Petition: Protect Mild General Learning Disability (MGLD) Schools – Stop the Forced Redesignation

Children with Mild General Learning Disabilities (MGLD) and their families are being put at risk by government plans to force MGLD schools to change their designation. These special schools serve the largest cohort of students with disabilities in the education system, between 5% and 7% of the population. Many of these children also have additional complex needs, including autism and psychiatric disorders. Young people with Down Syndrome often also have diagnoses of MGLD and are often overlooked when it comes to specialised educational provision. MGLD schools have developed deep, specialised expertise over decades. These schools are lifelines, places where children finally feel like they belong, after struggling in mainstream settings.

Despite this, the Department of Education is forcing schools to cater for a broader spectrum of need, with no real consultation and no robust evidence that this change is in children's best interests. Principals have testified that they are being coerced into redesignation under threat of losing funding. The claim that MGLD school policies are “restrictive” is simply false. This change will dilute specialist support and pit vulnerable children against each other for already limited resources. It is a welfare issue, not just an educational one. The Department and the NCSE are pushing these children back into unsuitable mainstream environments based on secretive, top-down decisions - clearly more about cutting costs than meeting needs.

We must act now before irreversible damage is done. MGLD students cannot afford to be lost in a system that refuses to recognise their specific needs. The government must immediately guarantee that MGLD schools will retain their current status. They must stop coercing schools into redesignation and engage in real, transparent consultation with principals, parents, and communities. Sign this petition to stand with children, teachers, and families fighting to protect essential educational services. Let’s stop the dismantling of a system that works - and demand the future these children deserve