From awareness to action: building genuinely inclusive school communities

It is easy to think of inclusion as ramps, accessible bathrooms, classroom adjustments or additional support. These things matter enormously. However, inclusion is also about belonging, whether a student is welcomed as an equal and can participate fully in school life, and is seen as a whole person rather than being defined by disability.For too many young Australians, that sense of belonging is still missing.

Australian Human Rights Commission data show that 20% of families of students with disability report their child is regularly excluded from broader school activities, including assemblies and sport. Almost four in ten families also report inadequate support from their school.

Disability is also part of everyday life for a substantial number of young Australians.In 2022, 946,300 Australian children and young people aged 0-24 were living with disability, representing 12.1% of that age group, and more than two-thirds needed assistance with at least one everyday activity^.

When we talk about inclusion, the conversation often focuses on what we need to do for students with disability, but we also need to ask what we are teaching every student about disability, barriers and inclusion.

I believe disability inclusion needs to start early and extend beyond policies, plans and adjustments. It needs to become part of school culture. One of the most effective ways to do that is through meaningful experience and contact.

At Sporting Wheelies, we have seen how adaptive sport can change the conversation. Put students on a basketball court and introduce wheelchair basketball, for example, and suddenly concepts such as accessibility, teamwork and adaptation become tangible.

Students are not simply being told about disability. They are experiencing a different way of approaching a familiar activity. They have to communicate, problem-solve and work together.

That experience can challenge assumptions that are difficult to shift through a textbook or presentation alone. It can also reveal something important: barriers are often created by environments, assumptions and rules, rather than by the person.

The same principle applies to immersive activities and lived-experience storytelling. When students hear directly from a person with disability, they have the opportunity to challenge stereotypes and understand disability as one part of a person's experience, rather than the sum of who they are.

Schools are not just places where young people acquire academic knowledge. They are places where they learn how to interact with other people and navigate the world around them.

The latest national school data show that 1.125 million students received an educational adjustment because of disability in 2025 - 27% of all school enrolments, compared with 18% in 2015.

This shows disability inclusion is not a niche issue affecting a small number of schools or students. It is part of the everyday experience of Australian education. However, providing an adjustment is only one part of inclusion.

A student might have the right equipment, additional classroom support and an accessible learning environment. If they are then excluded from the school sport team, left out of social activities or treated differently by their peers, we have not achieved genuine inclusion.

This is where the broader school community becomes so important. Teachers need practical tools to create inclusive classrooms, families need opportunities to understand disability and accessibility, and students need opportunities to develop confidence, curiosity and a practical understanding of inclusion.

None of this means expecting students with disability to educate everyone else about their experiences. That responsibility should not sit on their shoulders.

Instead, schools can create structured opportunities for all students to learn - through adaptive sport, carefully designed practical activities, and conversations led by people with lived experience that encourage them to think differently about barriers and accessibility.

This is the thinking behind Sporting Wheelies' Pathways to Inclusion program. The program brings together adaptive sport, immersive learning and lived-experience storytelling for different stages of a student's school journey, alongside practical resources for teachers and families. It is designed not simply to raise awareness, but to turn awareness into understanding and understanding into action, a distinction that matters.

Most people would agree that inclusion is important. The challenge is translating that principle into what happens on the oval, in the classroom, at assembly and in the playground.

We should want students to leave school not only knowing that disability exists but understanding how barriers are created - and how they can help remove them.

An inclusive school culture benefits everyone. It teaches young people to recognise difference without fear, to ask better questions, and to understand that accessibility is a basic condition of participation, not a special consideration for a few people.

If we want to build genuinely inclusive communities, we cannot wait until young people enter the workforce or adulthood to have these conversations. We need to start in schools.

The most powerful change is not choosing between practical adjustments and cultural change. Genuine inclusion needs both. It means removing barriers and creating a school culture in which every student can participate and belong.