. It was planned as a two‐stage process comprising a panel of young people with and without special educational needs and disabilities, their parents and education professionals. The panel was evaluated through interviews. The results show the importance of meticulously preparing a differentiated and strengths‐based approach to running the panel. Almost all of the ideas about improving school inclusion were general school changes for all pupils, with some aspects pertinent to special educational needs and disabilities. The significance of the project is discussed in terms of preparing all young people for participation in democratic processes as a basic aspect of democratic citizenship.