Your search for “advocate”

If you have a spinal cord injury and want to support children and young people to be fully included in their education, you should volunteer as an education advocate. Our passionate team ensure every young person can thrive during their education, socialise with their friends, and fulfill their true potential. Being an education advocate involves: […]

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the sudden passing of one of our dear friends, Damian Smith, on 27 December 2023. He had a massive impact on the spinal cord injury community through his near 25-year nursing career, his long-standing support as a volunteer for Back Up, as well as his role […]

Music lover Kim loves to travel and recently came back from a punk rock music festival. She works part time in recruitment, helping people with disabilities find a job. She is also supporting people affected by Spinal Cord Injury through being a Back Up mentor. “In 2009, I was involved in a car crash. I […]

Back Up BBC Lifeline Appeal Watch our BBC Lifeline TV Appeal, starring Bonnie Langford and other members of the Back Up community, on BBC iPlayer for the next three weeks. We need your support to make it a huge success! The one and only Bonnie Langford presents our BBC Lifeline Appeal. You’ll also hear from […]

After sustaining a spinal cord injury that reduced her arm function and paralysed her legs, Linda spends her time travelling regularly, working with children, and helping others through volunteering at Back Up. “I’ve always been a positive person and see myself as very lucky. My injury just pointed my life in a different direction. I’m […]

Involving children, young people and families Involvement of children, young people and families is an intrinsic part of inclusion. While the assessments and opinions of education and health professionals will also be vital to the coordination of including a child or young person with a spinal cord injury, it is the school’s response to the […]

Education, Health and Care Plans ( EHCPs) When a child or young person attends nursery, school, college or university it is vital that they have the proper support in place to access their education and be fully included in all aspects of their education. An Education Health Care Plan brings educational and health needs together […]

Inclusive education case study This section is a case study from a SENCO working with a high level tetraplegic student attending secondary school. The case study talks about the importance of involving the student, using technology, encouraging social contact, it covers their policies, how the teaching assistant’s work, and how to make inclusion happen. Our […]

This section outlines why Back Up has produced this toolkit, by highlighting the research which evidences the need for inclusive education. ‘Back Up’s education inclusion service provides education and support to staff at nurseries right through to university in understanding what is needed, and perhaps more importantly what is not needed, by children and young […]