A BARNSLEY MP welcomed Paralympians and national sports organisations to Parliament to work together to improve access to sport and PE in school for children with SEND.

ParalympicsGB found that only one in four disabled children said they regularly participate in sport and PE in school.

The scale of the problem is huge, according to Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball, with 1.7 million disabled children comprising 15 per cent of the school population nationally.

In Parliament, Marie brought together Ruby Bishop, a wheelchair tennis para-athlete, and Grace Glough, Paralympian and PE teacher, along with leading organisations including ParalympicsGB, Activity Alliance, Association for PE, Sport for Development Coalition and the Lawn Tennis Association.

Following the Paris 2024 games, ParalympicsGB launched their ‘Equal Play’ campaign, calling for no disabled child to be left on the sidelines.

Equal Play aims to ensure all teachers are trained in inclusive PE, that the PE curriculum is reformed, and that there is an increase to the proportion of disabled teachers in the workforce.

Ruby has also been campaigning for ‘Ruby’s Law’, which would mandate sports wheelchairs in every school, following her own experience of being left out of PE lessons in school.

Marie said: “Every child deserves equal access to sport and PE in school.

“When I was in school, there were no inclusive PE lessons, so I ended up refereeing netball and hockey matches, rather than being encouraged to take my distance swimming further.

“Sport has the unique power to break down barriers, build confidence and foster a sense of belonging.

“I’m pleased to see the government acknowledging that more needs to be done to ensure children with SEND can fully participate, and is already taking action to improve this through Inclusion 2028.

“I want this to reach to every child in our constituency.

“No child should be left on the sidelines.”