International Day of Education 2023

On the 24^th of January, the UN celebrates the International Day of Education 2023, to remind us that the right to Education is a fundamental human right for every man, woman and child. It is a stepping stone to a better life, especially for those who are less fortunate.

Indeed, education lies at the heart of UNESCO’s efforts and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, outlined in 2015 to work to build a more peaceful, just and sustainable planet. As explained on the UNESCO website, “without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind” (International Day of Education | UNESCO).

Yet, today, hundreds of millions of children and youth are out of school and three times more adults are illiterate – most of them being girls (read more about these numbers). People with special educational needs – such as physical or sensory difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties, hurdles in speech and language or relational and social difficulties – are also more likely to be left out of the educational system due to a lack of adequate support in mainstream schools.

As reported by the National Statistics, just under 1.5 million pupils in England have special educational needs – an increase of 77,000 from 2021. Both the number of pupils with an EHC plan and the number of pupils needing SEN support has increased over the past few years (read the full report here).

These students and their families face a multitude of challenges – their needs are often misunderstood, their behaviour is judged negatively and labelled as “naughty”, and the issues are dealt with unfit techniques and inadequate support. This is due to a multitude of reasons, such as the school and teachers’ crisis, and funding limitations – nevertheless, it causes SEN people to be left behind, expelled and excluded from the system, sometimes preventing them from entering the world of work.

At the heart of everything we do at TWT, is the belief that by providing the best quality support, training and education, people can thrive. Through our education programmes and outreach activities our team works tirelessly each day to contribute their part to achieve this goal. We work to provide our pupils with all the tools to be successful in meeting their personal needs as well as achieving their educational and career goals, where mainstream schools cannot provide the necessary resources. We do this through teaching techniques, mentoring and 1-2-1 support, choice theory and reality therapy tools, a variety of therapy offers and much more (read about it in our other blog articles). Is it easy? We would lie if we said it was, but we are proud to contribute to doing our best and making a difference in people’s lives as well as the community.

On this International Day of Education 2023, we want to thank all the staff, local authorities, pupils and parents and carers who believed and believe in us, trust us and enable us to do what we do and achieve. We wish all of you a wonderful education day. May your education teach you the tools to find the route to a happy, just and equal life.