Exploring Intersectionality in Schools Voices on Race and SEND for Advocacy and Change

Intersectionality: Race and SEND, A Data Overview 

Neil Alexander-Passe

1. Understanding Prejudice: How Bias and Stereotypes lead to Assumptions around Race and Disability

2. Mislabelling/Misdiagnosis and its Consequences

3. Mental Health: Belonging, Wellbeing and Resilience

4. Safeguarding

5. The Criminal Justice System: Adultification and Exploitation

6. The Comparison between SEND and EAL and how they Overlap

7. UKME/GM Educators with SEND

8. Working in Collaboration with Parents/Carers

9. Leadership of SEND: Policy and Implementation

10. Teacher Training and Professional Development: Creating Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environments

11. National And Global Perspectives: How Different Nations Respond to Race Equity and SEND Support in Education

12. Future Directions in Intersectional Education

Conclusion

The I: RSE Framework

A Final Call to Action

Appendix: I: RSE Inclusive School Framework: User Guide

Biography

Frances Akinde is a former local authority inspector and advisor for SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), a former headteacher of a secondary special school (11–19) for autistic learners, a qualified Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO), and an anti-racism coach for Leeds Beckett University (CRED), UK. Over the last 20 years, Frances has held a variety of roles across primary, secondary, special, and alternative provision, as well as in local authority settings.

Drawing on her lived experience as a neurodivergent educator with hearing loss and as part of a proudly neurodivergent Black family, Frances champions approaches that honour identity, respect difference, and promote equity and inclusion in every classroom.

In 2023, Frances co-launched the BAMEed SEND hub as part of the BAMEed Network, a network for educators committed to promoting equity and addressing racial disparities in education. She also runs her own consultancy service, Inclusion HT.

'What I appreciate most in this book is its combination of honesty and hope. It does not minimise the scale of the challenge, but nor does it treat inequity as inevitable. Frances invites us to think hard, to listen with humility, and to act with integrity. And it centres what matters most: that every child is seen, heard and supported to thrive. This book is an important companion for all of us in education. It helps us to reflect on where we are, and it points us towards where we need to go. Above all, it shows us that improvement is possible when each of us is prepared to acknowledge blind spots, unconscious bias and recognise personal privilege with humility and curiosity. And if we claim to be inclusive and don’t do this hard work, we are likely to be likely to be failing many of our children.'

Mary Myatt, Education Writer and Speaker 

'Frances Akinde is a leading national voice on the intersectionality of racism and SEND, and this book reflects that leadership with clarity and urgency. Combining structured theory with a conversational and highly practical approach, Akinde equips educators and changemakers with the tools needed to advocate for marginalised students and to inspire meaningful, lasting change in educational practice.'

Katie Piari Bayley, Anti-Racism Consultant and Coach, Project Lead for Antiracism.Education