In 1992 I joined a 6th form college where bullying wasn’t just allowed, it was practically school policy.
I remember the head of pastoral care humiliating a bullied boy in front of the whole 6th form.
He did it for laughs: using the same cruel, meaningless piss-take my classmates used to bully the boy daily.
I still can’t recall this without the same rage I felt then bubbling up. Every cell of my body was screaming out to denounce this teacher.
Yet I did nothing.
I was an undiagnosed ADHD-er who had already been threatened with expulsion. I feared the shame. But now and probably forever, I live instead with the shame of doing nothing.
Inclusion is the antithesis of this kind of culture: of one dominated by privilege and misused power.
Over the years, schools have become SO much better at inclusion. The knowledge is there. So, after becoming aware in 2022 of the funding and service crisis in special education – at a time when AI tech was surging – I started SENshine.
Because the impact of inclusive schooling is not just about academics. It is deeply personal and lasts a lifetime.
